Culver’s of Lombard to Support Special Olympics  

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Culver’s of Lombard, 1155 S. Main St., is partnering with Special Olympics Illinois this August with several in-store activities planned, most notably the 4th annual ‘ButterBurgers & Badges’ fundraising event on Thursday, August 30, from 4-8 p.m.

ButterBurgers & Badges will feature local law enforcement officers providing table service for guests dining inside, and also delivering the chain’s famed burgers and fresh frozen custard desserts to those visiting the drive-thru.

The officers will collect tips for their service, which along with one dollar for every purchase of any size Culver’s Concrete Mixer, will benefit Special Olympics.  In addition, local Special Olympics athletes will be on-hand to meet and greet guests and sign autographs.

ButterBurgers & Badges is part of a month-long initiative by more than 30 Culver’s locations across Chicagoland that includes participating stores proudly displaying ‘Change for Champions’ donation canisters near counter areas.

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7 Effective Stress-Busting Techniques for Salespeople  

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Dan Sincavage, a Co-Founder of Tenfold and current Chief Strategy Officer shared with Healthy Lombard the following article:

Your alarm clock goes off for the nth time this morning. Snooze button abused.

You’re late for work — so you miss breakfast and grab a coffee on the way – which, of course, you spill on your suit.

Arrive at the office, sit down and start calling customers who just aren’t too enthusiastic about your company’s offer. You try your best to strike up new leads, do everything you can to keep the sale on the line, and then all of a sudden, the client decides to go to your biggest competitor instead. You keep on going, mindful of the weekly, monthly and yearly quotas that you need to meet to keep your family well-provided for.

If you’re a sales professional, chances are you’ve experienced this scenario at least once in your career. While salespeople are often expected to be lively and energetic at all times, the long hours, the growing list of responsibilities and the pressure to meet quotas can all add up and take its toll.

In fact, sales professionals are considered by some experts as highly overworked.

“As technology automates much of the function, there is simply no need for a human interface,” said Roy, a career coach and author of The Wall Street Professional’s Survival Guide. “Since the products are now not much more than commodities, salespeople are seeing shrinking spreads and fewer opportunities to generate rich commissions.”

More stress= less sales?

We all know that too much stress is bad. It can make us overeat, sleep too much or too little, lose focus, and if left untreated can lead to diseases like diabetes, hypertension and other cardiovascular illnesses.

But did you know that apart from its ill-effects on your personal health, stress also has economic consequences? An article released by the Farleigh Dickinson University shows that “workplace stress costs U.S. employers an estimated $200 billion per year in absenteeism, lower productivity, staff turnover, workers’ compensation, medical insurance and other stress-related expenses.”

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Hepatitis C  

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 3.5 million people in the United States have hepatitis C. What exactly is it, and why should you care about hepatitis C? Corinna Dan, the Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor at the HHS Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, is here to explain. Read Corinna’s interview to learn how you can get hepatitis C and whether some women are at higher risk.

Viral hepatitis is a group of viruses that affect the liver. In the United States, hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common types of viral hepatitis. These viruses can cause mild to severe illness, with the most severe being liver failure and death.

Hepatitis C is unique for two reasons: It is the most common type of viral hepatitis in the United States, and it is one of the only curable chronic or long-lasting viral infections.

An acute infection is short-term, meaning the infection lasts less than 6 months. Hepatitis C always starts as an acute infection, but 75 to 85% of acute infections become chronic, meaning that the infection can last a lifetime. If hepatitis C is left untreated, it can cause serious health problems. Problems include liver damage, cirrhosis (scarring of the liver), liver cancer, and even death. The good news is that new treatments can cure most people with hepatitis C.

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Don’t Fall Prey to Couch Potato Syndrome  

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Susan Mahoney wrote for AARP in their Healthy Living Blog that you’ve heard “sitting is the new smoking” so many times you’re ready to throttle someone. “I can’t help it,” you may want to say. “Is it my fault my job keeps me sitting at a desk for 50 hours a week?” To some people, even regular exercisers, the health curse of sedentary behavior has been starting to feel like a death sentence.

