A Word From The Wise

Life Happens

2012-01-27T14:34:00.000-05:00

I always intend to keep the blog updated regularlywith news from WISEWOMAN, but something always seems to get in the way. For thelast month, I have been working on our annual report and reapplication forfunding to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before thatthere was always another deadline or commitment.

As I sat down to write this blog post, it hit me. I havetrouble finding time to write this blog, the same way our WISEWOMAN participantshave trouble finding time to be healthy.

You know how it goes. When she is in your office, she has great intentions. She setsher goal, and she walks out the door ready to make it happen. Then, as thesaying goes, “life happens.”

The car breaks down, so she can’t get to the store to buyhealthy foods. Once the car is fixed, she doesn't have the money to buy thehealthy foods.

She has to take care of her sick granddaughter, so she can’t get out and walkevery day like she planned.

Her spouse gets laid off at work, and the added stress makesit too difficult to quit smoking.

How do you react when she tells you? Do you start offeringsuggestions of ways she could work on her goal in spite of her difficulties?Or, do you empathize with her, and validate how difficult her situation is?

What about your own life and all those good intentions youhave that get pushed aside because “life happens?” Think about your own good intentions when you aretalking to your WISEWOMAN participants. When she tells you about everythingthat gets in the way of meeting her goal, use it as an opportunity to expressempathy, and then help support her self efficacy by being positive andencouraging her to keep trying.

Remember, progress not perfection!

Entrepreneurial Gardening - 2011

2011-10-14T15:59:00.001-04:00

The WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Project is windingdown its fourth season. It has been an exciting year for everyone involved!Here are some of the highlights.

Growth: You wouldexpect growth in the gardens, but we had growth in the program too. In 2010, 25women gardeners from six counties participated in the project. In 2011 participation increased to 50 gardeners from 10 counties.

Staff: For thefirst three years, Helen DeFlorio from Michigan State University Extension(MSUE) has led the charge from Ogemaw County. This year, wewere able to officially bring Helen on board as the Coordinator of theEntrepreneurial Gardening Project. She has been able to visit all of thecounties and meet all of the gardeners.

Creative Gardening:They say necessity is the mother of invention. Well, our gardeners need placesto grow, so they get pretty inventive. Below are a couple of examples of creative ways to grow crops. Both of these creative planting options allow a gardener with back problems to work in the garden without stooping as much.

An old refrigerator is given new life as a raised bed

Growing beans in a barrel

Community Gardens: Several of our gardeners made use of community garden plots. It is a great alternative if you do not have room to grow, or you just do not have a yard with a good sunny spot.

Manistee Community Garden

Raised beds in Manistee Community Garden

Mentoring: We nowhave gardeners who have been involved with the program for two or three years. Ithas been great to tap their experience to help the newer gardeners.

Nutrition Education: Being a WISEWOMAN gardener means learning about nutrition as well as learning about gardening. The nutrition education is useful to the gardeners, but it also means they carry that information with them to the farmer’s market to share with their customers.

Nutrition information in the garden

Canning and Preserving: When you have fresh produce, you have to eat it, sell it, preserve it, or compost it. No one wants to throw out the fruits of their labor, so our gardeners have been learning ways to save what they do not eat or sell. They will be able to enjoy their produce throughout the winter.

Herb infused vinegar

A variety of jams. These will taste great this winter!

Friendship: Oneof the great benefits of participating in this program is forging newfriendships with other gardeners. When we talk with the gardeners they oftentell us how happy they are to have friends who can relate to them.

Outcomes: We donot have the results from all of the post project surveys yet, but already weare seeing gardeners who report losing weight, being more active, and eatingmore fresh fruits and vegetables.

Extra Income:When we started this project, we wanted it to be more than just a gardeningproject. We wanted our gardeners to be able to sell their produce and earnextra income. We do not know how much money our gardeners made, but many ofthem have been able to bring in extra income this year. In these tough economictimes, that is a terrific bonus!

WISEWOMAN Farm Stand

Looking Ahead: For next year, we are looking at low cost ways toextend the growing season. These boxes are iodine containers used by bigdairies. Our gardeners can get empty containers from the dairy farmers, cut thecontainers in half and use them as mini hoop houses.

Mini Hoop Houses at Friends Ministry in Lake City

Michigan Farmer's Markets

2011-08-05T13:49:00.008-04:00

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit the Farmer’s Market on the Capitol Lawn. It is held twice a year, and I always enjoy attending. Apparently others enjoy attending as well. Even Governor Snyder was there! Farmers from around the State Of Michigan drive to Lansing to set up their tents and sell their wares.

I was amazed by the variety of products for sale. As you would expect, there was plenty of fresh produce. However, I also saw people selling fish, lamb, cheese, breads, jams, jellies, and even goat’s milk gelato! The one common denominator was Michigan. Everything was either raised or made in Michigan! It was exciting to see so many Michigan vendors in one place. From what I could tell, it looked like the vendors did okay. There were a lot of people buying things.

The Capitol Farmer’s Market is really cool, but it is not the only farmer’s market in Michigan. There are farmer’s markets all over the State where you can buy locally grown produce and locally made products. If you do not know where to find one close to you, just go to the Michigan Farmer’s Market Association website. You can search by city, by county, or even by day of the week.

