Verve Health

As cases continue to rise at striking rates, it's important to remember proper safety measures to protect yourself and others.

Refresh your memory with some of these simple tips below:
- Stay at least six feet away from others in public places, this includes populated outdoor areas, too!
- Make sure your mask is covering your mouth AND your nose at all times
- Hand sanitizers work great on the go, but wash your hands with warm soapy water whenever possible
- Disinfect heavily used surfaces regularly. You'd be surprised how many germs live on your cellphone!
- Stay home if you're not feeling well. Even a minor headache could be a symptom of COVID19. Stay home and get tested, it's never worth the risk!

Each November we celebrate by drawing attention to one of the most common and costly chronic diseases in the country.

Diabetes effects 1-10 Americans and pre-diabetes effects even more, 1-3!

Though cases of diabetes are decreasing in older individuals, case rates have steadily and rapidly increased in youth, especially those suffering from other chronic conditions like obesity and hypertension.

Check out other interesting statistics on both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes here: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/diabetes-stat-report.html


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Between the increasing number of cases and nearly every social media post on your feed carrying political undertones, it's impossible not to feel at least a bit .

These stressed out feelings can leave you feeling exhausted, unable to focus and even hopeless at times. We've put together a list of some of our favorite tips to help you destress and unwind during this incredibly difficult time.

- Limit your social media intake: It's easy to get lost scrolling through , getting caught up in the seemingly never ending negatives of today. Try leaving your phone in another room for just an hour or two while you dive into an old favorite book or go for a walk. Disconnecting from the world of social media can help you refresh your outlook, at least for a little while.

- Connect with real people: Sure, chatting online can be a fast and easy way to catch up with friends and family, but nothing compares to real face to face interaction. Take a walk with a friend in the neighborhood, or with a family member over video chat! Seeing a familiar smiling face is a great way to brighten your day!

Like most things this year, has been turned on its head.

Many are turning to alternative methods of delivering health to their employees this year as both the need and the availability of specific health and wellness programs has surfaced.

According to our friends at Willis Tower Watson, 82% of employers view targeted clinical programs as effective solutions to the problems they face in their current approach to employee health delivery.

Many of the employers surveyed also stated that they felt the addition of would be a great overall.

Check out the full article here: http://ow.ly/7SmT50C3hqX

The effects of can be felt in virtually every aspect of life these days, altering everything from our daily routines to our .

Our friends at Ginger put together a study earlier this month looking at the pandemic's effect on throughout the last six months.

According to the , symptoms of and are up across all demographics, though is reportedly highest among women ages 25-34 and 35-44.

Read the full study here:https://go.ginger.io/hubfs/COVID_Insights_2020_10052020.pdf

Today is !

Believe it or not pumpkins have a amount of health benefits. They're rich in vitamins A and C and contain antioxidants that may reduce your risk of .

Check out some the other health of this festive fruit here: http://ow.ly/Wsne50C3glW

Though the pandemic rages on, researchers have been able to find a silver lining through all of the information they've been able to learn about the virus and everything that goes along with it.

COVID19 testing has been a main focus for many researchers throughout the pandemic thus far and one form of testing is continuing to make waves.

Saliva testing was first introduced in April of this year, but has yet to hit the market for commercial use. One company, SalivaDirect, is working to change this fact.

A TIME Magazine article from earlier this month details the research and efforts of the company to bring saliva testing into the homes of millions.

Not only are much more cost effective, but they can be completed in the comfort of your own home, helping to keep those infected out of the public as much as possible and keeping locations like workplaces, restaurants, shops, and more safer for all.

The test itself, looks for traces of the coronavirus-causing gene and amplifies it, the same method used by tests and in a study done on the saliva tests accuracies, the test results from a saliva test and a nasal swab test were in 97% agreement.

Read the full article here: https://time.com/5891887/covid-19-saliva-spit-test/

The leaves are changing, the temperature is dropping and noses are running... this can only mean one thing: is coming!

Now, unless you're Jon Snow, this phrase brings nothing but and dread. For many, the cold weather months bring about and overall feelings of that are sure to be more intense this time around.

There are ways to combat the winter blues, however. University of Virginia psychologist, Bethany Teachman, in a recent article in The New York Times walks us through three steps to combat the low feelings that plague a large amount of our population during winter.

