Whether your New Year’s resolution is to lose or maintain weight, these healthy habits will have you feeling great this winter!

Tips to successfully start the new year:

Eat Apples. Nutrients in apples help lower cholesterol and fight cancer. Apples help with bone health too. Take a 15 minute walk before or after school or during lunch. Focus on fruit by adding a fruit to your breakfast. Top your cereal with bananas or peaches.

Monthly Observances January

Cervical Health Awareness

Glaucoma Awareness

Healthy Weight Week

Jan. 16 through Jan. 22

Monthly Observances

February

Heart Health Awareness

Wise Health Consumer

Cancer Prevention

Feb. 4 – Wear Red Day

Feb. 14 – Blood Donor Day

Feb. 18 – Women’s Heart Health Day

Important Important Important Dates:Dates:Dates:

Volume 1 Issue 8 January / February

The EPC is your School purchasing pool.

www.epc‐online.org

New Year, New You New Year, New You New Year, New You

Like interest on a credit card, extra calories turn Into body fat which is hard to “pay off”. Tipping the scale in your favor, expend more energy and spend less on calories. Some of the action steps to do this would be:

Drink water before meals to make you feel fuller.

Limit high calorie foods. Start by eating half of what you usually eat.

Limit portions. Slow down when you eat.

Sit less and spend more time being active.

Walk more throughout the day.

Use a pedometer to track steps. Set a goal to be able to walk 10,000 steps a day. (continued on page 2)

Skip the soda. Soda is high in calories and contains a lot of sugar. Make fresh fruit smoothies by blending fresh or frozen fruit with fat‐free or low‐fat milk and yogurt or 100% juice. Additional tips and information is available on www.epc‐health.org. Check with your wellness coordinator for activities that may be available at your district.

Healthy Weight‐Move More, eat fewer calories.

Healthy Weight Week is Jan. 16‐ Jan. 22.

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Healthy Weight‐Move More, eat fewer calories.

Healthy Weight Week is Jan. 16‐ Jan. 22. (cont.)

Why Is a Healthy Weight Important? Reaching and maintaining a healthy weight is good for your overall health and will help you prevent and control many diseases and conditions. Consider the following risks if you are overweight or obese:

High blood pressure

High blood cholesterol

Type 2 diabetes

Coronary heart disease

Stroke

Gallbladder disease

Arthritics

Sleep apnea and breathing problems

Some cancers – endometrial, breast, prostate, colon

You must balance the calories you get from food and beverages with the calories you use to keep your body going and being physically active. This balance may require eating fewer calories and increasing physical activity. Making healthy food choices that are lower in fats, especially saturated and trans fat, and salt can help you cut back on calories. Pay attention to portion sizes.

What is a Portion? A “portion” is the amount of a food that you choose to eat for a meal or snack.

What is a Serving? A “serving” is a measured amount of food or drink, such as one slice of bread or 1 cup of milk.

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Heart Health: February is Heart Health Awareness month.

To help you lower your risk of heart disease, adopt some of the

following simple changes.

Healthy Habit No. 1: Eat Breakfast Every Morning.Research shows people who have a morning meal tendto take in more vitamins and minerals, and less fat andcholesterol.

Healthy Habit 2: Add Fish & Omega-3 Fatty Acids toYour Diet

week. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reducethe risk of heart disease.

Healthy Habit 3: Get Enough SleepYou need up to 7 to 8 hours each day.

Healthy Habit 4: Make Social ConnectionsCommunal activities are good for your physical andmental health. How about a walking group.

Healthy Habit 5: Exercise for Better Health

Healthy Habit 6: Practice Good Dental HygieneFlossing your teeth every day could add 6.4 years toyour life, according to Michael Roizen, MD author ofRealAge.

Healthy Habit 7: Take Up a HobbyHobbies redirect your attention from stressful dailyactivities.

Healthy Habit No. 8: Protect Your SkinOur skin starts to age as soon as we are born. Toprotect your skin and look younger, stay out of thesun.

Healthy Habit No. 9: Snack the Healthy Way

and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet. Addthem to your diet as snacks.

Healthy Habit No. 10: Drink Water and Eat DairyThe body needs water to keep properly hydrated.Joints need water to stay in motion and vital organssuch as heart, brain, kidney, and liver need it to workproperly.

Healthy Habit No. 11: Drink TeaDecaffeinated tea is best. There is evidence that teamay help improve memory, prevent cavities, cancerand heart disease.

Healthy Habit No. 12: Take A Daily WalkNeed we say more? What about your healthy heart?

Healthy Habit No. 13: Plan“A little planning goes a long way.” “Eating healthynever happens by accident.”

13 13 13 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life: Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life: Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life:

(Taken from WebMD).

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It’s your health history, a medical library, and a customizable organizer rolled into one secure and easy‐to‐use tool. The Personal Health Record lets you establish a secure, Web accessible location that you control to organize and store all of your health data.

With the Personal Health Record you can:

Review medical and pharmacy claims information, as well as lab results

Record allergies and immunizations

Record your family health history and personal contacts

Track your progress with important Health Trackers such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and weight

Print or download a historical claims summary known as the Personal Health Summary, which can be taken to a doctor’s appointment to review with your physician

Customizable, reflecting your unique needs

Personal Health Record is customized with health information and reminders that reflect your specific health conditions. And, you may easily personalize it with detailed information important to you.

Confidential, personalized information

Personal Health Record will provide you with health information based on your age, gender, lifestyle habits, and diagnosed or self‐reported conditions and diseases.

Start today on myuhc.com

To access your Personal Health Record, logon to myuhc.com and select the Personal Health Record tab. Now is the best time to take control and proactively manage your health on myuhc.com.

Get the convenience and peace of mind of having your health information all in one place. Personal Health Record, your online, interactive personal health management system from UnitedHealthcare.

Why Preventive Care Is Important

Once you review your personal record on myuhc.com, you can check when you are due for some of the preventive care services that you might need to make appointments for this new year. Preventing disease and detecting disease early, if it occurs, are important to living a healthy life. And the better your health, the lower your health care costs are likely to be. Following these guidelines, along with the advice of your doctor, can help you stay healthy. Talk to your doctor about your specific health questions and concerns, and follow his or her recommendations. If you’d like more information on preventive care, visit

www.preventiveservices.ahrq.gov.

The next page provides you with preventive care guidelines recommended for adults over the age of 18. The recommendations apply to people of average risk in each age category. You may be at higher risk for certain diseases. Family history (whether your relatives have or had the disease), other health problems, or behaviors such as smoking all increase your risk. Talk with your doctor about whether you need more frequent exams.

Take Charge of Your Health Take Charge of Your Health Take Charge of Your Health --- WWWith the Personal ith the Personal ith the Personal Health Record on myuhc.com®Health Record on myuhc.com®Health Record on myuhc.com®

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