Forks, Feet, Fingers, Friends

Nutrition (Plus) in the Workplace

For Healthy Hearts and Brains

October 18, 2014 Joel Kahn MD

Clinical Professor of Medicine,

WSU School of Medicine

www.drjoelkahn.com @drjkahn

Forks, Feet, Fingers, Friends

Simple Steps to Healthy Brains

and Heart:

Eat Healthy

Move

Don’t Smoke

Have Support

Investing in a culture that helps

employees reduce health risks will

facilitate a healthier and more

productive work environment.

Making the right thing to do the

easy thing to do

That company will ultimately …

The Best and The Brightest

Wellness Business

Reduce :

– Health care costs

– Absenteeism

– Workers Compensation claims

– Disability claims

AND…

Increase productivity!

There is no downside to such an investment.

Why Results-Based Wellness? “Chronic diseases related to lifestyle account for 75% of

national medical costs. Worksite wellness programs can

produce significant improvements in employee health.”

Centers for Disease Control- 2006

53% of U.S. adults think it is fair to ask those with

unhealthy lifestyles to pay more for their health insurance.

(Up from 37% only 3 years ago.)

Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive Poll

A WIN – WIN FOR EVERYONE !! !

1. Health Status

2. Life Expectancy

3. Disease Care Costs

4. Health Care Costs

5. Productivity

a. Absence

b. Disability

c. Worker’s Compensation

d. Presenteeism

e. Quality Multiplier

6. Recruitment and Retention

7. Company Visibility

8. Social Responsibility

Lifestyle Choices

Environmental

1. Leadership Vision

2. Policies/Procedures

3. Benefit Plans

4. Health Plans

5. Job Design

6. Incentives

Health Management

Programs

Gains for the Organization

Healthier Person

Better Employee

1981, 1995, 2000, 2006 D.W. Edington

FORK

The Fork: Food Changes Key

AP + PF – V- F = SAD

70% of calories in SAD come from

AP

Oil

Dairy

Sugar

7% from vegetables half of which are FF!

Processed Food as Poison:

Artery damage in minutes

lasting hours so don’t let

your employees eat it!!

GENES? Prostate Cancer

Lifestyle Trial Ornish D, et al., J Urol. 2005 Sep;174(3):1065-70

Randomized controlled trial:

– 93 men (non-smoking) on active surveillance for prostate cancer.

– low-fat, vegan diet, moderate aerobic exercise, stress management, and group support vs. Control

Results: – After 1 year, PSA ↓4% in the intervention group &

↑6% in the control group.

– Prostate cancer cell growth was inhibited ~8 times more by blood from the vegan vs. control group.

– RNA samples taken before the intervention compared with RNA samples taken 3 months into it, showed 48 genes had up-regulated and 453 had down-regulated. Epigenetics

Plant based diets and

healthy genes

63 heart patients follow the <10% fat, vegan Ornish program compared to 63 controls 61% drop in dietary

fat

Hypertension, obesity and cholesterol problems fell in half

26 genes changed at 3 months and 143 genes at one

year controlling inflammation and artery health

“Sustained modulation of gene expression through lifestyle changes may have beneficial effects on the

vascular system”

Ellsworth DL et al. Circ CV Genet 2/21/14

Pearls of Nutri-Wisdom

The whiter the bread the sooner your dead

Don’t buy your gas and food at the same building

If it is from a plant, eat it. If it is made in a plant, skip it.

If it turns your milk pink, skip it

If your grandma wouldn’t recognize it, skip it

Eat food, not too much, mostly plants

The Fork at Work

Healthy meeting policies

Healthy vending

Healthy snacks

Healthy celebrations

Top down leadership

A Good Local Example

University of Michigan health system, med

school won't sell sugary drinks in cafeterias

Fruit juices, milk, smoothies, flavored

waters, tea, coffee will be available

Nutritional Labeling

Feet: Cardiovascular

Benefits of Exercise

Anti-atherosclerotic

Improved lipids

Lower BPs

Reduced adiposity

Insulin sensitivity

Inflammation

Anti-ischemic

Myocardial O2 demand

Coronary flow

Endothelial dysfunction

Anti-arrhythmic

Vagal tone

Adrenergic activity

HR variability

Anti-thrombotic

Platelet adhesiveness

Fibrinolysis

Fibrinogen

Blood viscosity

Movement through

the day is key so don’t let your

employees sit all day long!!

