You’ve heard you are what you eat. There’s more truth in those words than we care to believe.
Poor nutritional choices can ruin your health.
Chronic disease caused by unhealthy eating habits is responsible for the death of one in seven Americans.1 And it costs the nation more than $1.5 trillion annually — or more than Canada’s total GDP — on healthcare.2
On a personal level, an unhealthy diet can raise cholesterol levels, elevate blood sugar and lead to obesity, putting you at high risk for chronic disease. So while you’re snacking on that chocolate chip cookie, you could be setting yourself up for a future of expensive, ongoing medical care.
Changing your choices can change your future.
Despite the statistics, most chronic disease is preventable. Healthy eating habits, in combination with regular exercise, can cause an 83% reduction in the rate of coronary disease, a 91% reduction in diabetes in women, and a 71% reduction of colon cancer in men.3
Making the choice to eat right is the difficult part. And it’s a choice we need to make even when faced with the dessert table at a potluck dinner.
Fortunately, you have support as you learn to make that choice. As a GuideStone medical plan participant, you have free access of Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield’s® suite of online wellness tools, including their Nourish® program.
Nourish is about eating to live, not living to eat. With the help of Highmark’s program, you can continue to eat the foods you love while learning to eat wisely.
Your customized action plan is only a click away.
All it takes is 15 minutes to fill out the Nourish questionnaire, and you’ll receive a free 16-page action plan with three follow-up goals for improving your daily diet. It includes specific tips for making healthy food choices when dining out, shopping and preparing meals. You’ll also gain access to delicious and healthful recipes that can get you started on the road to a nourishing diet.
The Nourish questionnaire can help you isolate the factors that sabotage your dieting goals. It will examine your nutritional needs based on your current health and potential health risks. It will also look at your eating habits, motivation to change and confidence in your ability to change those habits.
Why is this so important? Because poor nutritional habits can cost you more than the price of a burger and fries. If you are poorly fueling your body, you are putting yourself at high risk for chronic illness, which can cost you later in medical expenses. On the other hand, properly fueling your body can reap huge dividends in long life, great health and fewer medical expenses.
So make the choice. Visit www.highmarkbcbs.com today. After logging in, select Your Health. Then choose Improve Your Health for the complete line-up of Highmark’s wellness programs. Choose Nourish for your health — both today and in the future.
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2 New England Journal of Medicine
3 Rimm, E.B. and Stampfer M.J. “Diet, lifestyle, and longevity — the next steps?”
JAMA 2004, 292, 1490-1492.