American Dietetic Association Turkey Take on Fried vs Roasted

Deep-frying a turkey is a Southern tradition that has gained nationwide popularity. The deep-frying process seals the outside of the turkey with a crisp texture while the inside stays juicy. Many people wonder if deep frying adds fat to a turkey. If the cooking oil stays hot enough -- 350 degrees F for the entire frying process -- deep-frying makes little difference. A 3½-ounce portion of deep-fried turkey with the skin on contains about 12 grams of fat, compared with 10 grams in a 3½-ounce portion of roasted turkey (white or dark meat) with the skin on. However, if the temperature of the cooking oil falls to 340 degrees F or less, more oil seeps into the turkey meat, adding to the fat content. To save fat and calories, enjoy turkey on Thanksgiving and throughout the year without the skin. That way, a 3½-ounce portion of roasted turkey (white or dark meat) has only 5 grams of fat. If you do choose to indulge and eat the skin this holiday season, be aware of the additional fat and engage in some extra physical activity to burn some of the additional calories and keep the oil hot!

Help Your Employees with Sleep Deprevation

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data collected with the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) from 2004-2006 demonstrated that an estimated 70 million Americans are negatively affected by chronic sleep loss or sleep disorders!

That is a very large statistic and could include part of your employee population.

Employees should know that maintaining a healthy sleep schedule is vital to psychological and physical well being. Excessive daytime sleepiness can degrade concentration, alertness, and thus decrease performance safety on the job. Sleep is also tied to hunger-mechanisms and therefore dietary balance. The general recommendation of sleep hours to maintain perceived calorie need is about eight hours.

Because sleep is such a vital component to a healthy workforce, you may want to sponsor a sleep education seminar at work. University Services is a sleep diagnostic and treatment center that offers sleep disorder testing and education http://www.uservices.com. The data from the CDC can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pubs/pubd/hestats/sleep04-06/sleep04-06.htm

For more information on sleep testing at your worksite contact: info@wellnesscorporatesolutions.com

In good health,

Juliet

Additional Ideas for Employees with Diabetes

This last blog reviewed some of the things you can do when a number of employees are diagnosed with diabetes and/or pre diabetes. Being diagnosed with a chronic disease like diabetes can be a shock, and many people feel overwhelmed by the news. Some feel angry, others go into denial. If an employer is willing to take the time to help those in need better understand their situation and help employees to start focusing on their diabetic health needs, they can saves lives and money at the same time. Research shows people who effectively manage their diabetes over time are better able to minimize or even prevent some the serious health and cost complications associated with the disease.

More Things You Can Do To Help

1. Hire a nurse or diabetes educator to come on site (contact http://www.wellnesscorporatesolutions.com/ to find a health professional) and have the nurse or diabetes educator hold an educational lunch and learn or have employees sign up for a one on one individual assessment to identify specific self management goals


2. Find a local pharmaceutical company that is willing to provide a seminar on the most updated meters and medications. juliet@wellnesscorporatesolutions.com/ for resources


3. Post a notice of some of the more popular Diabetes Blogs
   There is a long list at http://rpc.bloglines.com/


4. Try using a site such as: http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com. Diabetes Self-Management is a publisher of authoritative, reliable health information. They publish a bimonthly magazine, a weekly e-mail newsletter, a number of books, and a blog.

Diabetes management and education can be an interactive, collaborative, ongoing process with an employee. There are so many resources available to help. Contact juliet@wellnesscorporatesolutions.com/ for more information.

Help Educate Employees with Diabetes Information

November is American Diabetes Month®, a perfect opportunity to educate employees about the seriousness of diabetes. In 2005, approximately 21 million people in the United States had diabetes (a disease associated with severe morbidity and premature death) and at least 54 million U.S. adults had pre diabetes (i.e., risk for diabetes).

The health care costs for a person with diabetes can be staggering. The total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2007 was estimated to be $174 billion. Indirect costs resulting from increased absenteeism, reduced productivity, disease-related unemployment disability, and loss of productive capacity due to early mortality totaled $58 billion. This is an increase of $42 billion since 2002.

The workplace will be increasingly affected by Type 2 diabetes (the most common form of diabetes). Strategies for preventing and managing type two diabetes can help employees reduce their risk for the disease as well as other chronic conditions that may accompany the condition including heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

It is in a company's best interest to improve the lives of their employees and family members that are affected by type 2 diabetes. In doing so, companies can achieve higher productivity and reduce health care costs.

To increase diabetes awareness in your workplace you might want to start with the:

• http://store.diabetes.org/products/product_details.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441763814&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302024142&bmUID=1226277877868 This kit includes posters, table tents and diabetes risk tests. These materials are ideal for employee cafeterias, break rooms, fitness centers and other workplace locations.

In addition, the comprehensive

• Winning at Work Guide http://store.diabetes.org/products/product_details.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441763798&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302024143&bmUID=1226275084026 took kit includes resources to implement a multi-pronged workplace program.

You might also want to hold a:

• "carbohydrate weigh in" in front of the cafeteria to educate employees on portions sizes and how to count and weight their carbohydrates.

There are many other resources to help provide employees with information about detecting, preventing and managing diabetes. Go to:

• http://www.diabetes.org/communityprograms-and-localevents/waw-additional-resources.jsp for more information.

Make November a step toward improved health and productivity for all employees with diabetes!