Dr. Teachman's steps include acknowledgment, planning ahead and flipping the adversity into opportunities to help yourself and those around you, both in proximity and through zoom calls, get through the season.

Check out the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/09/well/family/fall-covid-mental-health.html?campaign_id=18&emc=edit_hh_20201016&instance_id=23174&nl=well®i_id=58860458&segment_id=41188&te=1&user_id=af1a132e49bd8267f971660471c24231

For years, new diet crazes have been spread across magazines and tv screens alike, all claiming to be the "best diet out there."

As you might have figured, they all can't be winners, so which one actually is the best diet for human kind?

According to an October 1 article from our friends at Elemental, a modified version of the Mediterranean diet is the way to go, especially when it comes to preventing many of the chronic and sometimes deadly issues that can come along with the traditional American diet.

This diet includes eating mostly plant-based foods and whole grains, with fish and other seafoods along with what the article refers to as unrestricted amounts of extra virgin olive oil .

Learn more about this innovative diet and its proven health benefits here: https://elemental.medium.com/science-might-have-identified-the-optimal-human-diet-ec618b2fb8f2

Though many major events of 2020 were put off due to COVID19, one will stop at nothing to ensue... flu season.

That's right, flu season is coming up, and fast, so make sure you're taking the steps to ensure that we don't endure what some are calling a double pandemic.

Though they cannot be certain when flu season will begin, the CDC recommends getting your flu vaccine during the fall months to be prepared for when the flu does make its way into communities.

Like most years, the flu vaccine will never be 100% effective at preventing you from contracting the flu, but this year, experts predict the vaccine's effectiveness to be around 81%.

Protect yourself and the ones you love this flu season by getting your flu shot and continuing to follow COVID19 social distancing and protocol.

Check out the CDC's Flu FAQ's to learn more about the 2020/21 flu season: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2020-2021.htm

Social media might just be the key to driving engagement in your employee wellness programs.

Some have equated encouraging your employees to join your company's wellness program from an employer standpoint to that of a parent instructing their child to follow the rules and take their advice... in one ear and out the other.

Employees are much more likely to take interest in a wellness program if it's suggested to them by a co-worker, a peer, someone they see as their equal.

Social media, though not quite as direct as an in person conversation, can help bring your wellness program in front of a new audience.

Our friends at MediKeeper have explored several ways to use social media to drive employee engagement. From starting a participant-exclusive Facebook group for individuals to share their experiences and progress, to creating a social media challenges to bring out the spirited, competitive side of your employees, there are many different ways you, as an employer, can put social media to use to drive enegagemt.

Read more about how to use social media to drive employee engagement here: https://medikeeper.com/blog/ways-improve-wellness-program-using-social-media/

Getting your is always important, but this year, it's more important than ever.

According to the CDC everyone six months and older should receive a flu shot BEFORE the flu virus begins to spread in your community as the antibodies from the vaccine take about two weeks to fully develop and take action.

Talk to your primary care provider about which flu vaccine is right for you.

Read the CDC's full flu shot guide here: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccinations.htm

Earlier last month, our friends at RAND Corporation released a new study within their led transparency initiative to increase price transparency throughout the country.

This focused largely on the cost disparities between Medicare and private insurance, noting that in some cases, those with private insurance pay close to 300% more what those on Medicare would pay for the exact same health service.

Our favorite part of the study, however, was the lists of states that pay the most and least compared to Medicare.

Check out the full study here: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR4394.html?utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz---_rdrrpmOCooWRZw3NPBgjkm2kGzEUUH_pUO1rdwT0os13tgs9Rwjk1uFooBRloV-BSmu

As more and more members of begin to make their way into the workforce, many are being tasked with adjusting to this generation's office wants and needs.

Born between the mid 1990's and 2015, Generation Z has noted that and care are among their top priorities when examining a company's benefits plan and culture as a whole.

Check out the article below by our friends at Culture Amp to better prepare for this and their expectations.

https://www.cultureamp.com/blog/how-to-prepare-your-workplace-for-generation-z/

Happy National Coffee Day, America! ☕

As it turns out, everyone's favorite caffeinated beverage might have a few more benefits than just getting you out of bed in the morning.

