Month: January 2024

2024-01-22T08:01:00

(BPT) – Sponsored by Sanofi

More than 1.4 million Americans have type 1 diabetes — thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction where the body attacks its own cells that produce insulin. Although type 1 diabetes is relatively less common when compared to type 2 diabetes, it’s anticipated that cases of type 1 diabetes in the U.S. are expected to grow to five million by 2050, underscoring one of many reasons why increased awareness about type 1 diabetes is so important.

Type 1 diabetes can be elusive, meaning that while you may have the disease for months or years, outward symptoms can take time — sometimes even years — to show in a noticeable way, resulting in more advanced disease at initial diagnosis. What’s more, when symptoms do finally present themselves, they frequently present with life-threatening complications, such as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). In fact, up to 40% of DKA cases are recorded to be from people newly diagnosed with the disease. Type 1 diabetes also cannot be prevented. With this in mind, understanding risk factors of type 1 diabetes is critical in empowering you to take charge of your health by screening early for this condition. Following are three common risk factors to keep in mind:

Family History

If you have a first-or-second-degree relative who has type 1 diabetes, your risk of developing it increases quite significantly. In fact, if just one person in your family has type 1 diabetes, the chances of you or someone else in your family developing it are up to 15x higher. In most instances, individuals inherit risk factors from their parents, and the risk of developing the condition can be as high as 30% if both biological parents have type 1 diabetes.

That said, even more surprising is that about 90% of those who develop type 1 diabetes do not have a family history of the disease. So, while having a family history of type 1 diabetes is a common risk factor for developing the disease, it is a condition that truly does not discriminate.

Age

In the U.S., type 1 diabetes is among the most common chronic diseases that impacts children. In fact, type 1 diabetes was once commonly referred to as “juvenile diabetes.” That said, we’ve gotten more knowledgeable about this disease over time — and now we know that although type 1 diabetes usually develops in children and adolescents, individuals at any age can develop it. This means that young adults and adults are still at risk, with recent data showing that more than half the people who are newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes are being diagnosed as adults.

Autoimmune Disease

Notably, of individuals with type 1 diabetes, every fifth person also has an additional autoimmune disease — demonstrating the co-occurring nature of these conditions. As such, if you have certain autoimmune conditions, such as celiac or Hashimoto’s disease, you may be at a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Get Screened Today

While this list does not encompass all potential risk factors — for example, geography and environmental factors can also increase a person’s risk for type 1 diabetes — the most important takeaway is that no one should wait for common symptoms of type 1 diabetes to get screened because it is possible to identify type 1 diabetes in its earlier stages, before common symptoms occur. That is the goal of Sanofi’s The 1 Pledge movement — to drive a national conversation about and action around the importance of early screening for type 1 diabetes.

Take risk factors seriously and talk to your doctor about getting screened today; the more information you have early, the more you and your family can do to become educated about and get prepared for type 1 diabetes. Make your pledge to get screened at The1Pledge.com, which also has more educational information.

Sanofi does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment — information is provided for educational purposes only. Your doctor is the best source of health information. Talk to your doctor if you have any questions about your health or treatment.

2024-01-22T13:19:00

(BPT) – Whether this year will be your first time filing or you’ve been doing your taxes for years, it’s never too early to prepare for tax season. By knowing ahead of time what documents you’ll need, you’ll be more likely to make tax prep easier and more efficient — helping reduce the stress that can come from waiting until the last minute.

Advance preparation can also help you file early to get your refund earlier if you’re entitled to one. With an average of 3 out of 4 taxpayers receiving a tax refund, don’t wait till tax day.

Here are important tips to help when preparing to file:

Make a checklist

To get started, create a checklist so you’ll know what documents to watch for and collect. Most tax documents like W-2s are made available by employers and other institutions online, although they may also be mailed. You can check with your employer’s HR department to find out how and when tax documents are likely to be delivered.

If you’ve been a gig worker — even part time — or are entirely self-employed, you’ll need to gather documents like 1099-Ks, plus all the receipts and records of your self-employment income and expenses throughout the year, including quarterly estimated tax payments you may have already made.

For anyone who has filed before, take out last year’s taxes for an idea of what you’ll likely need this year. Information and documents you’ll need depend on your unique situation, and they include but are not limited to:

• Your Social Security number (as well as your spouse’s and children’s, if applicable)
• Records of income received, including interest income
• Mortgage interest statements (1098)
• Payments for tuition (1098-T) or student loan interest (1098-E)
• Health care and childcare expenses
• Vehicle or home purchase documents
• Charitable contribution receipts

“By preparing early, you’ll have more time to gather documents, review your tax return and speak with your Tax Pro, helping you feel more confident and less stressed,” said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer, Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. “By waiting until the April deadline, you could make a mistake, requiring the filing of an amended tax return or subjecting yourself to avoidable penalties and interest.”

