Everyday Wellness has been recognized as the best book in the Self-Help & Medicine category at the Sixteenth Annual San Diego Book & Writing Awards.

“I am delighted to have won this award,” said Marilyn Beidler. “Everyday Wellness has gotten a lot of compliments, and I’m glad the judges liked it, too.”

Check out the San Diego Book Awards Association website for a list of all the winners.

Think Globally, Eat Consciously: Read my article on sustainable eating in the April issue of Vision Magazine: http://is.gd/qJOn

Marilyn Beidler, the founder of La Jolla Health Coach, is now a published author. Her new book, Everyday Wellness, provides fifty essential tips on nutrition, fitness, and stress management. Among other things, you’ll learn which fats actually reduce your risk of heart disease; why your makeup kit could be hazardous to your health; and how a gratitude journal can help you be happier. Learn more…

Like most people, you probably regard your health as a top priority. But are you investing enough time, effort–and yes, even money–in being as healthy as possible? As chiropractor Peter May points out, once people develop a major illness, they will do whatever it takes to get better: “Spare no expense! Gimme the works. I want all the latest and greatest technologies: MRIs, CTs (especially those new full body scans), surgeries, drugs, tests, more tests, more drugs and more procedures.”

But while some medical procedures are unavoidable, it’s cheaper in the long run to maintain your health rather than trying to patch it up when it fails. Among other preventive strategies, May mentions hiring a health coach, buying quality foods, buying a gym membership, and getting away for the weekend. Here at La Jolla Health Coach, we like those ideas–and particularly that last one.

The Healthy Together! Health Management program is a joint project of the Wyoming Department of Health EqualityCare and APS Healthcare. The program, which has 72 participating clinics, gets a thumbs-up from pediatrician Diane Edwards:

I am very pleased with the Healthy Together! program. My patients’ parents really appreciate the support from the health coaches. It has certainly been helpful for parents to have a nurse health coach to talk with that is knowledgeable about medical information. The nurse health coaches can review the recommendations from the medical, educational and other allied health providers and help the parents decide where to start and how to prioritize the multiple suggestions.

For the eighth straight year, Abbot has made Working Mother Magazine‘s list of the best companies to work for. This year, the company placed in the top ten. Among the “standout programs” that make Abbot a good place to work are on-site fitness centers, free confidential health assessments, and access to a personal health coach.

Some Wisconsin residents who cannot afford health insurance will soon be provided with free health coaching services.

According to the press release, “Program participants will receive coaching and regular telephone support from their own personal health coach.”

The project is a joint effort of Irvine, California-based LifeMasters Supported SelfCare, Inc., and the Health Insurance Risk-Sharing Plan (HIRSP) Authority of Madison, Wisconsin.

Tidi Products is a Wisconsin company with a progressive employee health care program.

The company replaced about 70 percent of vending machine food with healthier choices and keeps fruit baskets for employees in its building.

Tidi also has a health coach and nurse practitioner on site to work with staff, Felton said. For every dollar spent on the health team, the company estimates it gets a $1.84 return.

Blogger Chris Attwood recently interviewed Hilton Johnson, the man behind Health Coach Training and Health Coaching U. Here are some choice excerpts:

  • Health coaching is a niche market of coaching. In fact, I think I read recently somewhere it’s the fastest growing niche market of all coaching right now.
  • [S]tudies have shown now that in corporate America, companies that are investing in health coaching are getting a return of two-and-a-half to seven-and-a-half dollars for every dollar they’re investing into it.
  • I think people who want to make a lot of money and be in business for themselves might want to look at health coaching. Certainly, there are other huge benefits, and those are helping other people, making a difference in healthcare, improving one’s own health, and caring for somebody who you love. All of those are wonderful, wonderful benefits.
  • A health coach basically helps people to do what they know they should be doing anyway. What is that? We all know that we need to be exercising more. We all know we need to be eating better. We know that stress is a known killer. We know smoking, drinking, unhealthy behavior and habits cause poor lifestyles and they cause problems. We know that people need to have balance in their lives.

You may be an old hand at vitamins and minerals, but are you getting enough phytochemicals in your diet? What’s a phytochemical, anyway? The prefix phyto comes from the Greek for plant. That bit of etymology tips us off to the fact that these substances are found only in plant foods–the less processed, the better. It turns out that many phytochemicals also have health-promoting effects inside the human body. More…