World Heath Day is a day of celebration which aims to build awareness of specific health issues and to highlight areas of concern for the World Health Organisation.

To mark the day we have spoken to three members of the bmFamily💜💚 who are promoting three core elements that we have chosen to concentrate on, to drive our focus on health, which covers fitness through exercise, food (of course couldn’t leave this one out!) and mindfulness.

Exercise and Fitness

Angus launched #bmFamily 💜💚 ‘Don’t Quit, Get Fit’ earlier this year. We now have over 60 our of bm family within the Get Fit club.

Every week we can see how we compare against our colleagues at running, walking or cycling! At the end of each month there is a prize to the most celebrated individual. It’s a great incentive to Get Fit with the #bmFamily 💜💚 with a lot of support along the way.

Food and Nutrition

Carole works in one of our contracts and focuses on nutrition using the Nutritics system. Carole shares some top tips around eating a plant based diet and how “nutrition is our mission”.

• Diets centred on a wide variety of plant foods offer affordable, tasty and options.
• Plant-based diets which are rich in beans, nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables, whole-grains such as oats, rice and cereal based foods such as bread and pasta can provide all the nutrients needed for good health.
• Well balanced plant-based diets, that are also low in saturated fat, can help you manage your weight and may reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. However, as with any diet, plant-based nutrition needs to be planned.
• There are a few nutrients you need to pay attention to, these include:
  • Vitamin D – made in our bodies when exposed to the sunlight, during the winter you can obtain vitamin D from sun-exposed mushrooms and fortified foods.
  • Vitamin B12 – Normally found in animal products, so Vegans need to ensure they eat fortified foods or take a B12 supplement.
  • Calcium – Dairy food are rich in calcium but if you’re not eating these you can obtain it from alternatives such as figs, nuts, such as almonds, left green vegetables, red kidney beans, sesame seeds, tahini and tofu.
  • Omega 3 – Commonly found in oily fish but can also be found in walnuts, flax (linseed), hemp oil, chia seeds ad soya beans.
  • Iron – sources include dried fruits, wholegrain, nuts, green leafy vegetables, seeds and pulses.
  • Vitamin C – Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables rich in vitamin C, such as citrus fruits, strawberries, green leafy vegetables and peppers to help iron to be absorbed.
  • Protein – Plant-based sources of protein include lentils, beans, chickpeas, seeds, nuts and nut butters.

Mindfulness – Wheel of Health

Dorrianne Casey shares a mindfulness piece on #WorldHealthDay – the Wheel of Health.

The idea is to establish levels of satisfaction around subsections of health. Each answer is personal and relative to each person and whatsmore – there are no right or wrong answers. As an example, the level of exercise will mean something different to each person.

It’s about understanding how we can increase our satisfaction and at what rate.  When we look at individual factors around a subject, perspectives and priorities may shift which allows us to take stock on our own personal health.

 

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