HEALTH SPROUTS IN SPRING

2 PARTICIPATE IN DRIVEN TO WELLNESS

3 WELLNESS CHAMPION

3 HEALTHY FAMILY MAKEOVER CHALLENGE

4 KIDZ KORNER

4 TABLE TALK

5 RECIPE - BANANA POPS

6 REAL FOOD

8 STRIDES

9 ORAL HEALTH

10 HEALTH ON A BUDGET

WHAT’S INSIDE:

The Western Pennsylvania Teamsters and Employers

Welfare Fund

– DRIVEN TO WELLNESS PROGRAM

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PARTICIPATE IN DRIVEN TO WELLNESS

Protect your health and save money with the Driven to Wellness program. Simply complete your annual preventive exam and become eligible for the 2015 health care plan with the lowest cost-sharing.

The exam* must include:

• Blood Pressure

• Height/Weight

• Lipid Panel or Cholesterol or Fasting Blood Glucose

Both you and your spouse must get your exams before Sept. 30, 2014, to qualify for the 2015 health plan with the lowest cost-sharing. If you have any questions, please contact Member Service at 1-800-241-5704.

* Urinalysis and Complete Blood Count (CBC) are not required as part of your preventive exam and are not covered as routine services.

Both you and your spouse must get your exams before Sept. 30, 2014, to qualify for the 2015 health plan with the lowest cost-sharing.

AND SAVE ON YOUR 2015 HEALTH CARE COSTS

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The key to achieving long-term goals starts with day-to-day

activities. For lunch, try packing a half a sandwich,

a healthier side and mixing in a little conversation with a

friend or co-worker or read a good book. Shift the focus

away from the amount of food.

WELLNESS CHAMPIONMAKE A DAILY ACTION PLAN.

HEALTHY FAMILY MAKEOVER

Whether you have a future chef at home or you simply want your family to eat more vegetables, consider starting a vegetable garden. If you have kids, give them a chance to play in the dirt and see what you can grow together. Container gardening is an easy and affordable way to get started.

• Selecting containers. A variety of different containers will do the trick. An appropriate pot is one that holds dirt, but has a hole for drainage.

• Dirt matters. Consider purchasing ready-made soil, enriched with nutrients for growing hearty and vigorous plants.

• The perfect spot. The best spot is the one you walk by often. The more you walk by, the more likely you will be to care for it. Put your kids in charge of monitoring the progress!

• Get the right tools. Kid-friendly gardening tools, including gloves, rakes and shovels, come in a variety of colors. Make it fun and pick up your kids a hot pink rake or a neon green shovel.

• Find the right vegetable. Start with some vegetables that are considered to be best for beginner container gardens, such as carrots, green beans, tomatoes or strawberries.

• Quench the thirst. Have your kids take ownership in the process by assigning tasks, such as the daily watering responsibilities.

• Be proud. Allow children to pick vegetables when ripe and enjoy!

Challenge

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KIDZ KORNER Eat, Play, Love! Engage your future chef in the preparation of home-cooked meals and have fun at the same time! It’s a great way to introduce new foods to even the pickiest of eaters. Try these strategies for making it a success:

• Designate your child’s work space. Truth is, it’s going to be a bit messy!

• Quick, simple jobs keep kids stimulated. Rinsing the fruit or vegetables is probably easier and more interesting than peeling an orange.

• Go slow! Give one instruction at a time. This allows your child to see the outcome more easily and to be proud.

TABLE TALK “What would you like to drink with that?” asks the waitress. Some people think twice before gulping down 1,000 calories of food, yet may not even consider the “hidden calories” in beverages. If you’re looking to cut calories, beverages are a good place to start. From a 20 oz. soda with approximately 200 calories, to your morning latte with 265 calories, they can really add up during the day. So, spend your calories wisely and consider drinking less of them. Make water and other low-calorie drinks your beverages of choice.

Idea! While you are outside enjoying the beautiful spring weather, stay hydrated by drinking water flavored with lemon, cucumber, mint or ginger for a refreshing and thirst-quenching beverage.

THE PURSUIT OF EXERCISE With the temperature rising and the extra hours of sunlight, why not play a game of kickball, catch or Frisbee? These activities aren’t just for kids, but for the kid in all of us.

Quick Note: Don’t forget to wear your sunscreen!

Make water and other low-calorie drinks your beverages of choice.

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Frozen yogurt banana pops will provide you with the energy and nutrients you need—any time of the day.