Decide how you’ll file

Taxes can be confusing, no matter your circumstances, so it’s a good idea to consider how you’d like to file this year. It can help to have someone on your side who understands recent changes in tax laws, how to file accurately — and how to make the most of applicable deductions.

You can get expert help filing your taxes at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. Choosing a professional tax service can take the worry out of figuring out your taxes, no matter your circumstances.

Make sure you and your tax professional electronically file your tax return. It’s not only the fastest way to make sure the IRS receives your return, but it’s the safest way. This keeps paper from getting stolen out of your mailbox or getting lost in the mail.

Also, electronically deposit your tax refund. Having your refund directly deposit into your bank account or on a prepaid bank card is the safest option. This avoids the possibility of your check getting stolen or getting marked as “undeliverable” if sent to the wrong mailbox.

“These two bonus tips alone can cut days and weeks off your tax return refund timing and better safeguard your information and money,” said Steber.

The chance to double your refund

With Jackson Hewitt’s second annual Double Your Refund Sweepstakes, you could win a prize equal to your federal tax refund. The 15-week sweepstakes starts the first week of January and goes through April 15. Each week there will be two grand prize winners who will win a prize equal to their federal tax refund (a maximum match of $10,000 and minimum of $1,500), plus 20 runner-up winners each week who will win $200. In addition, there will be a season-long drawing where there will be two additional grand prize winners and 20 runner-up winners randomly drawn.

“As we launch the 2024 tax season, the second annual Double Your Refund sweepstakes will allow hundreds of clients the chance to win extra money during tax time — with the chance to potentially double the size of their tax refund — which we know will be financially beneficial,” said Kim Hudson, SVP and chief marketing officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.

How to enter: File your 2023 federal tax return at any Jackson Hewitt location within the 15-week period or mail an entry form by the Monday following the week you file your tax return. For the season-long drawing, enter at JacksonHewitt.com.

To find a Jackson Hewitt office near you, visit JacksonHewitt.com.

2024-01-22T13:19:00

(BPT) – Whether this year will be your first time filing or you’ve been doing your taxes for years, it’s never too early to prepare for tax season. By knowing ahead of time what documents you’ll need, you’ll be more likely to make tax prep easier and more efficient — helping reduce the stress that can come from waiting until the last minute.

Advance preparation can also help you file early to get your refund earlier if you’re entitled to one. With an average of 3 out of 4 taxpayers receiving a tax refund, don’t wait till tax day.

Here are important tips to help when preparing to file:

Make a checklist

To get started, create a checklist so you’ll know what documents to watch for and collect. Most tax documents like W-2s are made available by employers and other institutions online, although they may also be mailed. You can check with your employer’s HR department to find out how and when tax documents are likely to be delivered.

If you’ve been a gig worker — even part time — or are entirely self-employed, you’ll need to gather documents like 1099-Ks, plus all the receipts and records of your self-employment income and expenses throughout the year, including quarterly estimated tax payments you may have already made.

For anyone who has filed before, take out last year’s taxes for an idea of what you’ll likely need this year. Information and documents you’ll need depend on your unique situation, and they include but are not limited to:

• Your Social Security number (as well as your spouse’s and children’s, if applicable)
• Records of income received, including interest income
• Mortgage interest statements (1098)
• Payments for tuition (1098-T) or student loan interest (1098-E)
• Health care and childcare expenses
• Vehicle or home purchase documents
• Charitable contribution receipts

“By preparing early, you’ll have more time to gather documents, review your tax return and speak with your Tax Pro, helping you feel more confident and less stressed,” said Mark Steber, chief tax information officer, Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. “By waiting until the April deadline, you could make a mistake, requiring the filing of an amended tax return or subjecting yourself to avoidable penalties and interest.”

Decide how you’ll file

Taxes can be confusing, no matter your circumstances, so it’s a good idea to consider how you’d like to file this year. It can help to have someone on your side who understands recent changes in tax laws, how to file accurately — and how to make the most of applicable deductions.

You can get expert help filing your taxes at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services. Choosing a professional tax service can take the worry out of figuring out your taxes, no matter your circumstances.

Make sure you and your tax professional electronically file your tax return. It’s not only the fastest way to make sure the IRS receives your return, but it’s the safest way. This keeps paper from getting stolen out of your mailbox or getting lost in the mail.

