Take the Step : Pledge to eat Healthier...

Take the Step : Pledge to eat Healthier....

Because stroke can happen to anyone, at any age, and at any time, it is important to talk about stroke prevention. We are excited to unveil our 2015 National Stroke Awareness Month campaign for this May! Although not all strokes can be avoided, up to 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. By making just one change toward lessening your stroke risks, you can begin your journey to a healthier you—hopefully preventing you from becoming a stroke statistic. Join us on May 30, 2015. St Matthews AME Church, Ral.,NC (10:00-1:00PM)

" A Healthy Shopping Basket Leads to a Healthy Lifestyle "

This health fair provide an opportunity to our community consumers to experience the various brand products offered at our local grocery store and supermarkets. To interact with the stores employee about their products, coupons and nutritious recipes. This year our featured grocery store is  'Food Lion'.  "Think of eating fresh foods instead of processed not as a 'diet' but as an improvement to both the way you eat and (hopefully) your overall health."  Food Lion is a responsible community-oriented supermarket and we're proud to have their presence at this health fair. 

This health fair provides an opportunity for stores to discuss and display their health foods, organic foods, local produce, and nutritional supplements.

Enjoy great speakers, cooking demonstrations, door prizes, screenings and more.

For additional information contact: Triangle Stoke & Minority Women Health. minwomen@hotmail.com

Poll: Americans Believe Bullying is More Prevalent

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:  Jon Weiner                                                 Sean Kosofsky jon.weiner@workplaceoptions.com              sean@tylerclementi.org 800.699.8011 x 71724                                919-627-8337 cell    POLL: SUPERMAJORITY OF AMERICANS BELIEVE YOUTH BULLYING IS  MORE PREVALENT THAN EVER First of its kind survey from the Tyler Clementi Foundation and Workplace Options  reveals troubling finding  Raleigh, N.C. (Feb. 8, 2015) – A new national poll shows that bullying is seen as more of a problem for young Americans today than ever before – and that parents are seriously conflicted when it comes to teaching kids how to appropriately respond.  The poll, commissioned as a joint project between Workplace Options and the Tyler Clementi Foundation, found that 64 percent of American adults believe bullying to be more prevalent among young people today than it was during their own childhood. With the proliferation of social media, text messaging, and other forms of instant communication, the threat and reach of bullying has expanded. “Youth bullying is not an issue that only impacts kids,” said Alan King, president of Workplace Options, the world’s leading integrated employee well-being provider. “Nothing happens in isolation. It’s a serious concern that affects parents, businesses, and the community, too. The results of this poll show that as a whole, we have a long way to go to curb this problem.” 1.Teaching Kids about Bullying Respondents were split on how to teach kids to best handle bullying situations that involved either online or in-person threats. According to the poll: -53 percent of respondents said children should be taught to notify an authority figure when faced with bullying. -24 percent said direct confrontation was the best response. -Males (31 percent) were much more likely to recommend direct confrontation than females (13 percent). -And eight percent said ignoring the problem was the best way to handle bullying. “Parents and educators need to regularly check in with youth about bullying behavior,” said Sean Kosofsky, executive director for The Tyler Clementi Foundation, a leading national organization working to end online and offline bullying. “Young people need to be taught respect, empathy for others, and to resist the temptation to use technology to be cruel. Youth and adults should not be bystanders to bullying; they should be Upstanders and report abuse.” “The key to progress is education and intervention. Bullying can leave emotional scars for decades. Adults should not assume bullying is innocent teasing” he added. 2.The Bystander Dilemma One of the most difficult decisions for adults is when to intervene in a youth bullying scenario. Results of the poll show that when family is not involved, most adults are keen to turn a blind eye: -69 percent of respondents said they would intervene if a bullying situation involved a family member or someone they personally know. -But just 44 percent said they would intervene if they saw a scenario that did not involve a personal acquaintance. 3.Taking Action: Rethinking Anti-bullying Training Workplace Options and the Tyler Clementi Foundation are partnering to create a free training program for businesses that teaches employees how to discuss, address, and intervene in bullying issues with today’s youth. The program is being created with input from Dr. Dorothy Espelage at the University of Illinois, one of the top anti-bullying researchers in the world. It will debut and be made available to companies looking to educate their employees on this issue in the summer of 2015. Other interesting results of the national poll include: -50 percent of respondents have experienced or witnessed bullying in their workplace. -More minority respondents (75 percent of Hispanics; 74 percent of African-Americans) than white respondents (60 percent) believed that bullying is a more serious problem for youth today than in the past. -Bullying is largely seen as a “not in my backyard” issue – 64 percent of respondents believe bullying is more of a problem today than in the past, but just 12 percent believe it is a serious problem for youth in their own county. The poll was conducted from January 16-19 among a national sample of working adult Americans by Public Policy Polling. The margin of error is +/- 4.1 percent. For more information on the poll results, please visit www.workplaceoptions.com. For more information on the training program under development by Workplace Options and the Tyler Clementi Foundation, please contact Workplace Options through the company website. ###  About Workplace Options Workplace Options helps employees balance their work, family and personal needs to become healthier, happier and more productive people and professionals. The company’s physical, emotional, and practical employee well-being services provide information, resources, referrals and consultation on a variety of issues ranging from dependent care and stress management to clinical services and wellness coaching. Workplace Options is the world’s largest integrated employee support services and work-life provider. Global service centers in North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, Canada, Singapore, Indonesia, India, Japan, Ireland, Portugal and the United Kingdom support more than 46 million employees in over 34,000 organizations across 200 countries and territories. To learn more, visitwww.workplaceoptions.com.   About Tyler Clementi Foundation  The Tyler Clementi Foundation (TCF), guided by the life and story of Tyler Clementi, is committed to ending youth bullying, both online and offline. The organization promotes safe, inclusive and respectful social environments in homes, schools, campuses, churches and the digital world for vulnerable youth, and their allies.