THIS ISSUE’S RECIPE -

FROZEN YOGURT BANANA POPS Looking for a quick and easy breakfast idea, after workout

snack or dessert? Frozen yogurt banana pops will provide you

with the energy and nutrients you need—any time of the day.

FROZEN YOGURT BANANA POPSServings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas

• Low-fat yogurt

• 2 cups low-fat granola

Directions:

Peel bananas and cut in half. Insert Popsicle stick into each

banana, dip in yogurt and roll in granola until well-coated.

Freeze in Popsicle trays until solid—a few hours or overnight.

Enjoy!

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THE CONFUSING BUSINESS OF FOOD LABELING AND HOW IT AFFECTS WHAT YOU EAT What’s the difference between “organic” and “natural”? Plus, learn to find real “whole grain” foods.

Take a trip down any aisle in the grocery store and you’ll find food labels touting “delicious nature packed into every box,” or “made with only the freshest ingredients.”

Sounds good for you, but until you really check the label, you can’t know for sure.

“Don’t be fooled by pretty pictures of cornfields and cows,” says Rebecca Duncan, RD, LDN.

“It’s the ingredients that count, so you have to read the labels very carefully before you buy.”

REAL FOOD You can do a quick experiment to see that the label tells you what’s really inside the food you’re eating. Go to a coffee shop and pick up a prepackaged muffin. Muffins are supposed to be flour, eggs, sugar, milk, and some extras to make it your favorite flavor, right?

The label on the prepackaged muffin will tell you that assumption is no longer accurate. Now muffins in cafes across America can contain ingredients like cellulose gum and xanthan gum. Looks can be deceiving, but the label tells the true story.

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WHAT LABELS MEANThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has strict guide-lines about what words companies can put on food labels.

It can get confusing, however, because some words are recognized and regulated by the USDA and some aren’t.

Here are a few of the most important ones:

OrganicAccording to the USDA, organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future genera-tions.

Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.

Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers or bioengineering.

If you see the “USDA Organic” label, you can be sure that at least 95 percent of the ingredients in a product are organic.

NaturalLook out if you see this on a label. The word “natural” isn’t defined by the USDA, so it can mean just about anything.According to the USDA, “organic” and “natural” are not inter-changeable.

The same goes for terms like “free-range” and “hormone-free.” While these labels may be truthful, don’t confuse them with “organic.”

No added hormones or antibioticsThe Center for Food Safety says growth hormones are used in 80 percent of beef cattle to boost growth rates and increase body mass, and in dairy cows to make them more productive.

Antibiotics are used to treat infections resulting from growth hormones and to control disease outbreaks in cattle, pigs and poultry.

As a result, hormones and antibiotics end up in much of the beef, milk, cheese, yogurt and other products we eat every day.

Some doctors are concerned that these hormones and antibiotics are having negative effects on people who consume them, although the scientific community hasn’t yet reached consensus.

The information provided was obtained from reliable sources such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Heart Association, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and others.

© 2012 Highmark Inc., All Rights Reserved

Made with organic ingredientsThe USDA requires food with this label to guarantee that at least 70 percent of the product was made with organic ingredients.

Made with whole grainsThis is another confusing one for consumers, because any grain starts out as “whole grain.”

Whole grains are a great source of vitamins, minerals and fiber that regulate digestion, make you feel fuller on fewer calories and help your body maintain proper blood sugar levels.

Just keep in mind that unless you see whole grains listed in the first five ingredients, the manufacturer is using the term “Made with Whole Grains” as pure hype.

Terms for real, whole grains include:

Whole, whole kernel, whole grain, stone ground and unrefined

Terms for processed grains include:

Bleached, enriched, cracked, refined, de-germinated and milled

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STRIDESSTRIDES FOR HEALTH WRAP-UPCongratulations! You should be proud of yourself for sticking with the program. How many minutes did you log, or how many miles did you walk?

We hope you had fun and discovered the rewards of a regular walking program. If you find your motivation fading, remind yourself about how much better you feel and the benefits you gain when you walk on a regular basis. Once you get in the groove, it will be hard to imagine NOT taking a walk as part of your daily routine.

Consider joining a walking club or an online social networking group dedicated to walking. Or, form your own walking group with friends or coworkers. Set up your own team or walking page on an Internet social networking site, such as Twitter, Facebook or MySpace.

Continue to track your days, minutes and /or miles walked to ensure that you maintain or achieve your goals. Monitoring is one of the most important tools for maintaining lifestyle changes. From simple paper tracking to high-tech wireless devices, there are many tracking tools to help you stay on the road to an active lifestyle. Find one that works for you!

