Outdoors in Maine
Find the information you're looking for by name, region or activity. It's that easy to get out in the great outdoors of Maine! Click here for a searchable listing of places to spend time outdoors this fall.
The Farmer's Market at the Portland Campus
There's still time left to visit Mr. Meservy and take advantage of local, fresh-grown food at the Farmer's Market. Mr. Meservy will be at the Portland Campus parking lot every Friday until late November, from 11:30am-1:30pm. Plan to make it a weekly habit to buy fresh flowers, plants and produce in season.
Get in Shape with Lifeline!
All USM faculty/staff can take part in Lifeline’s professionally guided exercise programs with a non-credit tuition waiver. The only cost is your gym usage fee (which can be payroll deducted), and the one-time fitness evaluation cost of $30 for men under 45 years and women under 55 years old, or $65 for men over 45 and women over 55 (physician stress test included) for a 1 year program. Please click on this link to learn more about the programs.
Looking for More Articles?
Then visit our Site Index, which has all of our previous articles, resources and recipes, arranged by topic.
Monthly Quiz
National Health Observances
National Cholesterol Month
Keeping watch over your heart health is a lifelong challenge! Making small changes in your diet and increasing your physical activity can improve your health measurably. In order to keep your LDL (bad cholesterol) and your risk for heart disease low, you should start on the Heart Healthy Diet. The Heart Healthy Diet is an eating plan that can help keep your blood cholesterol low and decrease your chance of developing heart disease. Follow this link to start a personal heart healthy nutrition plan.
National Menopause Awareness Month
New findings from the Women's Health Initiative and other studies offer important information about the risks and benefits of long-term menopausal hormone therapy. Click here for current information resources from the NIH, on both long-term and short-term hormone use, and other concerns related to women's health during and after menopause.
More Features
Fending Off Fall Fat - It's Not Your Fault
Now there’s evidence to suggest it’s not just a lack of willpower to remain active and eat healthy, but that genetics play a big role in restoring our roundness. But you can fight Mother Nature. Click here to learn more.
What You Can Do For Menopausal Symptoms
Menopause is a natural stage of life. It is not something that you must take medicine for. If your doctor says you are in the menopausal transition and the symptoms are not bothering you, you don’t have to do anything about them. If your symptoms are making you very uncomfortable, there are things you can do to relieve your discomfort. Click here for more information.
Short attention span linked to TV: Children show effects by age 7
The more television infants and toddlers watch, the more likely they are to have trouble paying attention and concentrating during their early school years, a study reports today. Although there has been other research on how many hours of TV very young kids watch, this is the first study on how early viewing might affect attention span. Click here to read more.
Recipes of the Month
This month we are featuring low-cholesterol recipes from the American Heart Association: Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Ricotta and Goat Cheese and Spiced Shish Kebabs with Horseradish Cream.Employee Assistance Program
USM, along with all campuses in the University of Maine System, has contracted with CIGNA Behavioral Health to provide an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) available to all employees. Services include free counseling sessions and 24-hour crisis intervention. You can reach CIGNA 24 hours a day, seven days a week by making a confidential, toll free call. Call 1-877-622-4327 or access the CIGNA Web site at cignabehavioral.com. If you would like further information about the program please contact our Benefits Office at 780-5218, 780-5653, or call Suzanne Roy, Health Promotion Manager, at 228-8151.
Trying to Quit Smoking?
Are you trying to quit smoking, or thinking about quitting? Perhaps you tried to quit, but found it hard to not smoke? Quitting can be difficult, but every time you try, you will be closer to living without tobacco. The Center for Tobacco Independence and the Partnership for a Tobacco Free Maine can help you. Healthy USM offers free smoking cessation kits and coaching for USM employees and their family members and retirees. Contact Suzanne Roy at 228-8151 for more information.
Let's Go!
Let’s Go! is a community-based initiative to promote healthy lifestyle choices for children, youth and families in 12 Greater Portland communities. Their goal is to increase physical activity and healthy eating of children and youth - from birth to 18. In each of the participating communities, Let’s Go! would like to partner with interested community members to work on ways to increase physical activity and healthy eating. For more information, visit their website at www.letsgo.org