Check out this article below by our friends at Healthline to learn about the many health benefits your favorite morning brew might have!

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee

A few short weeks ago, our accomplished one of its many goals: distributing five whole editions! 🎉🤩

Now that we've grasped the ropes of the newsletter biz, we want to hear from you!

Take this brief below to tell us what you'd like to see in future editions of , from updates to the latest in Verve programming.

We can't wait for your !

Link to survey: https://forms.gle/mkwPpPB6sEbSj7vp8

Not for verve NEWS? here: https://share.hsforms.com/1FtYB_8qtQXSTztnCI8tCcQ3z1jy

It's been six months of face masks and social distancing in our dominated world, however we're learning more about this unknown strand of the virus by the day.

Earlier this summer, the Summit at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee got down to business crunching data on thousands if genes that were then analyzed by a team of researchers.

After reviewing the computer's findings, researchers revealed a new theory that perhaps explains why this strain of COVID has brought about symptoms we haven't seen in other variations.

In an article by Thomas Smith, posted to the Elemental earlier this month, the theory is referred to as .

Smith best summed up what this theory portrays by stating the following:

"Covid-19 is like a burglar who slips in your unlocked second-floor window and starts to ransack your house. Once inside, though, they don’t just take your stuff — they also throw open all your doors and windows so their accomplices can rush in and help pillage more efficiently."

Read the complete article here to view all aspects of this new hypothesis: https://elemental.medium.com/a-supercomputer-analyzed-covid-19-and-an-interesting-new-theory-has-emerged-31cb8eba9d63

A Supercomputer Analyzed Covid-19 — and an Interesting New Theory Has Emerged A closer look at the Bradykinin hypothesis

Now that we've got a grasp on , it's time to do a little digging on some of the terms and practices that it's inspired.

is quite similar to its predecessor in the sense that the practice is based around different people responding to different foods the way they do to different medicines or treatments.

Many have tested out this style of eating to discover how different foods cause their bodies to react as well as control internal measurements like blood sugar levels.

The practice has seen great success in helping Type II Diabetics control their blood sugar levels by adding or eliminating certain foods to a meal or snack.

For some, adding a few sliced almonds and blueberries to a bowl of oatmeal in the morning could be the difference between an intense blood sugar spike and maintaining a healthy and comfortable level throughout the day.

For others, however, adding these two small ingredients could foster a different result.

Precision eating is all about testing and observing your own personal reactions to certain foods to help you feel your best.

For the past six months we've been living and breathing by our hand sanitizer, but is this alcohol-based liquid a true alternative to the age old soap and water? According to the CDC not really.

Hand sanitizers are great in a pinch. They can reduce certain germs and microbes quickly, but fall short in other areas.

1. Hand sanitizers are not as effective when hands are dirty or greasy. Studies show that in community settings where people are handling food, or gardening, for example, the sanitizer often is not strong enough to cut through the dirt and grease and get to eliminating the germs. Soap and water are much more effective in situations like these.

2. They don't do a whole lot when used incorrectly. Many have come to prefer hand sanitizer to traditional soap and waters due to its speed and ease, but a pump of sanitizer followed by a second or two of rubbing it in are not sufficient. According to the CDC, in order for hand sanitizer to really be effective, you must first read the instructions on the back of the bottle to determine how much to use, then rub the sanitizer in all over until your hands are completely dry... wiping your hands on your jeans doesn't count as dry and usually results in more germs on your hands.

So there you have it, a good scrub with soap and water remains the best way to really cleanse your hands of most germs and microbes, though, in a pinch, or in a clinical setting where dirt and grease aren't present, sanitizer can do the trick.

Recently the term has been tossed around quite a bit throughout the medical community, but what does the term imply? What is Precision Medicine?

As a relatively new concept, Precision Medicine returns us to the thought process of individualized care. It takes into account a person's medical history, genetics, lifestyle, and other factors to not only change the way doctors are diagnosing their patients, but help create the right specific treatment for a specific individual.

This topic was widely discussed at the Midwest Business Group on Health Annual Conference and commented upon by some of THE thought leaders in the medical industry.

Keep an eye out for our September newsletter, where we'll be diving into the details of Precision Medicine, as well as many other topics from the MBGH annual conference.

