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Easy New Year's Resolutions For Your Health

By Chrissy Garner, LDNPrint Story | Email Story

As the clock struck midnight, and you were sipping and kissing away the last of 2018, you and millions of people were also making New Year's resolutions.

Among the popular ones: eat less, move more, cut back on sweets, quit smoking, volunteer, and spend more time with family. Few, if any, of these resolutions (especially those that are health-based), are actually kept. How many will still be priorities at the end of January?

For many of us, the path to good health is not an easy one. Procrastination, family obligations, work demands and lack of time and energy are just a few reasons that can halt best intentions in their tracks.

But consider these simple resolutions for 2019:

* Eat more fat.
That's right — more fat, but the right kind. Add more salmon, olives, avocado, nuts, seeds, eggs and coconut oil to your diet. Consuming healthy, essential fatty acids has been shown to boost heart health, lower triglycerides, improve inflammatory conditions and may boost cardiovascular, neurological and psychological health.

* Avoid soda, even diet soda. Diet research has found that a diet soda drinker's waist is 70 percent greater than the non-diet soda drinker's waist.

* Include Meatless Monday, and add more nuts, beans, seeds, tofu to your diet. By going meatless you may reduce your risk of chronic diseases, reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.



* Pack your lunch everyday — or as often as you can. Always include lean protein, a healthy whole grain, a fruit and at least two vegetables. When you pack your lunch you're able to control calories, improve quality and reduce portion size.

* Sleep more. Adults should sleep eight to nine hours per night to stay healthy. Sleep deprivation can lead to decreased alertness, high blood pressure, stroke and obesity. Healthy sleep hygiene calls for a dark, cool room and no electronics hours before bed.

* Strength train. Muscle mass naturally diminishes with age, so work out to stay strong. Strength training has been shown to reduce the symptoms of, arthritis, back pain, depression, diabetes, obesity and osteoporosis. Include three full body workouts per week in your routine.

At CHP, our nutrition team is here to help you reach your 2019 health goals!

Chrissy Garner, LDN, is a nutritionist at CHP Neighborhood Health Center in Pittsfield.
 

 


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Pittsfield School Officials Want Summary of PHS Investigation

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — While it is unclear how much information will be released, School Committee members want some executive summary of the Pittsfield High School investigation into alleged staff misconduct.

On Wednesday, they requested a capsulation of the process and, if possible, the findings of Bulkley Richardson & Gelinas' investigation triggered by allegations against Dean of Students Molly West and Vice Principal Alison Shepard that surfaced in December.  

"Right now, the public has the seven of us sitting up here saying nothing was substantiated," said Mayor Peter Marchetti, who motioned for an executive summary.

"And quite frankly, part of the argument may be its cost, but how much money have we already spent and how much time have we gone down this rabbit hole to still have this black cloud hanging over our head without the public buying into anything that happened?"

As far as he is concerned, the city is "in for a penny in for a pound." The lead investigator, Judge Mary-Lou Rup, was hired at a rate of $275 per hour and paralegal services for $110 per hour.  

"And whatever legal counsel can produce, I think that we have to live with it, but to just say we're not doing it at this stage in the game I think is a mistake," he said.

Committee member William Garrity requested that discussion about the investigation's reports be put on the agenda. The district's legal counsel has reportedly advised against releasing the report even though officials pledged transparency when the scandal arose.

"I feel there is at least some balancing act that we need to figure out between protecting the privacy of the report and people being investigated and people who are part of the investigation while still maintaining the public's right to know," he said.

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