Nourish to Flourish

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The EWHS Team is rolling out an awareness BLITZ on Nutrition!

Individual nutrition can be impacted by many factors and most have some room for improvement when it comes to making healthy eating and drinking choices. Let’s talk about that!

From Employee Trauma/ Crisis Response team

The Gut-Brain Axis

Did you know??? It is estimated that 90-95% of the body’s serotonin is made in the digestive tract! Trauma and stress can result in a nutrient-poor diet, and lead to dips in our mental and physical health. 

This means: 

• What you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood.
• Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function — and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression.
• Your gut (digestive tract) is like your second brain and should be treated as such!  

How do I keep my gut-brain axis healthy?

• Eat high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. This nourishes and protects the brain and promotes the growth of “good” bacteria.
• Start paying attention to how eating different foods makes you feel — not just in the moment, but the next day.

• When you stick to a diet of nutrient-rich foods, you’re setting yourself up for fewer mood swings and an improved ability to focus.

Need help connecting with a mental health professional that’s right for you?

Email doc.TICteam@doc.mo.gov, today!

From Fire & Safety: 

From Employee Health Nurses

Nourishment mentality replaces diet mentality.

We’ve all heard the phrase “You are what you eat”, that is why good nutrition is imperative to overall physical health, it supports disease prevention and offers cognitive benefits.  

Learning how to develop eating habits that include nutritious foods can take some time and some evidence-based knowledge. To help you learn more, the USDA has created a great website on nutrition that contains info on building a plate, activities for kids, eating disorders, and health tips for families. Nutrition.gov     

From Employee Support

Speaking of finding healthy food options; feeling knowledgeable can be challenging, but we’re here to help! Talk to a member of the Employee Support Unit for assistance with connecting to a resource. We are here to help support you in your nutritional interest goals toward a healthy lifestyle! Some resources that may be generally helpful when it comes to increasing nutrition knowledge and food security include:

• SNAP Benefits- The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) offers a monthly benefit to help you buy food and food products. This monthly benefit is loaded to an EBT card for your convenience. For more information and to apply, go to: https://mydss.mo.gov/food-assistance/apply-for-snap

• The United Way's 2-1-1 hotline; call for help with resource finding and connection.

• The Missouri Department of Social Services Food Assistance webpage.

From FMLA

• What you eat directly affects the structure & function of your brain and your mood.
• Processed or refined foods are harmful to the brain which causes worsening of the body's regulation of insulin, promotes inflammation and impaired brain function.
• FMLA could be utilized for appointments to help manage the health conditions caused by harmful foods.
• For more information contact the Central FMLA Unit at doc.fmla@doc.mo.gov. 

From Employee Wellness There are a lot of resources available when it comes to gaining and maintaining good nutrition habits.    Check out the Eat Right Toolkit created by ComPsych, part of our Employee Assistance Program (SELF), which features: Motivation guide What is diabetes? Healthy Eating on a budget   Natural Grocer's is another excellent resource that anyone in Missouri can access. Check out their website to see if there is a store near you, or to schedule a FREE virtual or in-person nutritional health consult from anywhere.   One more way to learn about nutrition is by signing up for the upcoming WebEx webinars featuring our employee health nurses and Natural Grocer's Erin Lawrence.

This content is provided for awareness purposes only. Some links may function better from a personal phone, feel free to forward to your personal email address.   For any resource-related questions, contact wellness@doc.mo.gov.