Fruits and Veggies - More Matters Month
Whole Grains Month
National Yoga Month
Fruit and Veggies - More Matters Month: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Number crunching just got a whole new meaning. When you crunch on five or more fruits and vegetables a day, it adds big benefits to your total health. Plants are packed with thousands of health promoting phytochemicals, and research shows that they can work to improve your health.
Start your day with fruit or vegetable juice, slice some bananas or strawberries to top your breakfast cereal, or try including salad with lunch. Add a couple of fruits or veggies to dinner and you're up to five.
Whole Grains Month: The Whole Grains Council
We're all pretty familiar with how dietary fiber can keep our digestive system functioning like it should. What many people don't realize is that fiber also provides other health benefits, such as helping maintain a healthy heart.
Eating the recommended amounts of dietary fiber can help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure, and help prevent obesity, which are all risk factors in developing heart disease. Use these tips to increase your daily fiber intake:
- Eat more fruits and vegetables - at least 2 cups of fruit and 2 cups of vegetables a day
- Choose a variety of fiber sources such as berries, oatmeal, beans, whole grain bread and cereal
- Serve meat entrees on a bed of grilled zucchini, sauteed spinach or sliced onions
- Snack on air-popped popcorn, dry-roasted nuts and seeds
Bulk up on your knowledge about fiber and other healthy nutrition facts by browsing the Personal Health Manager's "For Your Health" section at Blue Access for Members. You can also find healthy recipes, log your weekly meals and create your grocery list based on your weekly meals through Personal Health Manager, so logon to Blue Access for Members today!
National Yoga Month: Yoga Health Foundation
People have practiced yoga for thousands of years in India. Yoga is based on the idea that the mind and body are one. Practitioners believe that yoga improves health by improving how you see the world, which calms the spirit and decreases stress.
Hatha is one of many types of yoga. Hatha yoga includes meditation and exercises to help you improve flexibility and breathing, decrease stress, and maintain health. While each type focuses on different aspects of yoga, all share the same goal, which is not only improved physical and mental health, but achievement of "oneness" with a higher being, the self, or some form of higher awareness.
Most people who try yoga for meditation find that it increases their flexibility and reduces stress. If you suffer from a long-term (chronic) medical condition, you can often combine yoga and conventional medical treatment.
Several studies have shown that yoga helps lower blood pressure, improves a person's sense of well-being, and can help people who have asthma learn to breathe more easily. A recent study determined that a 6-month yoga program improved fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis (MS).
HealthSelect participants have access to BlueExtras, the value-added programs provided by BCBSTX for discounts on a variety of alternative and complementary health care services and products. All current HealthSelect participants have access to these discounts.
You and your covered dependents have access to discounts for a variety of therapies that may help to improve wellness, prevent illness and address existing symptoms and conditions. HealthSelect participants are eligible to receive discounts of up to 30 percent for services such as:
- Yoga
- Pilates
- Massage Therapy
- Acupuncture
- Tai Chi
- Nutritional Counseling and more!
Also included are discounts to spas, wellness and fitness centers such as:
- Gold's Gym
- Lifetime Fitness
- Anytime Fitness
BlueExtras also includes discount programs for Jenny Craig, Curves and much more!
Source: 1995-2007, Healthwise, Incorporated, Christopher Hess & Paul Lehnert
For more information or to research other health topics, log in to Blue Access for Members and use the Personal Health Manager.