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UNC Research - Young Men's Thoughts on HIV Testing

Researchers from UNC Chapel Hill are recruiting participants for an online survey to learn more about what some young men in NC think about HIV testing.

Eligible participants receive a $20 gift card. http://ow.ly/3rCwFc

Jamaican Government Announces Radical Changes in Drug Laws

Pressure has been growing in Jamaica in recent years for the legalisation of marijuana and it looks like a major change is on its way! The economy may be on its way to a MAJOR turnaround! 

The Justice Minister Mark Golding said the cabinet was supporting a proposal to allow possession of up to two ounces (57 grams) of marijuana, known locally as "ganja.".

Mr Golding also said marijuana would be decriminalised for religious, medicinal and scientific purposes.

It is expected parliament will approve the changes by September.

"I wish to stress that the proposed changes to the law are not intended to promote or give a stamp of approval to the use of ganja for recreational purposes," said Mr Golding.

"The objective is to provide a more enlightened approach to dealing with possession of small quantities."

Correspondents say the government plans are a major victory for Jamaica's Rastafarian movement, which considers ganja sacred.

Recent changes in drug laws in countries like Uruguay or in American states such as Colorado have also given impetus to campaigns by local farmers and some politicians for the legalisation of marijuana.

"It is not only wrong but also foolhardy to continue with a law that makes it illegal to posses ganja and its derivatives for medicinal purposes," Mr Golding said.

Angela Brown Burke, Kingston's mayor, said recently: "The time has come to provide an opportunity for Jamaicans to benefit from the marijuana industry."

Correspondents say many Jamaicans believe the decriminalisation of the drug for medicinal and scientific purposes could bring important economic benefits to the island.

Jamaica's economy has suffered from slow growth, high unemployment and high debt for the last two decades, according to the World Bank.

(Source: BBC News Online. 09/14/14)

No More Blood Clots, PLEASE!

This one is for a dear friend of mine....  

Changing your diet helps. Consider a diet of high fiber and low in saturated fats. Also, increase your fruit and vegetable intake. 

If you are preparing your own meals, consider preparing meals with foods and spices which have natural blood-thinning properties (salicylates) such as oranges, honey, cayenne, paprika, curry, ginger, thyme, turmeric, peppermint and the not-so-favorite licorice. 

Your cooking oil of choice should be a selection from vegetable oils such as corn, safflower, soy, palm, canola or sunflower oil. 

Fish! You may not like anchovies but they also help to prevent blood clots. Anchovies are a source of omega-3s, which help to reduce blood clots. Other fatty fish to consider are salmon, lake trout, herring and mackerel. Fish oil is also a rich source of omega-3s. 

Try what I call summer salads! You can have a summer salad year round. Include blood thinning fruits such as strawberries, oranges, grapes, blueberries and cranberries. You may throw in additional helpers such as raisins and prunes - I just can't eat them! 

Prepare your own dressing using a bit of cayenne pepper and/or ginger along with apple cider vinegar - you may experiment with other spices such as lemon salt, or whatever your taste fancies. 

A glass of wine also helps, if you want that manly drink - try a Moscow mule (with muddled ginger). 

Where's your Vitamin E? This is also a blood thinner and is found in nuts such as walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts and lentils such as chickpeas. It's also found in oats and wheat - so if you must do bread go for the brown! 

Foods to avoid! 

Avoid foods rich in vitamin K. These are green and leafy vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli, lettuce and asparagus. Stay away from fruits such as peaches and bananas.