M AY 2013
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UNIVERSITY OF LETHBRIDGE
L I V I N G W E L L AT T H E
U of L
It’s all about the label BY SUZANNE MCINTOSH We are often told by health professionals to read nutrition labels before making our food choices. But how many of us know how to read a nutrition label and what exactly does % Daily Value mean? The % Daily Value (% DV) that you find after each item listed on a nutrition label is a tool that can help you make healthier food choices. Located on the Nutrition Facts tables on food packages, it provides a quick overview of the nutrients in a particular food. You can use the % DV to help you determine if a portion of food has a little or a lot of a certain nutrient. Use these numbers as a rule of thumb to
WHY AM I ALWAYS SICK? BY LORI WEBER This is the time of year that people begin noticing the sore throats, the coughs, the colds, the lingering illness and begin to ask medical personnel WHY, WHY is this happening to me? Well, there are lots of answers. First, we live in a community where we are surrounded by an invisible world of micro-organisms. This community living
CELEBRATING UNIVERSITY EXCELLENCE The University held its annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony on Wednesday, May 1, honouring 119 employees who have completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service, and 12 retiring employees. Congratulations to the following.
Retirees Jane Allan, Karen Clearwater, Barbara Dickinson, Gayle
help you read nutrition labels. For example, 5% DV or less is a little, while 15% DV or more is considered to be a lot. These percentages apply to all nutrients. You can also use the % DV to help you compare different food products to make a better choice for yourself. Nutrients you may want more of include calcium, iron, vitamins A and C and fibre. Look for 15% DV or more for these nutrients. You may also want to use the % DV to lessen the fat (saturated and trans fat) and sodium in your diet. Look for products with 5% DV or less of these nutrients. For example, let’s say you are comparing two cereals in
the grocery store. Product A has a % DV for fibre of 12% per serving. Product B has a % DV for fibre of 25% for the same serving size. If fibre were a nutrient you want more of, you would want to choose Product B, since it contains a greater amount of fibre. Keep in mind that whether or not a food will contain a little or a lot of a nutrient also depends on how much of it you eat. The Nutrition Facts table is based on a certain amount of food and to properly compare foods, you must compare like amounts. This amount is always listed at the top of the table, and if you consume twice the amount of food that is listed, you will likewise get double the amount of nutrients.
Look for the % Daily Value on the Nutrition Facts table to help you make healthier choices! For more information on the % Daily Value and food labeling, visit: www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/cons/dv-vq/index-eng. php; www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/ label-etiquet/nutrition/cons/ fact-fiche-eng.php; www.hc-sc. gc.ca/fn-an/label-etiquet/nutrition/index-eng.php. Article compliments of The Alberta Healthy Living Program (403-388-6675). As always, I look forward to any comments, suggestions or questions. Be well! Suzanne McIntosh is the wellness co-ordinator for the University of Lethbridge
the Legend
May Wellness Sessions Bee Amazing Challenge Takeoff with Mike Mahon Wellness by Mike Mahon Wednesday, May 8 10 to 11 a.m., PE Level 2 (by the east stairwell) | Light refreshments and draw prizes Travel tips for summer in Alberta Phil Edmundson from Travel Alberta | Wednesday, May 29 Noon to 1 p.m., B650 Bee Amazing Race The annual physical activity challenge begins May and continues through June 9. You set your pace with any activity you choose. Register as a team or individual at heartsmart.ulethbridge.ca/welcome.
