Upcoming health series focuses on wellness
A new study released on Monday and reported by WebMD revealed that young and middle aged women who eat blueberries and strawberries regularly may help lower their risk of a heart attack later.
This study followed more than 93,000 women for 18 years! And still the operative words were “may help” as in they “may not” and were followed, a few paragraphs later, with “the study is observational, meaning it does not prove that berries help with heart health.”
How in the world are we supposed to figure this all out? Come to the “Healthy Me, Happy Me” series that starts next Tuesday, Jan. 22, and continues for ten weeks to learn about the tried and true, proven and accepted path to wellness.
Two sessions are offered each week. One at 11 a.m. and the other at 12:30 p.m. Registration will be at the door at Panhandle State Bank’s Community Room. Each class is 45 minutes long with ample time for questions and answers.
Several questions came up this week. Such as where is PSB’s Community Room? You may know it better as Tango Café. It’s the big room past the atrium as you enter the big bank building on Church Street.
Who can attend? Everyone. Men and women. Old and young. Particularly those of you whose insurance deductibles can be lowered if you lower your weight, lower your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure … how low can you go?
Will I teach you how to cook? No. However, one week Audrey Buck and Leah Erban both registered dietitians and certified diabetes educators from Bonner General Hospital will guide us through the tricks of label reading, preparing healthy mid-week meals and how to develop a nutrition plan tailored to our specific health needs.
Is this about alternative medicine? No. Thomas Lawrence, M.D., board certified in family practice, is the medical director of the series. He’ll lead us through the classes on cholesterol and blood pressure with practical, understandable lessons on the whys and wherefores and how-to.
Dr. Lawrence will also guide us through the maze of the benefits of alcohol versus the detriment of alcoholism.
Will you monitor my weight? I won’t. You can. You will not be asked to share any personal information with the class facilitators. However, at the first session you will have the opportunity to be weighed and have your blood pressure taken by our medical professionals.
Also at the first session, Connie Malone, MS MT (ASCP), BGH’s laboratory manager ,will be on hand to explain lab tests and their importance. In other words, she’ll take the fear out of the dreaded needle!
Will this be practical for me? That’s up to you. But if you’re having trouble figuring out how to deal with the conflicts of balancing your life the course on stress will be of huge benefit for you. Brianna Thoreson, LCSW, a community mental health therapist with special interest in stress reduction will provide the tools to reduce the pressure, anxiety and worries of everyone’s everyday life.
Are you going to make me exercise? Maybe. Just maybe when you hear Jody Thoreson, RN BSN, the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation manager, explain how an exercise plan can be individualized to fit into your life and lots of fun you just might want to get up and do a happy dance.
Remember it’s “Healthy Me, Happy Me!” Give us 45 minutes a week for 10 weeks for just $10 and a new and, yes, happy you will be on your way to wellness.
Do you need or want more information? Call 264-4029 or email kathyleehubbard@yahoo.com.
Kathy Hubbard is a trustee on Bonner General Hospital Foundation Board. Healthy Me, Happy Me is co-sponsored by Panhandle State Bank at BGH Foundation.