Food for thought: ways to support healthier eating habits in the workplace

Dietary choices are a big factor in our overall health. Making good choices about how we fuel our bodies can help prevent obesity, malnutrition, heart problems, stroke, certain cancers, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, and a host of other health problems. Even small dietary changes can have a positive impact, and employers can support workers who want to a healthier lifestyle.

Employers play an important role

On workdays, your employees typically spend most of their waking hours at your company and they may eat multiple meals and snacks on the job site. For this reason, employers can play a big role in their employees' efforts to eat a healthier diet.

• Make sure healthy options – such as fruit, nuts, whole-grain pretzels and bottled water – are stocked in vending machines. Check out other ideas for healthy vending snacks.
• Include healthy eating tips and recipes on your company intranet site and in employee newsletters. Share stories about employees who have successfully adopted healthier eating habits to motivate others to make the same changes.
• Host a health fair. Invite vendors who offer healthy food samples, cooking demonstrations and nutrition seminars.
• Order healthy foods for lunchtime meetings.
• Offer free bottled water to encourage employees to stay hydrated in a healthy way.
• Create a wellness committee to plan events that promote healthy lifestyle choices and make recommendations about healthy food options.
• Offer a wellness program as part of your benefits package.

Many Americans do not get enough fiber, calcium, vitamin D or potassium in their diet, along with eating too much sugar, saturated fat and sodium. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offer the following guidelines for a healthy diet and wellness.

Eat more of these foods

Fiber. We need plenty of fiber to maintain digestive health. It also helps control blood sugar and cholesterol levels. High-fiber foods are also more filling, so you'll be less likely to overeat. Snacking on fresh fruits or nuts is one way to add fiber, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Calcium and vitamin D. This vitamin and mineral work together to keep your bones strong and help prevent osteoporosis.

Potassium. Your heart, kidneys, muscles and nerves need potassium to stay healthy. Consider adding bananas or lima beans to your weekly menus.

Eat less of these foods

Sugar. Added sugars have many forms and names. Some common sugars are cane juice, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, maple syrup, honey and table sugar. Limit sweet desserts and read nutrition labels for breakfast cereals to help make informed decisions.

Saturated fats. Limit foods that are high in saturated fats. Instead, enjoy foods that are high in healthier unsaturated fats.

Sodium. Too much salt can raise blood pressure and increase the risks of heart attacks or strokes. Pizza, bread, deli meats, chips, crackers, ketchup, gravy, pasta and rice dishes, and many prepackaged foods are typically high in sodium.

Allstate Benefits can help

Allstate Benefits' self-funded plan designs are a great choice for small and mid-sized companies that are looking for ways to better control health care costs. The Vitality® wellness program is included with self-funded groups that have 51 to 500 employee members, and it can be added to plans for smaller groups.

Vitality encourages members to make lifestyle choices that improve quality of life, increase life expectancy and reduce health care costs for everyone.

Vitality promotes:

• Physical health by providing incentives to build long-term physical activity habits.
• Mental health by encouraging sleep and mindfulness habits that improve mental well-being.
• Nutrition through educational courses, recipes and assessments designed to improve eating habits.
• Good financial practices that can lessen stress-related illnesses.

The Vitality program has proven effective:

• 90% of members say Vitality has made them more aware of their health.
• 80% of members say Vitality feels personalized to them.
• Highly engaged members have 15% to 19.5% lower claims.
• 66% of members earn points through activities each month.

Contact a Group Health sales executive to learn more about how Allstate Benefits can help your company and your employees.

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