Murdock Canal Opening!

Please join us on Saturday, May 18th for the Murdock Canal Trail Grand Opening celebrations city by city. A seven city event to celebrate this multi-use trail!

Orem: The first kick off is at 8 a.m. in Orem at 1200 N. 800 East. Celebration activities run from 8-10 a.m. and a continental breakfast served from 8-8:30 a.m. There will be a relay at 8:30 a.m.

Lindon: The next celebration begins at 9 a.m. with the Lindon ribbon cutting ceremony at the Lindon View Trailhead, approximately 300 N. 780 East. The Family Fun Run, Arbor Day tree planting will be from 9-11 a.m.

Pleasant Grove: The Pleasant Grove City ribbon cutting ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Wade Springs Trailhead, approximately 600 E. 1100 North. Celebration activities are from 9-11:30 a.m.

Cedar Hills: The Cedar Hills ribbon cutting ceremony is at 10 a.m. at 3595 West Canyon Heights Drive. Celebration activities and giveaways are from 9:30 a.m. to noon.

American Fork: The American Fork ribbon cutting ceremony is at 10:30 a.m. at the Highland Glen Trailhead, approximately 9800 N. 5200 West in Highland. Celebration activities are at Art Dye Park, 550 E. 1000 North from 9-11 a.m.

Highland: The Highland ribbon cutting ceremony is at 11 a.m. at Mitchell Hollow Park, 10325 N. 6530 West, Highland.

Lehi: At 11:30 a.m., Lehi will have its ribbon cutting ceremony at the Smith's parking lot, 1550 E. 3500 North, Lehi. There will be activities from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. There will be a family fun walk, bike and run. Local businesses will have booths and food and at 2 p.m. there will be a closing event and prize drawings.

For more information and map links please visit http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/up-for-a--mile-run-try-the-murdock-canal/article_add214ea-2d62-5ec9-a0e0-71ea801c0c49.html

Abi Hassinger, left, and Brittany Heringer, right, run along the Murdock Canal Trail in Lindon on Saturday, May 4, 2013. SARAH WEISER/Daily Herald

References

Allred, C. (2013, May 12). Up for a 17-mile run? try the murdock canal trail. The Daily Herald. Retrieved from http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/up-for-a--mile-run-try-the-murdock-canal/article_add214ea-2d62-5ec9-a0e0-71ea801c0c49.html

May: Better Sleep Month 

Sleep is very important. It's refreshing, comforting, and essential to life. Did you know people spend an average of 33% of their lives asleep? People don't think about it much, until they can't sleep. Sleep affects performance, looks, and an overall quality of life. Sleeping well plays a role in how energetic and successful one can be when awake.

 Consequences of poor sleep:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Increased mistakes
• Higher stress

                                                        What goes on when you sleep: 

• Tissue growth and repair
• Muscle relaxation
• Release of hormones

 How much sleep do I need?

•  There is no magic number, individual needs for sleep vary.

http://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.htm

Tips for good sleep habits:

• Try to go to sleep at the same time each night
• Wake up every morning at the same time
• Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, and a comfortable temperature
• Do not watch television right before bed
• Do not eat a large meal right before bed

3 Keys for Safe Use of Prescription Pain Medication

SAFE USE:
Never take prescription pain medication that is not prescribed to you.
Never share your prescriptions with anyone.
Never take your prescription pain medication more often or in higher doses.
SAFE STORAGE:
Store prescription pain medication out of reach of kids and visitors.
Know where your prescription pain medication are at all times.
Keep medication in the original bottle with label attached, and with the child -resistant cap secured.
SAFE DISPOSAL:
Do NOT flush medication down the toilet or drain.
Take unused medication to collection bins located at police stations and sheriff's office for safe and legal disposal.  Find disposal sites in your area at UseOnlyAsDirected.org
If you can't find a collection site follow these steps for Safe Disposal:
1. Remove all personal identification from the bottles
2. Crush and mix unused drugs with an undesirable substance such as coffee grounds, table scraps or dirt.
3. Place this mixture in a sealed container and put it in your trash can on the day of pick-up

For more great tips and information visit www.UseOnlyAsDirected.org

BBC's 10 things you need to know about losing weight

A Utah County employee came across this documentary and thought others might want to watch it.  Enjoy!
http://www.thegreatplanet.com/10-things-you-need-to-know-about-losing-weight-bbc-documentary/

Decrease Your Stress by Laughing!

