Make the Most of Biometric Screenings

It seems like lots of companies do biometric screenings for their employees these days. It’s a great way to give people a snapshot of their health. But knowing those numbers doesn’t help if they don’t understand what they mean. We have two handouts that can help – the Biometrics Screening Tool Handout Tearpad and the Printable Biometrics Form PDF.

On one side of these handouts, there’s space to record BMI, waist circumference, hemoglobin A1C, blood glucose, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol (including total, HDL, LDL, and triglycerides). On the other side, there’s a glossary with easy-to-understand descriptions of each measurement.

Individual instructions or goals can be written in the space on the bottom left of side one. If you use the printable PDF form, you can add a logo or message before printing.

Here are 10 ideas for lessons and messages to use with the Biometrics Screening handouts:

  1. A biometric screening provides a snapshot of your health. These numbers tell where you’re doing well and areas that need attention.
  2. Manage these numbers by being more active, eating more lean protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, and eating less high fat, high sugar processed foods.
  3. If you’re missing any measurements, take the handout to your doctor and ask to have blood tests or other measurements done.
  4. Calculate your BMI using the formula on the handout, or search online for “BMI calculator” and plug in your height and weight. If your BMI falls in the overweight or obesity categories, losing even a relatively small amount of weight can improve your health.
  5. Waist circumference can tell you a lot, but many physicians don’t take this measurement. Use the instructions on this handout to measure your own waist circumference (or ask someone to help you). If it’s 40+ inches (for men) or 35+ inches (for for women), your risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure increases.
  6. Hemoglobin A1C measures your blood glucose (or blood sugar) over the past few months. Normal is less than 5.7%; prediabetes is 5.7% to 6.4%; and diabetes is 6.5% or higher. The higher the number, the greater your risk of diabetes-related complications.
  7. Blood glucose (or blood sugar) is sometimes measured after you’ve fasted. Normal is less than 100; prediabetes is 100-125; and diabetes is 126 or higher. If you haven’t fasted, a blood glucose of 200 or more indicates diabetes.
  8. Blood pressure measurements are given as two numbers (top is systolic, bottom is diastolic). Normal blood pressure is less than 120/80. If your blood pressure is above normal, check the categories on the handout to see where you fall.
  9. Cholesterol isn’t just one number! Keep track of your “good” cholesterol (HDL) and “bad” cholesterol (LDL), as well as triglycerides, which are a type of fat found in the blood.
  10. When your biometrics are out of the normal range, your risk increases for diseases like obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Knowing your numbers gives you something to track besides just a number on the scale.

Display our Measuring Your Biometrics poster or banner at health fairs and screenings. People can compare their biometric results to normal or optimal numbers based on recommendations from the American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Presentation Inspiration: Diabetes

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 9.3% of all Americans have diabetes. That’s over 29 million people!

Over the years, my team and I have devoted ourselves to creating materials that can help you help people manage diabetes in a healthful way, and today I want to draw your attention to one resource in particular.

The Gold Member PowerPoint Archive.

This archive features hundreds of compelling PowerPoint presentations that you can use anytime. Available solely to gold members of the Food and Health family, the presentation library addresses a wide range of topics, including…

  • Cooking
  • Diabetes
  • Fad Diets
  • Health
  • Heart
  • Holiday
  • Hot Topics
  • Kids
  • MyPlate
  • Nutrition
  • Vegetarian
  • Weight
  • Wellness

Today, because of those crazy statistics, I want to offer a sneak peek into one of our most popular diabetes presentations. If you like what you see, consider a membership today!

The following is from Diabetes 101, a presentation that covers the basics of life with diabetes…

This show is comprehensive, beginning by addressing the causes of and statistics about gestational diabetes, type 1 diabetes, and type 2 diabetes. It then covers common diabetes vocabulary words — everything from insulin to pancreas — before diving into the ABCs of diabetes management. The show ends with an exploration of meal planning with diabetes, and this exploration is as comprehensive as the rest of the presentation, addressing carbohydrate counting, protein servings, types of fat, and the importance of fiber.