This is the time of the year to enjoy the wonderful variety of fruits and vegetables grown in our state. After all, Michigan ranks second in the U.S. in agricultural diversity. So, what can you expect to find at the farmer’s market? Take a look at the Michigan Availability Guide to find out what is in season.

Discover a farmer’s market near you, and try something new!

It's Summer in Michigan. Get Outside!

2011-07-15T10:26:00.003-04:00

It is supposed to be pretty hot this weekend. People who have never lived in Michigan think it sounds strange for it to be hot in Michigan, but the temperature does creep up above 90° on occasion. Of course, I do not want to sound like I am complaining. It may be hot and humid, but that is okay. My garden grows better when the temperature is 90° than it does when it is 20°. This time of year, I can go outside without wearing a coat, hat, mittens, and snow boots.

Sometimes in February, I wonder why I live up here in the frozen north. Growing up, I swore I would never live north of Kentucky. However, after my first summer in Michigan, I was hooked. We may have a few days when it is uncomfortably hot, but the rest of the time, the summer weather is glorious!

Michigan has a lot to offer any time of year, but the summer is especially nice. The scenery is beautiful, and there are plenty of opportunities to get outside and be active. For example, the summer weather is perfect for gardening. Whether you want to grow fruits and vegetables, or flowers and ornamentals, getting outside and digging in the dirt helps exercise your heart, build muscle, and relieve stress! Find out more about gardening in Michigan here: http://migarden.msu.edu

Four of the five Great Lakes touch Michigan, and there are numerous inland lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. All of that water provides plenty of space for swimming, canoeing, and kayaking. Swimming is a terrific non-impact aerobic activity for those of us whose knees and ankles will not let us run. (Benefits of Swimming) Canoeing and kayaking (also known as paddling) have health benefits beyond just building upper body strength. (Benefits of Paddling)

If water sports are not your thing, you may want to dust off the bicycle, put air in the tires, put on a helmet, and go for a ride. Some people like to ride on the road. Others, like me, prefer to ride on a trail. Michigan has many trails for bicycles and other non-motorized vehicles. Do you want to find a trail near you? Check out Trail Link.

If you want something a little bit slower paced, you might want to think about hiking. Michigan has plenty of state parks and state forests with hiking trails. I personally enjoy hiking. It is a great way for me to be outside and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife. When you go hiking, be sure to bring a camera to capture the beauty around you. Take a look at this website to find a hiking trail.

What if you do not like to garden, you can’t swim, you don’t own a boat or a bicycle, and there are no hiking trails close by? What then? Well, just get outside and walk! This is the time of year to be outside! Find a safe place near you to walk, and enjoy the weather.

What types of outdoor activities do you like? Do you enjoy one of the ones mentioned above, or do you prefer something else? Let me know. I would love to hear what other people are doing to be active in this beautiful Michigan summer!

WISEWOMAN Gardening

2011-04-15T13:44:00.002-04:00

Another sure sign of spring is the startup of the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening project. It is still too early to plant a garden in northern Michigan, but it is never too early to plan! Within the next couple of weeks, many of the gardeners will come together in their counties to receive their first nutrition lesson and start planning their gardens.

We at WISEWOMAN are very excited about the project this year. Of course, we are excited about it every year, but this year, Helen DeFlorio from MSU Extension will be playing an even bigger role in the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Project. Helen led the pilot project in Ogemaw County in 2008 and 2009. Last year, she helped us expand the program into 6 counties by sharing her knowledge, skills, and lessons learned from her experience with the pilot.

This year, Helen will be working as the WISEWOMAN Gardening Coordinator. She will visit each of the participating counties to purchase the supplies the WISEWOMAN gardeners need to get started with their gardens. Helen will coordinate the Nutritionists and Master Gardeners in each county as well as provide support to the participants. It will be great to have someone in the field making sure the women get all of the training and supplies they need to be successful.

Helen has her work cut out for her this year. It looks like we will be adding at least three more counties and we may have as many as 75 WISEWOMAN Gardeners this year! That is a preliminary estimate. I will let you know when we get a final tally.

Another exciting addition for this year is our new WISEWOMAN Gardening Facebook page. I will be providing updates about the project throughout the summer here on the blog, but if you want to get more information between updates, go to Facebook and “like” WISEWOMAN Gardening. While you are on Facebook, be sure to “like” Michigan WISEWOMAN Program if you have not already.

Spring!

2011-04-08T10:41:00.001-04:00

Many people in Michigan enjoy getting outside in the winter to go snowshoeing or cross country skiing. While those activities are great fun, most of us tend to stay inside more in the cold weather. Well, the snow in Lansing is gone, except for the big piles, and it is beginning to look like spring might be more than just a faded memory.

When I look out the window, I see more and more people out and about. Here in downtown Lansing, the sidewalks are getting more crowded as people make their way outside after overwintering in their cubicles. Outside my windows at home, I see people walking their dogs, or just walking themselves as they take in the spring air and sunshine.

Yesterday, my daughter and I pulled out our bicycles and went riding for about an hour and a half. The temperature was still a little cool. It was in the low 50’s, but we had mostly sunny skies for our ride. After about half an hour, we had to take off our jackets! It felt great to be outside moving and breathing in the fresh air.

