Central UMC’s Health Ministry began in 2003.
The team meets 3 to 4 times each year to share ideas and develop plans consistent with vision statement.
Contact person: Bev Bonderman, Parish Nurse.
ONGOING PROGRAMS:
- Monthly newsletter articles on current health issues.
- Bulletin Board display area on Communication Board (by the Fellowship Hall).
- Wellness Checklists are available for individuals, families and friends to help participants strive for better wellness.
Health Tips
PHYSICAL: The Truth About Vitamin D From www.webmd.com
v Vitamin D is needed by our bodies to absorb calcium and promote bone growth. Too little Vitamin D has also been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, heart disease, depression and weight gain with some suggestion of it being connected to chronic pain, diabetes, high blood pressure, and neuromuscular diseases.
v Your body makes Vitamin D from sunlight exposure all year long (in the Deep South only). Thirty minutes twice each week without sunscreen should be adequate – but direct sunlight is found only in certain regions.
v Few foods contain Vitamin D – unless it is added.
- Vitamin D super foods include Salmon, Mackerel and Mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light.
- Other foods that contain some Vitamin D include Canned Tuna, Sardines in Oil, Fortified Milk or Yogurt, Beef or Calf Liver, Egg Yolks, and Cheese. Certain brands of Orange Juice and Breakfast Cereals are fortified with Vitamin D.
v Adults should aim for at least 400-600 IU Vitamin D3 or D2 with up to 2,000 IU daily for those with limited sun exposure.
v Some medications interfere with Vitamin D absorption, so check with your doctor or pharmacist.
MENTAL: Depression Can Accompany Heart Disease
From FOCUS ON HEALTHY AGING, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
After a heart attack or even a diagnosis of heart disease, it is quite common for patients to start exhibiting some depressive symptoms, and in some cases, to become clinically depressed. Those who become depressed could develop cardiovascular complications. You can help by:
- Considering depression screening and some counseling to help get you through it.
- Getting involved in group activities that your doctors approve of to keep your activity level up and bolster your social support network – both of which can help counter depression.
SPIRITUAL: God’s Guidance
Bob Mumford, in Take Another Look at Guidance, compares discovering God’s will with a sea captain’s docking procedure: A certain harbor in Italy can be reached only by sailing up a narrow channel between dangerous rocks and shoals – a place of many ship wrecks.
To guide the ships safely into port, three lights have been mounted on poles. When the three lights are perfectly lined up and seen as one, the ship can safely proceed. If the pilot sees one or two lights, he knows he is off course and in danger.
God has also provided three beacons to guide us – the three must be lined up before it is safe for us to proceed. The three harbor lights of God’s guidance are:
- The Word of God (objective standard)
2. The Holy Spirit (subjective witness)
- Circumstances (divine providence)
Together they assure us that the directions we’ve received are from God and will lead us safely along his way. From 750 Engaging Illustrations by C.B. Larson
Many books inform, but only one transforms – the Bible