Issue Date: February 25, 2007
The boss wants you to stay healthy
Americans spend more time at work than just about everyone else in the world does. Luckily, more employers are incorporating health and wellness into their benefits.
"There is a growing trend among employers to support and promote healthy lifestyles and wellness for employees and their families," says Archelle Georgiou, M.D., of UnitedHealth Group, a national health and well-being company.
Some employers now are offering healthier foods in their cafeterias and creating mandatory stretching times. "Another trend is 'lifestyle coaching,' " Georgiou says, "which includes resources to help people stop smoking, exercise more, lose weight and decrease stress."
Make your work healthier:
Take a brisk walk during lunch, or stretch regularly through the day.
If you work at a computer, give your hands and wrists a quick break about every 30 minutes.
Find free health and wellness information at HealthAtoZ.com.
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Be friendly to your blood sugar
Carbs that spike blood sugar raise your risk of diabetes, weight gain, heart disease -- and maybe even cancer, acne and Alzheimer's, according to the latest science.
World-renown nutrition researcher Jennie Brand-Miller and her team at the University of Sydney have surprising advice about these foods:
Chocolate. Despite its high sugar, chocolate has a low glycemic index and doesn't cause blood glucose to surge. Even diabetics need not eat reduced-sugar chocolate. But note that high-calorie chocolate is a weight gain risk.
Bread. Beware: Some whole-grain breads spike blood sugar as much as white bread. Smart choices: coarse, dense bread with visible grainy bits; and sourdough, pumpernickel, soy or fruit breads.
Juice. Unsweetened fruit juices have a low glycemic index but are hazardous when overdone. Restrict a serving to 3/4 cup, dilute with water, or mix high-sugar fruit juices with low-sugar vegetable juices. Better yet, eat the whole fiber-packed fruit.
Vegetables. Despite the claims of many diet books, carrots (raw, cooked or juiced) do not increase blood sugar. All fruits and veggies, except potatoes, have a low glycemic index.
Salad Dressing. All types of vinegar and lemon juice in salad dressings suppress blood sugar rises.
Carbs least apt to spike blood sugar: legumes (like the soybeans at right), fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, milk, yogurt, ice cream
Carbs most apt to spike blood sugar: most bread, bakery products, rice, breakfast cereals (your best bet: oatmeal that's not instant)
Complete lists: Go to www.glycemicindex.com.
Contact Jean Carper at jeancarper.com. Scientific sources are at usaweekend.com.
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Test-drive your paint with little, inexpensive color samples
In the past, after you narrowed down a color from a stack of swatches, the clerk at the paint store would mix you up a few quarts to take home and try out. At $10 a quart, you could spend anywhere from $50 to $100 on paint that would never see the light of day. These days, almost every major paint manufacturer has what are known as "color samples," which come in 2- to 4-ounce containers. Samples usually cost around $4 each and provide just the right amount of paint to help you make your decision.
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Fund IRA for a tax break
It's not too late to add to your retirement fund and possibly get a break on your 2006 federal taxes, if you haven't filed yet.
Did you earn income in 2006? Then you can contribute up to $4,000 to a traditional IRA ora Roth IRA for 2006, and you have until April 17 to do so. Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible, depending on income and whether you or your spouse is covered by a pension plan. Roth IRA contributions are not tax-deductible. A non-working spouse can have an IRA, too, even without earned income. "The contribution limit is affected by the amount of earned income and other IRA contributions," says Donna LeValley, of "J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2007." For details, check the IRS' Publication 590.
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