As the days get longer, the ground is getting warmer. Crocuses and daffodils are beginning to make their presence known. (Can tulips be far behind?) The garlic I planted last fall is poking up through a layer of shredded leaves. I am looking forward to tilling the garden and planting tomatoes, summer squash, and herbs. Since it is still way too early for that, I will probably pull out the cold frame and plant some lettuce this weekend. I just can’t wait to start gardening!

Okay, you are probably thinking, what does all of this have to do with WISEWOMAN? The common thread is getting outside and being active, and being active is an important part of WISEWOMAN. Now that the weather is getting nicer, it is much easier to be active.

As you are talking with your WISEWOMAN participants over the next few weeks, remind them that spring is here! Ask them if they plan to take advantage of temperatures above freezing! They do not have to train for a marathon or the tour de France. Encourage them to get outside even if it is just for a few minutes each day. It is amazing what a little sunshine and fresh air can do to make you feel better about life. When you feel better about life, you tend to make healthier choices, and when you make healthier choices, you feel better about life. It is a ~~vicious~~ pleasant circle.

Enjoy the spring!

An Ounce of Prevention

2011-04-01T10:17:00.003-04:00

Benjamin Franklin is credited with saying, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” With that in mind, let’s talk about chronic disease prevention. Part of what we do in WISEWOMAN is screen for chronic disease risk factors.

After the clinical screening, we sit down with our participants and talk to them about their risk factors. There are some risk factors we can’t do anything about. You cannot change your age, your family medical history, or your personal medical history. However, there are other risk factors that are modifiable.

The modifiable risk factors we screen for in WISEWOMAN are: overweight/obesity; high blood pressure; high total cholesterol; low HDL cholesterol; elevated glucose; physical inactivity; and smoking. When we talk risk factors, we also talk about lifestyle behavior changes. The behavior change areas we focus on are nutrition, physical activity, and smoking cessation. Making a positive change in one of these areas is generally a healthy thing to do. It can also have a positive impact on specific conditions.

In January, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association came out with their Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke. I briefly mentioned these guidelines a few weeks ago in the “Eat Your Veggies” blog posting. After looking over the guidelines more closely, I noticed some recommendations related to WISEWOMAN that are worth mentioning.

1) In agreement with the Joint National Committee (JNC 7) report, regular blood pressure (BP) screening and appropriate treatment, including both lifestyle modification and pharmacological therapy are recommended. – Well, guess what? We do this in WISEWOMAN. Our participants have their blood pressure checked at least every year during their clinical screening.

2) Abstention from cigarette smoking by nonsmokers and smoking cessation by current smokers are recommended . . . . status of tobacco use should be addressed at every patient encounter. – When we identify a woman who smokes, we encourage her to stop smoking when she is ready. We also offer help in the form of the Michigan Tobacco Quitline and other smoking cessation resources.

3) A Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)-style diet, which emphasizes consumption of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products and is reduced in saturated fat, also lowers BP and is recommended . . . a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and thereby high in potassium is beneficial and may lower risk of stroke. – The WISEWOMAN nutrition recommendations are based on a modified DASH diet. Our focus is on fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, and whole grains.

4) Increased physical activity is recommended because it is associated with a reduction in risk of stroke . . . adults should engage in at least 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity . . . aerobic physical activity. – Can you believe it? This is yet another modifiable risk factor we focus on in WISEWOMAN! Many of our women are pretty sedentary when they start, so we do not try to move them to 150 minutes the first week. We encourage them to take small steps. Even 5 or 10 minutes a day for someone who is not doing anything will help.

5) Among overweight and obese persons, weight reduction is recommended as a means to lower BP . . . . (and) as a means of reducing risk of stroke. – WISEWOMAN is not a weight loss program, but we do confront overweight and obesity as a modifiable risk factor. Inevitably when we talk about goals, a woman who is overweight will talk about wanting to lose weight.

What does all this mean? Does it mean if you are in WISEWOMAN you will never have a stroke? Of course, not. It does mean there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of having a stroke, and (not so) coincidentally, much of what WISEWOMAN recommends will help reduce the risk of having a stroke. If you talk with someone who has had a stroke, they will tell you preventing the stroke is better than curing the results. Just read Yvette Fields story.

Other Stroke Resources

American Stroke Association: http://www.strokeassociation.org

Power to End Stroke: http://powertoendstroke.org/

National Stroke Association: http://www.stroke.org

An Oasis in the Desert

2011-03-25T09:19:00.006-04:00

Last time we talked about the importance of enjoying your veggies. We said,

learning to enjoy fruits and vegetables is one part of the equation. You also need to have access to them and you have to be able to afford them. Those are issues for another day.

Well, today is the day!

Have you heard the term “food desert?” You can’t talk about access and affordability of fruits and vegetables without talking about food deserts. Here is a definition I found on the web:

The term ‘food deserts’ describes neighborhoods and communities that have limited access to affordable and nutritious foods. The term was first used in Scotland and characterized neighborhoods that can encompass many thousands of people and/or an extensive land area as defined by city blocks or square miles.

In Michigan, when people talk about food deserts, they often talk about the city of Detroit. One study says over half the population of Detroit “must travel twice as far or further to reach the closest mainstream grocer as they do to reach the closest fringe food location, such as a fast food restaurant or a convenience store.”