Wait list growing for treadmill-desk at

Aetna’s New Albany office

Claims processors and sales reps at Aetna Inc.’s New Albany call center have walked 80 percent of the distance to the insurer’s Hartford, Conn., headquarters without leaving the office.

As part of an experiment in the company’s employee wellness program, the office is one of a handful in Aetna testing treadmill workstations made by office furniture maker Steelcase Inc.

ABEforFitness.com

The A-B-E (activity bursts everewhere) for Fitness program offers a free video library of 3 to 8 minute activity bursts that will allow you, your colleagues and your family to move and exercise everywhere, everyday! The exercise videos are organized by the setting (office, home, waiting area, etc), the body region involved, and whether the exercise is performed seated or standing.

The Feet at Work

Standing meetings

Walking meetings

Stand up desks

Treadmill desks

Mandatory stretch breaks

Balance Ball Chairs

Gym Memberships

Office yoga

Top down leadership

Fingers: Eliminate Smoking Now

Benefits of quitting smoking at any age:

• Lower risk of heart attacks, stroke, and lung disease

• Better blood circulation

• Not exposing others to second-hand smoke

There are free resources available to help you quit smoking.

Smoking and Brain Health

23

A Culture of Friends at Work

Simple Steps to Health Don’t smoke, eat plants 5+ a day, BMI under

30, few drinks a month, exercise resulted in

65% reduction in risk of heart disease

Add 7+ hours of sleep a night, 85%

reduction in heart disease

Breathing: The Easiest

Stress Management

BREATHING

EXERCISES

Breathing Exercises are

another great way to

reduce stress. A great

technique is the 4-7-8.

While inhaling, count to 4.

Hold your breath and count

to 7. And when you’re

exhaling, count to 8. Make

sure you’re counting on the

same interval!

Ditch

Toxins at

Work:

Plastics

Harm

Health

Michigan Obesity Rates

Adult Obesity rate, 30.4% (2010)

– Among 12 most obese states

Projected to rise to 59.4% by 2030 (if no change in average BMI)

Projected to rise to 53.4% if BMI overall is reduced 5%

From Trust for America’s Health: F as in Fat: how Obesity Threatens

America’s Future (2012) - with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

HEALTH RISKS WITH S.A.D.

HEART DISEASE

DIABETES

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE

OBESITY

HIGH CHOLESTEROL

ARTHRITIS/JOINT PROBLEMS

DEPRESSION/STRESS

DEMENTIAS ?

Diabesity

"Our ancient genes and our modern environment have collided." Our bodies store excess calories as fat. In ancient times calories were hard to come by. Today, fast food and junk food are everywhere. Coupled with our increasingly inactive lifestyle, the result is obesity.”

Francine Kaufman, M.D, Director, Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology, and

Metabolism at Children's Hospital in Los Angeles

Diabesity – Dementia Connection

Recent studies show that type 2 diabetes is

a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease,

vascular dementia, and other types of

dementia because cardiovascular problems

associated with diabetes are also

associated with dementia

Use work site strategies to prevent diabetes! Alzheimer’s Society of Canada, 2011.

Consider FAST

FOOD

Our bodies have

not kept up with

the high fructose,

salt and fat laden

foods that

industry

produces

cheaply! Provide

access to whole

foods at work!!

Consider A

Ban on Diet

Sweeteners

Artificial sweeteners disrupt the normal hormonal and neurological signals that control hunger and satiety…preferred taste sweetness is potentially addictive…

Give up stevia, aspartame, sucralose, sugar alcohols unless you want to slow down your metabolism, gain wait, and become an addict.

They make you hungrier, slow your metabolism, give you bad gas, and make you store fat

Dr. Mark Hyman

Food Matters Your daily food choices

matter….otherwise your

body must struggle to

overcome bad choices,

and diabesity

occurs…with all its

negative consequences

for your brain and body!

Pick one thing you can do that may help your brain

Think of small, first steps such as:

• Taking a 10-minute walk a few times a week

• Adding one serving of vegetables each day

• Making an appointment for health screenings or a physical exam

Write down what you will do and when

Get support from family, friends, or community groups!

What Can You Do Today For A

Healthy Brain At Work?

36

Dream Big