Welcome to our February update!  
Wendy Gammons, MIIA Wellness/Health Promotion Manager  
 
2020 is a Leap Year! Welcome to a longer February! Hey, you have one extra day to practice wellness! Why not commit right now to participate in a healthy activity on Saturday, Feb 29, 2020 (among many other days!)? Put it on your calendar!
 
Do you need ideas? Cook our Eat Well recipe of the month. Be prepared BEFORE you are faced with decisions about medical tests and procedures! Download the wallet "Questions to ask your doctor" found in our health literacy column. Take one of our live, online OmPractice core, mindfulness, yoga or other classes and offer your feedback by taking a quick 5-minute survey on the platform. (We are raffling off 5 $50 gift cards). Practice your balance and tone exercises that you learn in our new Balance and Tone Smorgasbord activity!
 
Have a fun, active and purposeful February!
  
Program of the Month
The MIIA Balance and Tone Challenge    
A 10-day Challenge Starting February 24, 2020
  
Want to improve your balance and tone your body to prevent injuries? Try doing 3 daily balance and tone exercises (in any combination) for 10 days. Balance training strengthens the muscles that help keep you upright, which are important to so many daily functional activities. Exercises that improve balance and muscle tone also help prevent falls. Earn cool prizes as well!
The Wellbeing Smorgasbord Challenge!   
Complete at least 7/12 monthly self-directed activities and earn a $75 Amazon gift card! 
 
Find the activities in each Monthly Newsletter like The MIIA Balance and Tone Challenge. We offer a smorgasbord of exercise, diet and other wellbeing activities. Each program includes educational information, tips and strategies. Only MIIA/Blue Cross health insurance subscribers are eligible for the $75 Amazon.com gift card.
 
  
  
Health Literacy    
Five Questions to Ask a Doctor Before Agreeing to a Test or Procedure
Al Lewis, Founder Quizzify, MIIA Health Care Consultant

Americans are the most overscreened, overdiagnosed, overtreated, over-medicated society on earth, partly because we often demand inappropriate healthcare and partly because we don't question doctors as much as we should. Learn the right questions to ask.

OmPractice   
Live Online Yoga Classes, FREE for MIIA Members!

Don't forget our super platform for taking LIVE ONLINE yoga and meditation classes! Classes for back/neck pain, pre/post-natal yoga, yoga for office workers, chair yoga, and beginner classes for ashtanga and Kripalu yoga have been added! Only MIIA/BCBS subscribers may participate.
 
  
  
OmPractice Interest Survey    
Enter to Win a $50 Gift Card!
 
 
We are expanding the types and number of classes we offer on our live, online portal.  We want to hear from you. For a chance to win a $50 gift card and to offer your valuable feedback please take our short survey.  And thanks!
 

NEW Online Workshop Series -- 
A Taste of Mindfulness 
 
Our new online winter workshop series on mindfulness and how it can help us more effectively manage the "stuff" of our lives is in session. Remaining topics include difficult emotions, chronic pain, caregiving and work. The workshop sessions broadcast live on Mondays (next is 2/10) from the Mindfulness Center at Brown University School of Public Health. Learn more about the upcoming sessions.
  
  
Eat Well
7 Reasons You Should Stop Eating Ultra-Processed Foods
Bill Bradley, Registered Dietitian and Cookbook Author
People often ask, "what are the first dietary steps I can take to be healthier?" When I suggest foods to remove, I always answer: ultra-processed foods. Many studies show they are quite detrimental to your health and should be avoided most of the time. Learn the health benefits of avoiding ultra-processed foods.

Try Recipe of the Month  
Traditional Garlic Soup
Carlota De Otto (Spain)
 
Spanish Garlic soup originates from the Castilian region of Spain. In ancient times it was a typical lunch, an extremely cheap and very comforting recipe to spread warmth throughout the body. It was eaten in the middle of the morning to maintain strength for the day, usually with one or two eggs cracked inside, which were cooked from the heat of the soup.
  
  
MindWise Mental Health Screening Program
Labeled an epidemic by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, the opioid crisis tragically continues to take lives; however, effective treatments for recovery are available and identifying opioid use as a problem is a crucial first step. Go to our new Opioid Screen to help you or a loved one assess the need to seek professional behavioral health treatment and access vital support resources.
 

February Product Corner   
Franceen Friefeld, RD., LD., P.H.Ec.
 
Welcome to "The Product Corner", empowering you with reliable facts about some of the most popular and newest foods on the market. We expose the products that aren't what they claim to be and applaud the ones that are, so you make the healthy choice! This month learn more about the ever-growing variety of milk products and which are "the best" for you.
  
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