Low-income urban areas are one place for food deserts, but you can also find food deserts in the low-income rural areas of Michigan. These are rural, sparsely populated areas where people have to drive a long way to buy groceries at a full service grocery store, because the nearby small town can no longer support a grocery store.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time talking about food deserts. I just want to introduce the term, so you will realize many of our Michigan WISEWOMAN participants live in food deserts, whether they are in rural or urban settings. For the women who find themselves living in a food desert, they face a double issue. Because they live in a food desert, they have trouble finding fruits and vegetables, and because of their financial situation, they have trouble affording the fruits and vegetables they do find.

Which issue do you work on first, access or affordability? WISEWOMAN started working on the affordability issue, but in some areas, our Lifestyle Counselors found themselves working on the access issue as well.

In 2009, WISEWOMAN teamed up with the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging to offer the WISEWOMAN Market Fresh Program. It is based on the USDA Farmer’s Market Nutrition Program. WISEWOMAN purchased books of coupons for our participants that could be redeemed for Michigan-grown produce at local farmer’s markets. Each book contained 10 - $2.00 coupons.

The first year of the Market Fresh Program WISEWOMAN participants redeemed over 13,000 coupons. That means they purchased over $26,000 worth of fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables. When the women received the coupons, they also received nutrition education. In some cases, WISEWOMAN Lifestyle Counselors offered the nutrition education. In other cases, the Lifestyle Counselors partnered with Michigan State University Extension to offer it. The counties with the highest redemption rates were the ones who distributed the coupons at the farmer’s market and provided nutrition education related to what was available at the market that day.

While Market Fresh did not solve the problem of affordability, it at least addressed the problem by helping the participants purchase fresh fruits and vegetables during the growing season. It also introduced many WISEWOMAN participants to farmer’s markets for the first time. I have heard people say farmer’s markets are expensive. There may be a few specialty items that are expensive, but many items cost less than at the grocery store. Plus, you have the added benefit of buying produce that was probably picked that morning!

The Market Fresh coupons helped address the issue of affordability, but we found in some counties, there was still the problem of access. (Remember, these are food deserts.) For example, Lake County did not have a farmer’s market where the women could use their Market Fresh coupons.

The WISEWOMAN Lifestyle Counselor in Lake County, Heather Miller, was able to bring a farmer’s market to the women. She talked to a local couple who owned a farm and convinced them to bring their produce to the Health Department parking lot on clinic days. Heather also worked to get the couple certified to be able to accept the Market Fresh coupons. So, in Lake county, WISEWOMAN addressed access and affordability at the same time.

WISEWOMAN offered Market Fresh coupons again last summer. In 2010, we increased the number of coupons redeemed to almost 20,000! That is almost $40,000 of fresh, locally grown produce in the hands of our WISEWOMAN participants. This was a great boost to the health of the women in our program (not to mention a boost to the Michigan economy).

WISEWOMAN will offer Market Fresh coupons again this summer, and we plan to increase the number of coupons redeemed again. The food desert issue is a large and complex issue that will not be solved just by offering Market Fresh coupons. However, WISEWOMAN is going to continue to do what we can to help our participants find and purchase fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables whenever we can.

Eat Your Veggies!!

2011-02-16T09:37:00.002-05:00

Your mother always said to eat your veggies. Were you one of the kids who enjoyed eating veggies or did you think it was a punishment? Well, it turns out your mother knew what she was talking about. If you learned to eat veggies when you were a kid, you are ahead of the game.

In a recent study, published online in the European Heart Journal, eating at least eight servings a day of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of death from ischemic heart disease by 22%. Wow! A 22% reduction is pretty good.

Other studies throughout the years have also talked about the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables. Have you heard of the DASH Diet? DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. It was a huge study conducted in the 1990’s. They found that a diet focused on fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, and reduced saturated fat helped lower blood pressure.

A report from the American Institute for Cancer Research, Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, says, “a predominantly plant-based diet may reduce the risk of cancer.”

In January, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association came out with their Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Stroke. One of their recommendations states, “A diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables and thereby high in potassium is beneficial and may lower risk of stroke.”

So, eating fruits and vegetables reduces your risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, lowers your blood pressure, reduces your risk of cancer, and lowers your risk of stroke. Those are some pretty good reasons to eat fruits and vegetables! Of course, if you just look at it from that point of view, it sounds like eating fruits and vegetables is like taking medicine.

Think back to the questions I asked in the first paragraph. When you were a kid, did you enjoy eating veggies or did you think it was a punishment? What about now? Do you enjoy eating fruits and veggies, do you avoid them at all costs, or do you dutifully eat your carrots every day, just because you are supposed to?

I love eating fruits and vegetables, especially in the summer when I can get them fresh from my garden or from the farmer’s market. Even in the winter, we store apples, potatoes, onions and winter squash in the basement, and we can always get frozen or canned vegetables from the grocery.

Not everyone is like me. Some people do not enjoy eating fruits and vegetables. (At least they think they don’t.) So, what does it take to get people to change their behavior and start eating at least 8 servings of fruits and vegetables a day? If there was an easy answer to that question, everyone would already be doing it.

Behavior change is hard. If your diet consists mainly of hamburgers, pizza, and Doritos®, it is hard to think about eating even one piece of fruit. To get the health benefits we talked about earlier, you have to make fruits and vegetables part of your daily routine. The best way to do that is to make it enjoyable to eat them. There are many sites on the internet where you can get great recipes and tips for making fruits and vegetables a way of life. Here are a few:

American Institute for Cancer Research Health e-Recipes – You can sign up, and they will deliver healthy recipes to your inbox.

