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OK with Average? Average People Die of Heart Disease

115/75 is the average blood pressure, says Mehmet Oz, MD, FACS. But what happens to average people? They die of heart disease. Don’t settle for average, he says.

Oz was a keynote speaker at the recent Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas.

The following are more of his tips for helping employees be healthy.

  • If you don’t deal with obesity, nothing will work.
  • Most people need 7.5 hours of sleep. (Five percent of people can get by with 6 hours, Oz says.) Sleep-deprived people crave carbohydrates.
  • Weight is a good indicator of stress, Oz says. Your waist should not exceed half your height. (Men, Oz says, be sure to measure your actual waist; don’t use your belt size. As men gain weight, they don’t tend to buy longer belts—there’s just more and more belly that flops over the old belt. In fact, there is a “tight belt syndrome,” Oz says. Symptoms are relieved by loosening the belt.)
  • Eat spicy foods.

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  • Eat nuts. They are good for you and help you lose weight. Plus, you get a 15% discount when you eat nuts—typically, 15% of the nut isn’t digested.
  • Go for 2% milk. Skim milk and diet soda seem like obvious parts of dieting, but Oz says you need to think like your brain. It knows it didn’t get the nutrients it wanted.
  • A good stress reliever is putting a cork between your teeth.
  • Make a stress reduction U-turn:
    • Get back on track (with exercise).
    • Automate to reduce the amount of decision making (morning is the best time for decisions).
    • Give your heart a reason to keep beating.

Statistics show that keeping employees healthy can not only improve their quality of life—but it can also significantly impact your bottom line with reduced healthcare costs and absenteeism rates and improved employee morale and productivity. But, where to start?

TrainingToday® is a leading provider of online education programs for employees and supervisors. Each course in our extensive library addresses a specific topic with engaging and interactive presentations, delivering practical advice and clear instructions that trainees will remember long after the training is complete.

And there’s more good news: the Wellness Training Library includes more than 20 courses that are professionally developed, up-to-date, and ready to use! Learn more here or contact us at 800.727.5257 to get a free trial.


Training Today’s Wellness Training Library includes everything you need for both your managers who help to set up and manage a workplace wellness program—and your employees to learn about keeping themselves and their families healthy. Learn More.


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