But an important new analysis finally has good news for desk jockeys. The research, which focused on 16 studies of the risk of sedentary behavior, found that 60 to 75 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each day eliminates the elevated risk of death from sitting too much. But the news isn’t great for couch potatoes: People who watch three hours or more per day still have an elevated risk, no matter how much they work out.

“60 to 75 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each day eliminates the elevated risk of death from sitting too much.”

“I had expected that physical activity would mitigate the hazards of sitting,” says I-Min Lee, M.D., a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the authors. “What was more unexpected to me is that with enough activity, the hazard of sitting for mortality can be completely eliminated.”

She says it isn’t clear why TV sitting is much harder to counter with exercise than other types of sitting. One possibility? “Long hours that people spend watching TV may be a marker of a more unhealthy lifestyle in general, including being less likely to exercise,” she says. The studies all focused on people 45 and older, and she says it’s also possible that unlike younger people, who are more likely to be watching videos throughout the day, “older people usually watch TV in the evenings after eating dinner, which might affect their metabolism.” And there’s always the chance that people snack more while watching TV.

How Much Exercise Do You Need?

Gym rats are breathing a sigh of relief at this news, while couch potatoes are likely to view 60 to 75 minutes of exercise a day as impossible.

Lee acknowledges that the chunk of time “may seem huge for many people.” But the data showed that “any activity you do that is more than five minutes a day of brisk walking mitigates your risk of dying prematurely.” So while people who exercised less than an hour a day didn’t eliminate the risk of premature death, they did improve their odds.

This study didn’t look at people who exercise more heavily on weekends—someone who seldom works out during the week but then takes long hikes on Saturdays, for example—but it’s likely that they’re getting a mitigating impact, too, Lee says.

Turn to Your Phone

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Last Flat Apple Event – August 18, 2018  

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Kids ages pre-school through high school are invited to visit the Lombard Cruise Night Kids Corner Area on Saturday, August 18 from 6 – 9 PM and earn Flat Apple participation tickets for great prizes like a mini iPad, a bike, sports equipment, gift cards, etc.

Participants do not have to be residents of Lombard but do need to register. Registration can be done online at https://healthylombard.com/flat-apple-2018/ or in person at the event.

This is the final Foat Apple event for 2018 since the drawing for prizes will be held at the  September 8 Healthy Lombard Partners’ Meeting.

Winners will be notified by email or phone and their FIRST names will be posted on the Flat Apple 2018 page of the Healthy Lombard website.  The prizes will be distributed on September 29 at the William J. Mueller Gazebo, located between the Lombard Historical Society building and the Coach house.

If a ticket selected belongs to a child that is not registered, he/she cannot win and the prize will go to a child that is registered.

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Eating balanced snacks help control blood sugar  

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Joshua Steckler, owner of Push Fitness, a personal training studio located in Schaumburg specializing in weight loss, muscle toning, and nutrition shared in the Daily Herald Newspaper that if you want to permanently take control of your weight, your best option may be to eat more — more often, that is.

Eating more often does not necessarily mean eating more calories, but spreading out your calories into more portioned meals and snacks.

Your food intake should be timed every few hours — alternating meals and snacks to fuel your body consistently throughout the day, rather than eating once you actually feel hungry.

Of course, the types of foods you eat have a huge impact as well.

Snacking on sugary foods that hold no nutritional value will do nothing more than starve your body of nutrients while enhancing fat storage.

Eating balanced snacks between meals will help control your blood sugar — something your body is constantly trying to stabilize so you can perform efficiently.

If your blood sugar drops too low, you’ll feel a crash in energy levels, you may become moody, shaky, or irritable, and you’re more likely to reach for something sugary or unhealthy. Your ability to make sound food choices at this point becomes more difficult.

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Eating Well Away from Home  

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Lynn Dugan – MyPlate2Yours shared that while on vacation or traveling away from home, it may seem difficult to keep up the healthy eating habits! Don’t worry, with these tips you won’t have to sacrifice good nutrition. Here are a few important reminders to help us eat healthy while we are on the road:

Bring healthy snacks

  • On a road trip?  In a cooler, pack plenty of water, fresh fruit, single-serving yogurts and cheese sticks.