Fruits & Veggies More Matters – It used to be 5-A-Day. They have plenty of recipes, and surprisingly, the recipes focus on fruits and vegetables.

Farmers' Market Recipes – Dr. Preston Maring helped start a farmer’s market at the Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center in 2003. He then started putting together recipes for food you can get from the farmer’s market. This is his collection.

Michigan WISEWOMAN Recipes and Cooking Tips – Of course, you can also find recipes and tips on the Michigan WISEWOMAN website.

Learning to enjoy fruits and vegetables is one part of the equation. You also need to have access to them and you have to be able to afford them. Those are issues for another day. Stay tuned!

2011 Here We Come!

2010-12-29T15:11:00.001-05:00

Well, here we are at the close of another year. It’s hard to believe 2010 is almost over. It has been an exciting year for WISEWOMAN. Here are just a few of the highlights.

The inaugural blog posting for A Word From The Wise was posted on March 26, 2010. We have had a few stops and starts, but the blog is a great way to keep people informed about WISEWOMAN.

On May 1, 2010, the Dr. Ron Davis Smoke Free Air Law went into effect. This law helps protect the majority of non-smokers in Michigan from second hand smoke. It may also help prompt some of our WISEWOMAN participants to stop smoking for good.

A few days after the Smoke Free Air Law went into effect, we held the BCCCP/ WISEWOMAN Annual Meeting in Traverse City May 5-7, 2010 at the Great Wolf Lodge. We had some really great sessions and some terrific networking among the local WISEWOMAN staff.

2010 marks the second year of Market Fresh, and it has been a great success. Market Fresh is modeled after Project Fresh and Senior Project Fresh. Project Fresh provides books of coupons to WIC Moms to purchase fresh Michigan fruits and vegetables. Senior Project Fresh provides the coupons to folks over 60. Market Fresh provide those same coupon books to our WISEWOMAN participants. As soon as we get the final numbers for 2010, we will be writing about it here.

This year, we expanded the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening project to five new counties. This partnership between WISEWOMAN and MSU Extension was a win-win for everyone involved.

In August, we kicked off the WISEWOMAN/Body and Soul Lay Health Educator Project. This is a partnership between WISEWOMAN and the American Cancer Society’s Body and Soul in Flint, Michigan. For this pilot, the Lay Health Educators recruit women to be screened in both the BCCCP and WISEWOMAN. The screening takes place through the Genesee County Health Department. After the screening, the Lay Health Educators work with the women to deliver the Health Partnership Intervention. Stay tuned for more information as it unfolds.

This fall Michigan WISEWOMAN added a couple of new local organizations and several new screening sites. Barry-Eaton District Health Department offers WISEWOMAN in Barry and Eaton Counties. McAuley Health Center offers WISEWOMAN in Wayne County. Two of our current organizations expanded into four new counties. That means WISEWOMAN is now available in 34 counties!!

With a year like that, what can we do for an encore? Well, we plan to continue doing great things by brining WISEWOMAN to at least 4,500 eligible Michigan women. We will continue with Market Fresh, the Entrepreneurial Gardening Project, and the WISEWOMAN/Body and Soul Lay Health Educator Project. We are planning another great Annual Meeting, scheduled for May 3-5, 2011 in Traverse City. And, we are working on a few new innovative projects that will impact not only the health of our WISEWOMAN participants, but also the Social Determinants of Health. Keep checking this blog for all the exciting details!

The Michigan WISEWOMAN staff wish you a Safe, Happy, and Healthy New Year!!!!!

Wishing You a Mindful Holiday Season

2010-12-20T11:20:00.002-05:00

Normally people wish you a happy, joyous, and peaceful holiday. So, why on earth would I wish you a mindful holiday season? Well, being mindful will help you have a happy, joyous, and peaceful holiday season.

So, what is mindfulness? Mindfulness comes from the Buddhist tradition, but you do not have to be Buddhist to be mindful. In fact, mindfulness is gaining ground in Psychotherapy.(1) According to one definition, “(Mindfulness) is a state of being aware. It is a process of observation and attention in the flow of changing stimuli and perceptions. Mindfulness is ‘in the moment,’ present, engaged awareness. . . that is free of judgment.” (2)

For me, it is a matter of paying attention to what I am doing at this moment. It is being here in front of the computer as I write this post, instead of thinking about what I am going to do when I get home tonight. It is shutting off all the competing thoughts and focusing on what I am doing right now.

I got the inspiration for this blog post from an article in Medical News Today.(3) During the holidays, the writer said, “we eat, drink, and spend more (money) than we would normally do, and regret it come New Year when we step on those scales, or the credit card bill lands on the doormat.”

You might think, “if I spend my time being mindful, I won’t enjoy the holidays, because I will have to give up everything I enjoy.” Mindfulness is not about giving up. It is about being present and aware and truly enjoying the experience.

Think about the holiday gatherings you normally attend. There are people, maybe there are drinks, certainly there are delicious treats. What do you normally do? You fill a plate with food, grab a drink, and stand around talking with people while you eat.

It is great to enjoy the company of other people, but as you stand there talking, you may be putting food into your mouth without thinking. Occasionally, you will eat something really flavorful. You might stop for a minute and savor it. You might even say, “Oh wow, you have got to try this!” However, for the most part, you are probably not really enjoying the food.

