September 2007 Newsletter

Healthy work environment

According toa recentWashington Post article, “Create a happy, healthy work environment for your employees, and they will be happier, healthier -- and more productive. That's the economic calculation underpinning the surge of wellness and other employee programs in companies around the United States.”

The article cited Robert Rosen, chief executive of Healthy Companies International, a management consulting firm:“Rosen, whose company has interviewed the chief executives of 300 large corporations in 40 countries, said that creating physical and psychologically healthy environments is a ‘major movement’in business that has been building for 30 years.”

Opening your heart

September is heart health month

The MRC (Medical Research Council) report released in May 2006, indicated that by the year 2010, the chronic diseases will kill 666 South Africans every day. Between 1995 and 2005, 6 million South Africans had high blood pressure, 5 million high blood cholesterol, 1.5 million diabetes and more than 7 million smokers, of which the largest percentage were younger than 20 years old. These statistics are horrific! It’s time to wake up and do something. Heart disease with high blood pressure and cholesterol are also silent killers, where the first symptom is often a heart attack.

A positive family history and symptoms like shortness of breath, fatigue, unproductive chronic cough, blue or painful extremities, extreme sensitivity to cold, leg ulcers, swelling of the ankles, pain over the chest, left arm or up the neck at rest or during exertion, have to be thoroughly evaluated with a complete physical examination, basic blood tests and an exertion or stress electrocardiogram. A thorough heart evaluation should form part of everybody’s yearly preventative medical examination, whether or not you have symptoms or a positive history. The natural and wellness treatment options are aimed at improving energy metabolism inside the heart’s cells, as well as blood supply to the heart, while simultaneously facilitating the release and surrender of blocked emotional and mental energy.

As one patient who participated in the world renowned Heart Disease Reversal Programme lead by physician, Dr Dean Ornish, said: ‘Even if the tests showed my arteries hadn’t opened up (which they did!), I would still follow this program, because I’ve opened up!’ ......Read more

Peer educator training - in the workplace is a proven and extremely effective way for employers to address this drain on resources and ensure optimal employee wellbeing.

Exciting news: a practical wellness solution for the workplace, the home and the individual!

Be sure to subscribe to the brand new, informative and exciting www.myway2wellness.com web-site that recently launched. This interactive, user friendly site will make wellness knowledge and experience accessible to millions of people worldwide. This is also an exceptionally easy, cost effective and useful way for employers, management, HR and occupational health professionals, to assist employees to implement a very practical workplace wellness program, through accessing & implementing the information they need to become and stay healthy and well. Wellness programs have the power to change behavior, prevent chronic illness and ultimately reduce health costs. But to be effective, a wellness plan must be fun, motivating and informative to ensure ongoing participation. This web-site might just provide the solution you’ve been waiting for!