  • Snacks that don’t require refrigeration include whole grain crackers, trail mix, dried fruit, nuts, and bananas (items which are readily available at convenience stores while traveling). Also available in many grocery stores are hummus and peanut butter packed in ‘to-go’ individual containers.

Tips to remember while eating meals at restaurants:

  • Share entrees.

  • Pick menu items that are broiled, grilled, and baked (instead of fried).

  • Opt out of the french fries and ask for a side salad, fresh fruit, or vegetable side instead.

  • It’s always a good habit to ask for salad dressing ‘on the side’ to control the amount added.

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Are Friends Important?  

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Clare Ansberry asked in the Wall Street Journal’s Turning Point section, “Are baby boomers anti-social?”Here is her answer:  Members of the baby boom generation, especially those 55 to 64 years old, are less socially engaged than people the same age 20 years ago, according to researchers at the Stanford Center on Longevity.

The big question is why, says Tamara Sims, a Stanford research scientist, who is collecting more data with her colleagues to figure out the answer.

Theories are already emerging. Boomers, especially women, are working more or devoting themselves to caring for parents, leaving less time to see friends or help out at church. They are interacting differently, perhaps joining an online literacy initiative rather than volunteering at a library. “They may be engaging in virtual ways not captured by the data,” says Dr. Sims, 41, who is organizing a conference on the role of social media in engagement.

Cathy Jones Parks would like to be more engaged but cares full-time for her 84-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer’s and lives with her. Ms. Parks still tries to go to church on Sundays, relying on her husband to stay with her mom but has cut back volunteering there as a lector. Going to a movie, attending a wedding or taking trips means finding people to stay with her mom. In the rural area where they live, about 180 miles from Albuquerque, N.M., there aren’t many support services, like respite care.

“You just start not accepting invitations,” says Ms. Parks, 55, who gave up her job as director of a regional educational cooperative to care for her mother. “Your social life becomes doctors’ appointments and those sorts of things.”

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Get Prepared for Back-to-School  

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While kids are enjoying the long days of summer, the new school year is fast approaching.

For parents and students managing food allergies, back-to-school season is the time to get ready for a safe, successful year. FARE has the tools to help you prepare your family and your school for the year ahead.

  • First, find everything you need at Your Back-to-School Headquarters. Foodallergy.org has your one-stop destination for all the essential documents, forms, training and information to launch the new school year safely.
  • Next, share vital knowledge by sending a food allergy resource packet to a school. When you donate $30 to our poster drive, we will send an age-appropriate packet of posters, handouts, and resources to the school or community building of your choice to help educate and raise food allergy awareness.

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The numbers that matter most in staying healthy  

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Cara Rosenbloom, a registered dietitian, and President of Words to Eat By, a nutrition communications company specializing in writing, nutrition education and recipe development shared in The Washington Post that Health often seems like a numbers game.

What’s your blood-sugar level? How many calories are you eating? And are you getting the right percentage of macros (or micronutrients)?

The problem is that sometimes we track, count and obsess over numbers that don’t matter very much for our overall health. Or worse, we ignore numbers that do matter.

I was curious about which numbers my fellow dietitians consider the most important. I sought feedback from 20 experts who work in either hospitals or private practice. Here are the data that have the most clinical importance, and the ones they tell their patients to ignore.

Important numbers

Half your plate

Instead of counting every calorie, dietitians recommend that clients simplify food decisions by using a plate model, where you choose the right proportions of each food.

That means filling half your plate with vegetables and some fruit; one quarter with protein-rich foods such as fish, poultry or beans; and the final quarter with whole grains such as quinoa or brown rice. The Healthy Eating Plate from Harvard University is a great example of a plate model.

25 to 35 grams

That’s how much fiber a day we need for optimal health, but most Americans get just 16 grams per day.

Getting enough fiber helps lower cholesterol and blood sugar levels, prevents certain cancers, eases constipation and keeps you feeling full for longer, which is helpful for weight management.

Get more fiber from vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains (or just follow the healthy plate model, mentioned above).

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