Here is another way to experience the situation. Walk up to the food table. Take a minute to look over everything. Notice the beautiful presentation. Pick up a plate. Choose a few things you think you will enjoy, and put them on your plate, being careful not to pile up the food. You want to be able to see everything you are going to eat. Find a place to sit or stand. Take a look at your plate. Notice the cheeses cut into little cubes or stars. Notice the shape and texture of the crackers. See how carefully the cookies have been decorated.

Pick out one thing to eat. Smell the food before you put it in your mouth. Does it smell sweet? Does it smell earthy? Now, close your eyes and put the food in your mouth. Notice the texture. Notice the taste. Does it crunch, or does it melt? Chew it slowly, experiencing all of the flavors.

I know, it seems like a lot to ask at a holiday gathering. There are other people around, and you may not be able to take that much time with each bite. However, you can still think about each bite of food before you put it in your mouth. You can still notice the care and work that went into making the food. The idea is to put yourself in the moment and enjoy the experience. Enjoy the food. Enjoy the beverages, and enjoy spending time with your friends and family. Isn’t that what the holidays are all about?

If you practice mindfulness during this holiday season, you may wind up eating less and enjoying it more. Then, when the new year rolls around, maybe you will not dread stepping on the scales.

For a handout on the principles of mindful eating, visit: http://www.tcme.org/downloads/principles_handout_1_22.pdf

References
(1) Psychology Today: http://bit.ly/i8bA1J
(2) http://www.tcme.org/mindfulness_practices.htm
(3) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/209760.php

Is Tobacco Really Bad For Me?

2010-12-10T10:11:00.005-05:00

On December 9, 2010, the Surgeon General released a report titled, “How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: The Biology and Behavioral Basis for Smoking-Attributable Disease.”

You can find the report at: http://surgeongeneral.gov/library/tobaccosmoke/index.html

The major conclusions of the report are:

1. The evidence on the mechanisms by which smoking causes disease indicates that there is no risk-free level of exposure to tobacco smoke.

2. Inhaling the complex chemical mixture of combustion compounds in tobacco smoke causes adverse health outcomes, particularly cancer and cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, through mechanisms that include DNA damage, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

3. Through multiple defined mechanisms, the risk and severity of many adverse health outcomes caused by smoking are directly related to the duration and level of exposure to tobacco smoke.

4. Sustained use and long-term exposures to tobacco smoke are due to the powerfully addicting effects of tobacco products, which are mediated by diverse actions of nicotine and perhaps other compounds, at multiple types of nicotinic receptors in the brain.

5. Low levels of exposure, including exposures to secondhand tobacco smoke, lead to a rapid and sharp increase in endothelial dysfunction and inflammation, which are implicated in acute cardiovascular events and thrombosis.

6. There is insufficient evidence that product modification strategies to lower emissions of specific toxicants in tobacco smoke reduce risk for the major adverse health outcomes.

The Surgeon General’s Report provides more evidence of the dangers of tobacco smoke. This is not really news to those of us who work in public health and health care. We have seen the damage smoking can do. Yet, 20% of the U.S. population still smokes.

According to a September 2010 article in the L.A. Times (http://lat.ms/eQFYUn), “After 40 years of continual declines, the smoking rate in the United States has stabilized for the last five years, with one in every five Americans still lighting up regularly. . . .” This statement was based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through 2009.

Looking at the 2009 CDC data by state, 19.6% of the Michigan population that year said they were smokers. (21.1% of men and 18.3% of women) For Michigan WISEWOMAN, the rates are much higher. Of all women enrolled during the 2009 calendar year, over 35% were smokers.

Why do so many people still smoke? The answer is in number 4 above, “Sustained use and long-term exposures to tobacco smoke are due to the powerfully addicting effects of tobacco products.” Tobacco products are powerfully addicting. I know this from experience. I used to smoke, but I quit smoking 16 years ago this month. I remember how difficult it was to quit. I also remember how good it felt to be free of that addiction.

Now that Michigan has a clean indoor air law, it will hopefully encourage more people (including WISEWOMAN participants) to quit smoking. If you or someone you know want to quit smoking, check out these resources on the Michigan Department of Community Health website: http://bit.ly/heE3DS and on the Smokefree Women website: http://women.smokefree.gov/

2010-11-19T15:27:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is just a few days away. When you sit down to your fabulous meal on Thursday, what will you thankful for?

I am thankful for the WISEWOMAN program. If it were not for WISEWOMAN, many women in Michigan would not have access to the chronic disease risk factor screening and lifestyle intervention services we are able to provide.

I am thankful for the WISEWOMAN staff around the State Of Michigan. Health care providers, such as nurses, medical assistants, lab technicians and others conduct the clinical screening services for the WISEWOMAN participants. Lifestyle counselors work with the participants to help make their lives a little healthier and a little better. Clerical staff schedule appointments and handle the data and paperwork that are so important for us to report to our funders at CDC. Without the entire WISEWOMAN staff working together, we would not be able to run the program.

Mostly, I am thankful for the WISEWOMAN participants themselves. My colleague, Viki, often says the WISEWOMAN participants are her heroes. I echo that sentiment. In the face of extremely difficult social and economic circumstances, they are out there trying to make changes in their lives to be healthier. They do it for their families, for their friends, and for themselves, and they keep working at it every day.