Inspiration

Posted By National Wellness Institute, 3 hours ago

April is National Humor Month. This month’s Inspiration is intended to decrease stress by using laughter to enhance the quality of one’s life. Incorporating daily humor improves mental and physical health and releases endorphins (feel good hormones) that boost optimism and state of mind. Try the following to increase humor in your life. · Take a humor break. Keep jokes, funny stories, or anything that causes a smile on hand for stressful situations. This will help ease tension and allow for clearer thinking. · Create a folder for what makes you laugh. Know and understand what makes you laugh and research humorous pieces to add to your folder. Also, writing down past embarrassing experiences that are now funny can help change your perspective at stressful times. · Be able to laugh at yourself. This does not mean you should regularly put yourself down, but be able to laugh at your mistakes and remain self-assured. Instead of focusing on what you did wrong, remember everything you did right. · Share laughter with others. Spend time with friends who make you laugh to improve your mood and decrease stress. For more information on National Humor month, visit Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. References: Mayo Clinic. (July 23, 2010). Stress relief from laughter? Yes, no joke. Stress management. Retrieved on March 21, 2013, fromhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034/NSECTIONGROUP=2 Wilde, L. (2006). Humor Rx for Alleviating Stress in the 21st Century. Retrieved on March 21, 2013, from http://www.larrywilde.com/rxstress.htm

"The Need to Be Prepared"

Join us on Tuesday, April 2 at 11:30 am for a presentation given by Dale Maughn, 

UVU's Nursing Director, on first aid and

 "The Need to Be Prepared".

It will be a great presentation! You don't want to miss it!

(You can earn 10 points for participating in this brown bag!)

2nd Quarter Information!

• 2nd quarter starts on April 1!
• This quarter you just need to earn 30 points to be eligible for the incentive
• How do you earn your points?

1. Login to your wellsteps.com webpage on April 1
2. Click the ‘rewards’ button on the left hand side of your screen
3. Review the honesty policy
4. Choose which wellness activities you’d like to complete to earn your 30 points
5. Simple ch!eck off the activity when you’ve completed it!

You must earn your 30 points by June 14th!

If you earn more than 30 points you'll be entered into a drawing for additional prizes!

Fun Facts on Food Labels!

March is National Nutrition Month! and this month’s Fun Facts on Food Labels will help prevent consumer confusion by teaching readers what the nutrient content claims on packages represent and how they are defined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information on National Nutrition Month, please visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Food Label Says…	One serving of chosen food contains…
Calorie free	Less than 5 calories
Sugar free	Less than 0.5 grams of sugar
Fat free	Less than 0.5 grams of fat
Low fat	3 grams of fat or less
Reduced fat or less fat	At least 25 percent less fat than regular product
Low in saturated fat	1 gram of saturated fat or less, with not more than 15 percent of the calories coming from saturated fat
Lean	Less than 10 grams of fat, 4.5 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Extra lean	Less than 5 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat and 95 milligrams of cholesterol
Light (lite)	At least one-third fewer calories or no more than half the fat of the regular product, or no more than half the sodium of the regular product
Cholesterol free	Less than 2 milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams (or less) of saturated fat
Low cholesterol	20 or fewer milligrams of cholesterol and 2 grams or less of saturated fat
Reduced cholesterol	At least 25 percent less cholesterol than the regular product and 2 grams or less of saturated fat
Sodium free or no sodium	Less than 5 milligrams of sodium and no sodium chloride in ingredients
Very low sodium	35 milligrams or less of sodium
Low sodium	140 milligrams or less of sodium
Reduced or less sodium	At least 25 percent less sodium than the regular product
High fiber	5 grams or more of fiber
Good source of fiber	2.5 to 4.9 grams of fiber

Reference:
American Heart Association. (September 1, 2010). Reading Food Nutrition Labels. Retrieved on February 5, 2013, from 
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HeartSmartShopping/Reading-Food-Nutrition-Labels_UCM_300132_Article.jsp

Try a Trail with Commissioner Anderson!

Commissioner Anderson has decided as one of his New Year's Resolutions to walk every trail in Utah County!  We thought it would be fun to start a "Try A Trail with Commissioner Anderson" monthly walk/run!  The first one and kick-off event will be:

Saturday, March 9th at 10am
starting at Fort Utah Park in Provo.

Bring your family and friends for music, prizes, snacks and family fun!
See you there!

Free upcoming workshops!

Intuitive Eating
When: First class is Friday, March 1, 5:30-7pm
Where: North County Health Department, 599 N 500 E in American Fork

This 6 week course will be held every Friday evening until April 5th.  This workshop will teach the 10 principles of Intuitive Eating based on the research of Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.  For more information or to sign up for this free workshop contact Kari at 801-851-7098.

Living Well With Chronic Disease Class
When: First class is Thursday, March 7th, 5:30-7:30pm
Where: Utah County Health Department, 151 S University Ave Room 1601
This 6 week course will be held every Thursday evening and can help anyone with chronic conditions learn to enhance their health and well being.
For more information about this free workshop contact Marla at 801-851-7082.