Today we’re going to take an abbreviated look at the ABCs of diabetes management.

When it comes to successfully managing your diabetes and staying healthy, it’s important to remember your ABCs. In this case, A stands for A1C, B stands for blood pressure, and C stands for cholesterol levels. Let’s explore each one in more detail, shall we?

A1C is the “A” of diabetes management, and it’s a measure of the amount of glycated hemoglobin in the blood… So why on earth should this matter to you? Well, this number is a good indication of your blood glucose levels over the past few months.

When it comes to interpreting this measurement, you should know that the higher the number is, the greater your risk is of having some kind of diabetes-related complication. This could affect your heart, kidneys, or eyes!

The “B” of diabetes management is blood pressure. Do you know what your numbers are?

Blood pressure is a measure of the force your blood exerts against your artery walls. It’s recorded in two numbers, which are then stacked on top of each other. The top number is your systolic pressure. That’s the measure of the force on your artery walls when your heart beats. The bottom number is called diastolic pressure, and that’s the force on your artery walls between heartbeats.

Blood pressure is important for everyone, but it’s especially important if you have diabetes because having diabetes raises your risk of heart disease. The American Diabetes Association recommends that people with diabetes keep their blood pressure below 140/90 (source) but less is better of course!

Cholesterol is the third part of the ABCs of diabetes. Like blood pressure, your cholesterol levels are indicators of heart health. It’s wise to get your cholesterol checked at least once a year. When you get those levels checked, you’ll likely learn about your triglycerides, HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels, and total cholesterol levels. Let’s take a look at each of these in more detail, shall we?

I’m afraid we’re going to end on a cliffhanger here. I had to eliminate a few slides with more details for each of the letters in this section in order to fit the parameters of a “sneak peek,” but there’s an idea of what you can get as a gold member of the Food and Health family! I hope you enjoyed it and that it will be useful to your clients.

Tabletop Flip Charts

Here’s a collection of tabletop flip charts that can be used for student, patient, and client education!

Use them in employee wellness fairs, health fairs, exam rooms, offices, and classrooms. They fit on a table and flip easily to teach people important lessons about a variety of topics including MyPlate, diabetes, and cholesterol.

Take a look!

chart1

chart2

myplatechart

Best of all, these charts are very portable and can be used without electricity. They are hands-on because clients can read them and flip them at their own pace.

After all, pictures and infographics speak a thousand words!

Speaking of MyPlate, here’s a free copy of one of our most popular MyPlate handouts, just in case you missed it!

holidaymyplate-nes

And here are a few more MyPlate resources that you might like!

 

Nutrition Posters for the Workplace

My team and I have created tons of posters over the years, and some of my very favorite ones teach lessons that are important to showcase in the workplace.

We have posters that are designed to bring “better numbers like blood pressure, cholesterol, and BMI” or to motivate in a fun way like the food art posters. There are also ones that teach great nutrition lessons and promote positive reinforcement and education.

Let’s take a tour through some of the best options, shall we?

Top Heart Posters:

Top BMI Poster:

Best Nutrition Lessons:

Favorite Motivational Posters:

And of course there is our entire collection of over 150 posters. Which ones will best brighten up your workspace?

And, as a special bonus because I love ya, here’s a free copy of the printable PDF handout that accompanies the Fabulous Fruits and Vegetables poster.

fruitsandvegetablesposter

Smart Consumer: Everything You Need to Know About Eggs

I think we’ve all been there. Standing at the egg display in the local grocery store wondering which one to pick…

IMGP9498The options are many. Do you want large eggs or medium? Are some really more nutritious than others? Or what about the low-cholesterol egg substitutes? Choices, choices, choices.

I spoke with representatives from both the American Egg Board and the Ohio Poultry Association, and they helped me answer some of these questions. Together, we sorted through the misinformation, myths, and personal anecdotes about eggs.