Do you know a WISEWOMAN? If so, make sure to tell her I said “Thanks!”

Back to the Blog

2010-11-09T14:23:00.000-05:00

Here we are in November. The six counties involved in the Entrepreneurial Gardening Project have all had frost by now. Except for some kale or other hardy greens, the gardens are finished for the year. Well, the gardens may be finished, but the entrepreneurial spirit of our WISEWOMAN gardeners keeps going.

You may recall from the blog post in May, the WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Project expanded from a one county pilot project into a total of six counties in Northern Michigan. Twenty-five WISEWOMAN gardeners participated in the project. They were helped in their efforts by Michigan State University Extension. Extension Master Gardeners taught classes on gardening and composting, while the Extension Educators taught nutrition classes. The participants also learned marketing skills thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture course called “Selling the Whole Truckload.”

The project expansion was a great success! Here are a few quotes from the WISEWOMAN gardeners:

"This program has awakened a new enjoyment in my life. It’s one of the most exciting things of the summer. I feel confident in my gardening skills, and my husband is a great support, too. He thinks it’s so exciting!"

"I used this program to plant 72 tomato plants on my property! I’ve had to use the food pantry plenty of times in my life, so I’m going to donate these tomatoes to the food pantry. This is one way I can give back."

"I’m new to the area, and I haven’t been able to find a job. I love this program! I planted leeks, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts, herbs….It gives me an opportunity to get outside. I have met so many wonderful friends through this experience. I’m really happy. My husband is really supportive, too. It makes him happy that I’m happy."

"This has been a wonderful experience to bond with other women! I’ve also received help from my brother—he loves to make salsa, so that drove what I planted in my garden. We’re spending more time together in the garden and in the kitchen!"

To read more about the Entrepreneurial Gardening Project, go to: http://bit.ly/axnXjV

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2010-05-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

The WISEWOMAN Entrepreneurial Gardening Project is expanding into five new counties this year. Along with Ogemaw, women in Antrim, Charlevoix, Crawford, Missaukee, and Otsego counties will have the opportunity to participate. Once again, we are partnering with Michigan State University Extension in all of these counties.

Here is how it works. The WISEWOMAN Lifestyle Counselors recruit WISEWOMAN participants who are interested in gardening. The participants are then referred to MSU Extension. The Extension Educators and Program Assistants provide nutrition education, while the Master Gardeners share their knowledge to help the WISEWOMAN participants get the most out of their gardens. For the entrepreneurial part of the project, the women learn how best to market their fruits and vegetables at local farmer’s markets.

Participant Garden From 2009 Project
The project has real and immediate benefits for the WISEWOMAN participants. The women learn nutrition information and gardening skills. They get physical activity working in their gardens. They get to eat fresh fruits and vegetables from their own gardens, and they can earn money by selling their extra produce.

Along with the immediate benefits, we believe we will also see long-term benefits. These include the health benefits that come from increasing physical activity and increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables the women eat. They also include psychological and emotional benefits that come from increased self-esteem, decreased stress, and being part of a social network.

Keep checking the WISEWOMAN blog to find out more about this project as it unfolds!

A Meeting of the Minds

2010-05-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

The Michigan WISEWOMAN Program Meeting took place in Traverse City May 5, 2010. We had a great meeting, with all of our WISEWOMAN agencies represented!

We started out the day with a few updates, then we moved into a fascinating presentation by Candice Lee about Serving Women with Disabilities. Candice had some practical information about how to effectively work with women with disabilities. One of the big take-home messages was to ask the woman with a disability how we can best serve her rather than making assumptions about what is best for her. You can see the slide show at http://www.slideshare.net/miwisewoman

After a networking break, we got back together and worked through an interactive session on Tough Cases / Handling Difficult Situations. The Lifestyle Counselors brought real examples of tough WISEWOMAN cases (de-identified of course). There was a wealth of information and ideas in the room. We were all able to learn from each other.

During lunch, Cecile Chapman from MSU Extension donned her alter ego, Marvella, and presented a hilarious and uplifting tale of a woman who had to learn how to take care of herself after having a heart attack.

After lunch, we had the opportunity to hear about some of the cool things happening at the local level during the Local Agency Spotlight:

 Casey Young from Public Health Delta-Menominee talked about a class MSU Extension put together for their U.P. WISEWOMAN participants. This class was in addition to the SNAP-ed classes Extension already offers our WISEWOMAN participants!
 Heather Miller from District Health Department #10 told us about starting a Farmer’s Market in the parking lot of the Health Department in Lake County on clinic days. This provided WISEWOMAN participants with a place to use their Market Fresh coupons. (As an added benefit, W.I.C. clients had a place to use their Project Fresh coupons.) Heather also told us how she worked with Ferris State University in Big Rapids to make their exercise facility available to Mecosta County WISEWOMAN participants.
 Cheryl Griffin, also from DHD #10 discussed her experience with offering the Diabetes Prevention Course to WISEWOMAN and other community participants in Newaygo County. It sounds like it was a great experience for everyone.
 Fran Landwehr from Lenawee County Health Department talked about their experience with a Hispanic Gardening Project. It started out with a small garden plot behind a Hispanic church. This year, they even have a hoop house!
 Kelsey Carriere and Kylie Cherpes from Catherine’s Health Center presented their Ladies Night Out event. A local beauty salon donated space and several stylists donated their time to create a magical, memorable evening for the WISEWOMAN participants.
 Our last Local Agency Spotlight was another interactive session to discuss how different agencies found success distributing Market Fresh coupons to the WISEWOMAN participants. (The participants use the Market Fresh coupons to purchase Michigan grown fruits and vegetables from local farmer’s markets.)