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One of the biggest things we took away from the 40th Midwest Business Group on Health conference is the fact that transparency is key - on all levels.

Whether it's in between you and your employees or with your broker when looking for a new plan, the more transparent conversations are had from the very beginning, the less headaches you'll be suffering from later.

We're still talking about how incredible the 40th annual Midwest Business Group on Health conference was!

Even virtually, each keynote speaker, panelist and industry expert engaged attendees, pulling tangible, real life examples into every presentation, transporting us from our make shift to a packed auditorium!

What was your biggest take away from the event?

In our most recent newsletter we debunked different myths about cholesterol, but we learned some pretty interesting facts about the naturally occurring chemical compound along the way. Check out some of our favorites below!

- Your brain holds 25% of the cholesterol in your body. That’s 10 times more cholesterol than the rest of your body holds!

- There are two types of cholesterol, HDL (high density lipoprotein) and LDL (low density lipoprotein). Each type carries out its own function in the body. LDL carries important fats TO our tissues in the body from the liver. HDL carries important fats FROM our tissues back to the liver to either be recycled or disposed of.

- LDL is often labeled the “bad” form of cholesterol because it is bringing fats to the tissues and in turn can cause the build up of artery-clogging plaque.

Is high cholesterol really as bad for our bodies as the medical community has made it out to be? Long story short: no!

What most people forget is that cholesterol is a naturally occurring chemical compound in our bodies, one we need to survive. Without cholesterol, or even cholesterol levels that have fallen too low, the body struggles to repair itself if able to at all.

In our most recent we tackled some of the most common cholesterol myths to give you the inside scoop on what the textbooks didn't teach you.

Visit our website to sign up for out newsletter verve NEWS and never miss a busted myth again!

(Image courtesy of the Right at Home blog- https://www.rightathome.net/blog/10-cholesterol-faqs)

It turns out those daily vitamins your parents insisted you take as kids might have held some benefit after all.

In a Tweet from July 2020, the noted that vitamins C and D as well as Zinc may have an effect on reducing the inflammation associated with as well as strengthening the .

This is the first time the CDC has officially stated that specific vitamins have had a correlation to the improvement in a condition.

Our partner Tom Lewis of Health Revival Partners shares his recent experience easing the symptoms of a summer cold using vitamin C in one of his latest blog posts here: https://www.healthrevivalpartners.com/post/there-s-hope-censorship-may-be-on-the-decline

"Take a deep breath!" "Just breathe and count to ten!" "Relax and breath!"

These are all phrases we've grown very familiar with over the years and as things seem to do the opposite of calm down, a deep breath seems to be just what the doctor ordered.

We know a deep diaphramic breath can help lower your heart rate, blood pressure, improve your core muscle stability, and reduce stress, but there are other types of deep breaths and stretches you can do to achieve these same benefits.

Rib stretching and numbered breathing are also great ways to engage your core and relax your mind.

Check out this article from our friends at for the step-by-step on each of these deep breathing techniques here: https://www.healthline.com/health/diaphragmatic-breathing -happening

Diaphragmatic Breathing and Its Benefits Your diaphragm, like so many muscles in your body, can be strengthened or used more effectively. Diaphragmatic breathing, or "belly breathing," is the practice of breathing deeply and making sure to engage this muscle. Let’s take a look at what to do.

Last Wednesday, Aug. 12, the came out with an update on its hand sanitizer warnings, expanding the list of hand sanitizers to avoid.

The list now includes sanitizers manufactured by Harmonic Nature S de RL de MI in Mexico. Many sanitizers on the list contain ethanol or isopropyl alcohol but have tested positive for 1-propanol contamination. These chemicals can be incredibly harmful and even life threatening if ingested.

Click the link below to read the FDA's full list of non-safe hand sanitizers: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-consumers-should-not-use

We understand the financial stress of medication costs because, well, we’ve been there. While we were there we found cost-saving solutions that we want to share with your employees. We’ve put together a solid team to streamline this process and put money back in your pocket.

Poor medication adherence can lead to dangerous health issues and unexpected ER visits. If your employees are having issues understanding their medications or if they are paying a substantial amount for their medications, contact Verve Health today. With our medication management program, we can help answer questions