can help us or harm us, depending on how often individuals and the entire community are washing their hands, covering their coughs, staying home when ill or otherwise doing things that spread disease. You can be the most careful person around but if that person standing in front of you sneezes in your face, you may get ill. Our bodies fight back with their remarkable immune systems but we have to do our part. Are you sleeping 7 to 8 hours a night and waking up rested, or is work, partner snoring, small kids crying, neighbourhood noise and so on keeping you
awake? Is your workload under control so that you are not working too long into the night or too tense to sleep well? Have you had a physical with your doctor and found out if your iron levels are low or another health problem is interfering with your body’s ability to fight infection? Are you planning meals and eating healthy to get the micronutrients needed for your body’s optimal health? Have you given thoughtful consideration to the medical issues that may assist you in fighting the colds and flu? A flu shot, sinus rinses (a natural step that people in the dry southern
Alberta climate should consider), a multivitamin a day, the Vitamin D supplement that all persons in northern climates should consider, are all good defenses against infection. Ask yourself what your body needs to stay healthy and then take conscious steps toward that goal. I personally have always been extremely grateful to our hard-working caretaking staff. We live in a community, and their work to clean and disinfect means that public areas are safer every day. Are you doing your part in community cleanliness? Do you clean up after yourself? Are you
cleaning your desktop surfaces regularly? Have you had chats with colleagues about cleaning supplies and kitchen duties that lead to less illness? Do you take care to stay home when you have diarrhea so that public toilets are not affected by your illness? What we do as individuals affects our community. Communicable diseases are around. Let us all do our part to live well in this community. Have a healthy and safe spring! Lori Weber is the manager of the University of Lethbridge Health Centre
Durand, Jackie Edwards, Trudy Govier, Pat Horrocks, Bill Krysak, Don MacDonald, Gordon Melvin, Brian Parkinson and Roman Przybylski
25 Years Rene Boere, Karen Clearwater, Marina Crow, Andrea Glover, Malcolm Greenshields, Chris Hosgood, Craig Loewen, Glen Montgomery, Deb Robb, Greg Rohovie, Wendy Romanchuk, Dan Sullivan, James Thomas, Judy Vogt and Debbie Westergreen
tha Lutterotti, Don MacDonald, Craig Monk, Gary Nixon, Janice Rahn, Lesley Rode, Anita Ryder, Maureen Schwartz, Alan Siaroff, John Siewert, Debby Sollway, Nicole Spence, Corinne Steele, Michelle Vedres, Paul Viminitz, Lori Weber and Bernie Williams
Huxley, Lori Kopp, Sue Kovach, Sean Legge, Hua Li, Denise Li, Cliff Lobe, Gene Lublinkhof, Theone MacLennan, Stavroula Malla, Morgan Martin, Sheila McManus, Gerlinde Metz, Peggy Mezei, Jaime Morasch, David Morris, Marni Morton, Steven Mosimann, Nellie Murray, Maria Ng, Bradley Olson, Nancy Pastoor, Richard Perlow, Ken Peters, Anna Pickering, Penny Pickles, Noella Piquette, Scott Powell, Joseph Rasmussen, Jackie Rice, Brad Robinson, Allison Roest, Susan Roth, Doug Smith, Barry Stannard, Marinus Swanepoel, Terry Tollefsrud, Linda Wever, Carol Williams, Kelly WilliamsWhitt, Patrick Wilson and Rossitsa Yalamova
Long Service Recipients 45 Years Dennis Connolly 40 Years Rosemary Howard Joyce Ito 35 Years Murielle Guitard 30 Years Bob Boudreau, Richard Butt, Dan Furgason and Stephen Wismath
20 Years Ari Bomhof, Toby Clark, Randy Dueck, Maureen Hawkins, Jeanette Leusink, Hillary Rodrigues and Glenna Westwood 15 Years Carla Buziak-Prus, Jeff Davidson, Barb Erler, Leah Fowler, Corinne Goodwin, Joey Grace, Leon Kennes, Danny Le Roy, Saman-
9
10 Years Glen Baker, Lorraine Beaudin, George Bedard, ChiChi Cameron, Howard Cheng, David Clearwater, Eoin Colquhoun, Jennifer Copeland, Marci Craig, Joanne Des Roche, Sameer Deshpande, Heinz Fischer, Sharon French, Elizabeth Galway, Michel Gerken, Nicholas Hanson, John Harding, Michelle Helstein, David Hinger, Robbyn Hoffe, Alice Hontela, Renae Hougen, Steven