Our final session was a real treat as Megan Raphael from the Courage Project (http://www.courageproject.com/) helped us find ways to empower ourselves in order to empower the women we serve. You can view Megan's slides at http://www.slideshare.net/miwisewoman

It was a fantastic day together! We are already looking forward to next year as we explore new ways to encourage and inspire the local WISEWOMAN staff to continue their excellent service to our WISEWOMAN participants!

Blowing Smoke

2010-04-29T09:05:00.000-04:00

This Saturday May 1, 2010, the Dr. Ron Davis Smoke Free Air Law goes into effect in Michigan. Many restaurant and bar owners are concerned about losing customers, because of the law.

There will be a vocal minority of smokers who are going to voice their displeasure about not being able to smoke in a restaurant or bar. They are in the minority. Currently in Michigan, about 20% of the population smokes. That means 80% of us do not smoke.

We need to put a positive face on the Smoke Free Air Law. We want the restaurant and bar owners to realize their business will actually increase! I know of several restaurants I will visit now that I will be able to breathe clean air while I eat.

What can you do to help put a positive face on the Smoke Free Air Law? During the month of May, visit some restaurants you have avoided in the past because of the smoke. Tell the restaurant owners and managers how much you enjoy eating in their restaurants now that they are smoke free. With a smile on your face, tell them you plan to come back often!

Of course, let's not forget the people who will feel the effects of this new law. That is the people who are addicted to tobacco. As a former smoker, I can tell you, it is an addiction. As mentioned earlier, 20% of the Michigan population smokes. In the WISEWOMAN population it is closer to 30%.

Maybe this law will be the nudge your WISEWOMAN participant needs to help her decide to quit. If you have a WISEWOMAN participant who need help quitting, tell her about the Michigan Tobacco Quitline. The number is 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669).

Everything is Coming Up Veggies!

2010-04-22T14:07:00.000-04:00

With the signs of spring now firmly in place around the state, WISEWOMAN is gearing up to begin another year of Entrepreneurial Gardening. This project, a partnership between WISEWOMAN in District Health Department #2 and Michigan State University Extension (MSUE), is in its third year and has WISEWOMAN participants growing fruits and vegetables in backyard and community gardens. The gardeners then sell their produce at local farmer’s markets.

The program was piloted in Ogemaw County under the leadership of Helen DeFlorio, Extension Educator (and Hometown Health Hero), with Ogemaw County MSUE. This year Helen will be instrumental in expanding the program throughout Northern Michigan.

Heart To Heart Truth

2010-03-30T11:47:00.001-04:00

In April 2009 WISEWOMAN trained a group of women in White Cloud, MI to be “Heart to Heart Truth Lay Health Educators.” These lay health educators spread the word about leading a heart healthy lifestyle to their friends, families, and other women in the community. The experience gave them marketable presentation skills, and as an added bonus, they made some extra money! (We paid them for every time they delivered the message.)

The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Office on Women’s Health, Region V. It took place in Newaygo County Michigan. Newaygo County is a primarily rural county north of Grand Rapids. To make this work, we collaborated with Cheryl Griffin in District Health Department #10. Cheryl did a great job recruiting and supporting the lay health educators. We also worked with Kellie Owens, an intern from Michigan State University. Kellie did the post project interviews and helped out with evaluation.

In the end, five lay health educators provided healthy heart education sessions to 131 women in Newaygo County between April and June 2009! They delivered the sessions one-on-one and in group settings. They worked with their families, friends and colleagues, and they reached out to other groups of women in their community with the heart health message using an adapted version of the Heart Truth Campaign. It was a little like a heart healthy Tupperware party!

After finishing up the project, we talked to the lay health educators about the project. They said it felt good to share information that could inspire their friends and family to be healthier. All of them were excited about being teachers and motivators, and they were proud of their roles in the program. Overall, the project was quite positive for their self esteem.

We asked the lay health educators what surprised them about the project. They were shocked by the heart health statistics and by how many risk factors they had personally. They did not realize heart disease kills so many women.

As a result of the project, the lay health educators made healthy changes in their lives. They also saw changes in their family’s health behaviors. They and their families have started eating healthier meals and have become more physically active.

By teaching five women a lesson on heart health, the Heart to Heart Truth Lay Health Educators project made a positive impact on the lives of each of these educators and their families, as well as 131 women in the community who had the chance to hear the message.

You can view some photos from the training on our facebook site.

Top 10 List

2010-03-26T09:38:00.000-04:00

10. WISEWOMAN has a facebook page
9. Entrepreneurial Gardening Project
8. WISEWOMAN helps women get healthy in the real world
7. Market Fresh coupons for participants to buy Michigan fruits and vegetables
6. Heart to Heart Truth Lay Health Educator Project
5. Family Life Intervention Component
4. Awesome Lifestyle Counselors!
3. National Women's Health Week Projects
2. Partnership with Michigan State University Extension

and the number 1 reason to support WISEWOMAN . . . . .

WISEWOMAN is a cool name

Stay tuned to this blog spot to find out about these projects and more!