Here’s what I learned…

Consumers have many choices when it comes to purchasing eggs. These options can be based on usage, nutrient needs, and personal values. When it comes time to choose what kinds of eggs you want to buy, keep these ideas in mind…

Due to changes in farming and feeding, today’s eggs contain more vitamin D and are lower in cholesterol than before. In 2011, the USDA re-evaluated the nutrients found in eggs. Now they show that one large egg contains 75 calories as well as 41 IU of vitamin D (64% more than in the 2002 data analysis) and 185 milligrams of dietary cholesterol (this is down from the earlier level of 220 milligrams.) Eggs are good sources (a little over 6 grams) of high-quality protein.

In an effort to reduce cholesterol, calories, and fat, some people are using just egg whites. This can be done by separating the whites from the yolks once you crack an egg open. You can also buy an egg substitute. Some egg products come in milk carton-style packages and are just egg whites. Others contain added ingredients that make them look and taste like whole eggs. But think about what you really want from these options. Yes, all of the fat and cholesterol in an egg can be found in the yolk, and of the 75 calories in a large egg, 54 of them come from the yolk. But remember that the yolk is a good source of vitamin D and two carotenoids — lutein and  zeaxanthin. These carotenoids help protect against macular degeneration as we age.

Eggs can come in different colors!Usually, an egg is packaged the day it is laid and is in the store within three days after that. The date the egg is packed is provided on the carton in the “Julian date”. This is a three-digit code for the day of the year. For example February 1 would be 032 and December 31 would be 365.* Sell-by dates or expiration dates are not federally required, but, if listed, they cannot be longer than 45 days after packing. If refrigerated, eggs will keep in the refrigerator for 4-6 weeks after you buy them, which is right about 5 weeks. I go into more detail about this in the post How Old is that Egg?

The size of an egg is determined by the weight per dozen. All sizes of eggs work for scrambling, hard-cooked, or poaching. In fact, I like the medium eggs for these purposes, since they are slightly smaller but just as pretty. If you’re baking, it’s best to go for the large eggs. Most recipes are designed with this size egg in mind.

Now, what about those eggs that claim to be higher in certain nutrients or lower in cholesterol? If a product label indicates a nutrient difference from the standard, then these claims need to be documented through research. Yes, it is possible to slightly alter the nutrients in the eggs through the chicken’s feed. For example: if a chicken is fed food that is high in flax seed, then the resulting eggs can be higher in vitamin D. But, you’re going to pay for a higher price for these eggs due to the higher cost of the feed. Whether you buy eggs with more vitamin D is a personal choice.  The same goes for organic, free-range and cage-free eggs. The USDA nutrient analysis shows that these eggs are all nutritionally the same as traditionally farmed eggs, but the circumstances in which the chickens are kept may vary.

Even though it makes shopping more difficult, I think we’re lucky to have all of these choices. Which eggs will you pick?

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University

*Except on a leap year, of course!

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN Materials

NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN Materials

Want to help your clients become smart consumers? Try some of these great new products from the Nutrition Education Store!

Nutrition Poster Value Set

Portion Control Handout Tearpad

Personalizing MyPlate DVD

Thank you for scrolling! Here’s a free egg handout — I hope you enjoy it!

Free Egg Handout

Invisible Eggs

In the process of my husband’s recovery from a heart attack, he has been working hard at improving his diet and exercise habits. He’s also been going to Cardiac Rehab three days a week.  Near the end of the program, they sent him home with a survey to complete so that he and his instructors could see how his diet has changed.

Before the heart attack, my husband was eating a fairly healthful diet. Needless to say, I was curious to see how his survey would be “graded.” As he was completing the survey, one of the questions stood out to us both. It asked, “How many visible eggs have you eaten in the last week?”

This got him joking about “invisible eggs.” How could he eat an egg that he couldn’t see?

