Popeye was on to something

At some point in our lives, mom said, "eat your greens." And mom was right. A vast majority of our ancestors nutrition was greens. Or bodies cry for it, yet it is one of the most neglected groups of food in our diets. 

An great article I recently read listed these as the top 10 leafy greens:

1. Kale

2. Collards

3. Turnips

4. Swiss Chard

5. Spinach

6. Mustard Greens

7. Broccoli

8. Red/Green Romaine

9. Cabbage

10. Iceberg Lettuce

As our primal ancestors traveled, they picked green leafs along the way and may have consumed pounds per day! Greens served as the leading food for obtaining important nutrients. In fact, greens are calorie-for-calorie the most nutrient dense foods available to humans. Some of these nutrients and minerals include:

Magnesium

Calcium

Potassium

Manganese

Foalte

Betaine

Vitamin K

Vitamin C

Vitamin E

B Vitamins

As a strength coach, this was an 'ah-ha' moment and solved a childhood question of mine: why does spinach give Popeye so much strength!!! Greens contain nutrients that support or body's mitochondria, the organelle responsible for producing ATP (our body's energy source). 

Additionally, the nutrients support brain function and are a rich source of phytonutrients that protect our cells from damage and our eyes from age-related problems.

What is great about consuming these power-packed plants is that despite being a carbohydrate, it's impact on blood glucose is very limited. The carbohydrates found in plants are within the fiber, which is slow digesting and thus do not spike your insulin (a major contributor to weight gain). 

Fill up those plates with greens. It worked for Popeye.

Recognized Leaders for Shedding Pounds & Dollars

It has been about a year and half since I took the position as Director of Wellness with Able Engineering, a company I coached while interning at Athlete's Performance in '10. I was fortunate enough last summer to hire Mike Austin, a hard-working and driven fitness director I had previously worked for.  

A lot of great stuff has happened in that year. This past October, our program was recognized by the Wellness Council of Arizona for Progress, Process and Leadership in Worksite Wellness. We were very excited to attend the event and eager to see what other practices were out there. We were very humbled to find that what we offered was not closed to being paralleled within our department. 

It made me sit back and take a look at what we offer, and, to be frank, I am not sure there are other companies - especially ones with 335 employees - that offer what we do. Our programs include: 

• Drug and tobacco free environment
• Annual biometric screenings 
• Catered food services with healthy nutrition options including homemade protein shakes
• Purified water stations 
• Two full-time performance coaches
• Free personal training & nutrition counseling 
• Paid health insurance premiums for active participation
• Free post-workout supplementation, including protein shake, fish oil and multivitamin 
• Wellness clubs, including hiking, biking, basketball and obstacle events
• Company newsletters, lectures and blog

We have been able to take the conceptual, subjective notion that 'healthy employees are more productive and make your company more profitable,' and have made it objective and quantifiable. 

We are very proud of our clients for their success, which includes: 

• Over 45% of employee involvement 
• 1,109 lbs of recorded weight loss
• Reduction in biometric testing with 88% of participants 
• 89% of participants reported a reduction in pre-training, chronic pain 
• Over $100,000 reduction in claims
• $1,500 reduction in the per member healthcare cost with a 25% in membership

Our staff is honored to receive the award, which is a direct result of the hard work and commitment we have received from our 150 clients. 

We are proving that health care costs are controllable and investing in the health and wellness of your employees leads to a more productive workforce with massive cost savings.