STEPPING OVER HURDLESThink you’re too busy to exercise? You don’t have to spend hours exercising to see a health benefit. If you can’t reach your walking goals in one session, accumulate your time over the course of the day. For example, if your goal is to walk 30 minutes daily, walk 10 minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the afternoon and 10 minutes in the evening. If you really want to make a change, you can find ways to get more activity into your daily routines.

EACH STEP IS A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTIONThis is a great time to review your goals and reflect on the “strides” you’ve made since day one. Even if you haven’t reached your walking goal every day, you’ve likely made definite improvements. It’s okay if you did not meet your goals every day. What counts is what you do to meet them most of the time.

Evaluate your goals if you are consistently NOT meeting them. It’s self-defeating to set goals and constantly fall short. These are YOUR goals... no one else’s. If you feel your walking goal has become too high for you to maintain on a consistent basis, then consider backing off a bit. If possible, continue to maintain or increase your average walking time by 10 to 20 percent until you achieve your goal.

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THE HARD FACTS ON SOFT DRINKSWe all have a sweet tooth—and enjoy the taste of soft drinks and sugar. There’s nothing wrong with that. Unless you overdo it. Soft drinks and sugary beverages can hurt your teeth.

ACIDS AND SUGAR: THE REAL CULPRITSWhen you sip a sugary drink, the sugar mixes with bacteria in your mouth and produces acid. The acids coat your teeth’s enamel, and wear away this outer covering. That can open the door to tooth decay.

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO?• Limit the amount of soft drinks you consume. The less added sugar in your diet, the better. Women and men should consume no more than 6-9 teaspoons of added sugar per day.* That’s about half the sugar in most 20-ounce soft drinks.

• Limit the time the sugars stay in your mouth. Drink your beverage in one sitting. Sipping keeps sugars and acids in contact with your teeth and wears down the enamel faster. Or, use a straw and position it toward the back of your mouth. That helps keep the sugar off your teeth. When you’re done, rinse with water to wash off the sugar.

• Stay away from sticky foods. They fill in every nook and cranny in your teeth, are hard to remove, and can loosen your dental work. Even foods like potato chips can easily become lodged between the spaces in your teeth. Be sure to brush and rinse after you indulge.

• If you must eat them, eat sugary treats with a meal. When you’re eating a meal, extra saliva is produced in your mouth. This saliva helps break down the harmful acids that attack tooth enamel and helps rinse away the sugars.

• Drink water! It cleans the mouth and neutralizes acids. It’s a healthy alternative with no added sugar.

Bonus Tip: Don’t chew ice. Your teeth are designed to last a lifetime, but they were made for food only. Chewing ice can cause fracture lines, cracks and chips, which can make the teeth more sensitive and lead to further damage. It can also damage any dental work you may have, leading to pain and costly repairs. Try sugar-free gum instead.

ORAL HEALTHSOFT DRINKS & SUGARY BEVERAGES

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GET IN SHAPE WITHOUT STRETCHING YOUR BUDGET

GET DISCOUNTS AT NEARLY 8,000 FITNESS LOCATIONSWhether you want to lose weight and maximize your energy, or manage stress and improve your mood, here’s a great, low-cost way to meet your goals. Healthways™ Fitness Your Way allows you to join a network of fitness facilities for a discounted rate, so you can work out anywhere when it’s convenient for you – at a cost that doesn’t stretch your budget.

HOW IT WORKSHealthways Fitness Your Way gives you access to nearly 8,000 fitness locations, including select national chains. As a Healthways Fitness Your Way member, you can visit any participating fitness location – anytime, anywhere – as often as you like.

Pay only $25 a month, plus a low $25 enrollment fee, and make a three-month commitment. Do it all online. Then put your fitness plan into action.

HOW TO ENROLLLogin to HighmarkBCBS.com (or register for access by following the instructions).• Select “Your Coverage.”• Select “Member Discounts.”• Select “Healthy Choices” and accept the conditions.• Select Healthways Fitness Your Way.• Print your temporary membership card.• Watch for your permanent card in the mail.• Present your card at the facility you choose.

You will be billed for $25 monthly. If you prefer, you can call 1-888-242-2060 to enroll. For member web support, please call 1-877-298-3918. The fitness center discount is separate and distinct from your health benefits plan.

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Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Blue Cross, Blue Shield and the Cross and Shield symbols are registered service marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Highmark is a registered mark of Highmark Inc.

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