After some thought (and a few laughs), we realized that the questionnaire was really asking about the number of whole eggs he was eating.  These would be eggs eaten as scrambled eggs, over-easy, or even deviled eggs. This type of egg is easy to see and easy to count.

The other type of eggs, “invisible eggs,” must be the ones that are combined with other foods. You know, the eggs in cakes, cookies, meat loaf, crab cakes and combination foods. These are the eggs that you don’t see, and that makes them more difficult to count.

The American Heart Association recommends cutting back on foods that are high in dietary cholesterol. They say to eat less than 300 milligrams (mg) of dietary cholesterol each day. That’s been the recommendation for all Americans with normal blood cholesterol levels for at least 20 years. That’s nothing really new.

Research is still showing that diets high in dietary cholesterol do have an effect on blood cholesterol levels, especially LDL (a.k.a. “bad”) cholesterol. I have seen some recommendations for people with heart disease to try to keep this number to 200 mg a day — but no one has made that recommendation to us.

What does 200-300 mg of cholesterol per day look like? Not a lot.

A medium-sized egg has about 185 mg of cholesterol. A large egg has about 215 mg. Two eggs for breakfast would quickly wipe out the recommendation of less than 300 mg a day.

All the cholesterol in eggs is in the yolks.  Egg whites without the yolks are a heart-healthy protein.  We’ve gone to substituting liquid egg whites for most of the eggs we eat. In most recipes, two whites will equal a whole egg. Replacing an egg with egg whites also helps reduce total fat and total calories in the diet.

Baked goods and other foods often contain “invisible” eggs. Those “invisible” eggs count toward that 300 mg a day limit too.

Keep in mind that two eggs spread over 12 muffins or a whole cake don’t add up as quickly as those two eggs eaten sunny-side up.*

Remember, eggs are only part of the cholesterol equation. It’s also recommended for people with high blood cholesterol levels to reduce not only the amount of dietary cholesterol they eat but also reduce their saturated fat and trans fat consumption.  In addition to helping with the cholesterol levels, reducing saturated and trans fats can help with overall calories, getting people closer to meeting their weight loss goals. Family history and genetics also play a big role in blood cholesterol levels.

Like many folks with heart disease, my husband is also on a cholesterol-lowering drug.  His cardiac doctor is recommending them for at least a year for overall artery health.

Thinking that drugs are not the only answer, we’re being aware of all eggs — visible or invisible — for the long haul.

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS
Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Are you looking for ways to reduce cholesterol, saturated fat, or trans fat consumption? Check out these great resources!

How Much Fat is in That? Poster

Cholesterol 101 Education Bundle

Make the DASH: Heart Health Brochure

* The fat and sugar and other ingredients in that cake or muffins is another story for another day.

Free Handout: Substitute Your Way to Heart Health

It’s time for another free nutrition handout! This week’s installment is all about simple substitutions that your clients can make in order to improve their heart health. There’s a preview below, and, if you like what you see, scroll down for a link to download the PDF for free.

Choose OatmealBaked Goods

  • Choose oatmeal or another whole grain cereal instead of baked goods. Top your oatmeal with fruit and skim milk.
  • You can also try 100% whole wheat breads instead of sugary baked goods. After all, MyPlate does insist that people should make at least half of all the grains they eat whole grains, every day.

Butter

  • Try trans-fat-free light tub margarine instead of butter.

Cheese

  • Substitute fat-free ricotta for regular or reduced-fat ricotta.
  • Use a little bit of cheese that has a strong flavor instead of a lot of cheese that has a mild flavor. For example, try Swiss, Parmesan, or cheddar cheese as flavoring agents and keep the amount you use in the dish on the small side.

Egg Yolks

  • Use egg whites instead of whole eggs.
  • Try a nonfat egg substitute.

To see the whole handout, download it today!

If you’re looking for more nutrition education resources or items that address the diet and heart health education theme, check out the amazing featured products below…

Heart Health Poster Value Set

Lighten Up Your Cooking Handout

Lower Your Heart Attack Risk Score Heart Health Brochure