Also, electronically deposit your tax refund. Having your refund directly deposit into your bank account or on a prepaid bank card is the safest option. This avoids the possibility of your check getting stolen or getting marked as “undeliverable” if sent to the wrong mailbox.

“These two bonus tips alone can cut days and weeks off your tax return refund timing and better safeguard your information and money,” said Steber.

The chance to double your refund

With Jackson Hewitt’s second annual Double Your Refund Sweepstakes, you could win a prize equal to your federal tax refund. The 15-week sweepstakes starts the first week of January and goes through April 15. Each week there will be two grand prize winners who will win a prize equal to their federal tax refund (a maximum match of $10,000 and minimum of $1,500), plus 20 runner-up winners each week who will win $200. In addition, there will be a season-long drawing where there will be two additional grand prize winners and 20 runner-up winners randomly drawn.

“As we launch the 2024 tax season, the second annual Double Your Refund sweepstakes will allow hundreds of clients the chance to win extra money during tax time — with the chance to potentially double the size of their tax refund — which we know will be financially beneficial,” said Kim Hudson, SVP and chief marketing officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services.

How to enter: File your 2023 federal tax return at any Jackson Hewitt location within the 15-week period or mail an entry form by the Monday following the week you file your tax return. For the season-long drawing, enter at JacksonHewitt.com.

To find a Jackson Hewitt office near you, visit JacksonHewitt.com.

2024-01-22T07:01:00

(BPT) – Sponsored by Merck

Many people struggle to lower their cholesterol, even though there are medicines available that can help lower LDL-C (the “bad” cholesterol).

High cholesterol, if not treated, can lead to a type of heart disease called atherosclerosis.[1] This disease can raise your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.

“Currently available treatments are effective tools to treat high cholesterol, but some must be provided by a doctor by injection and can be hard for people to access,” said Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne, Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

PCSK9 inhibitors are medications to help treat high cholesterol. Researchers are studying an investigational PCSK9 inhibitor that people can take as a pill once a day by mouth instead of as a shot. Currently, there are clinical studies looking at the safety of this investigational medicine and whether it works. These studies will help researchers better understand whether this medicine can lower LDL-C and the chance of cardiovascular adverse events.

Researchers are looking for people to join these studies. To qualify, you must be aged 18 years or older and you either:

• Take a statin medicine to lower cholesterol but still need to lower your LDL-C
• Have a high chance of having a heart attack or stroke and have high cholesterol even after taking a statin for at least a month

If you join one of these clinical studies, you’ll get the study medicine and study-related medical exams for no cost. You’ll also be paid back for travel-related study costs, such as bus fare or gas for driving to and from the study site. You don’t need health insurance to join.

“These ongoing clinical studies will help us understand whether our investigational once-daily oral PCSK9 inhibitor will be an effective treatment for certain people with high cholesterol,” said Dr. Robert Blaustein, Associate Vice President for Clinical Research, Merck Research Laboratories. “I encourage anyone who meets the eligibility criteria to speak with your health care provider to see if one of the clinical studies may be suitable for you.”

Ask your doctor if joining one of these clinical studies may be right for you. For more information on the clinical studies, visit coralreefstudies.com.

Copyright © 2023 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ USA, and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

2024-01-18T07:31:00

(BPT) – By Whitney Soule, Vice Provost, Dean of Admissions, University of Pennsylvania

This time of year is a parade of college application deadlines (generally between October and February) depending on the application round. It’s also the time of year when college-hopeful teens have polished off their application details, refined their essays, proofread (we hope!), and submitted their applications. By this point, they’re worn out and waiting. They’re balancing the relief of “submit” and managing some anxiety about the subsequent “what if?”

I get it. As a mom who has parented through the college process with multiple children and as a dean of admissions, I have insight into both the anxiety and the strategies to short-circuit some of the escalating stress.

On the college side, we have a responsibility to minimize unnecessary stress for students — looking for ways to make our instructions clear, our processes simple, and our questions aligned with what it is we need to know. For Penn, that means making application fee waivers more accessible than ever, eliminating the enrollment deposit, and expanding the role of who can write recommendations. And (one of my favorites), we added an essay prompt framed as a thank-you note because our faculty’s research shows how expressing “thanks” ignites good feelings. (Bonus — it also shows admissions evaluators how applicants appreciate others!)

Here are three things parents can do at home to minimize the teen stress while waiting for decisions:

1. Listen more, talk less. Kids are processing the full range of emotions. Their eyes are on social media which is not an accurate source of information about chances or how decisions get made. Focus on making home a place where your teen can manage their emotions without judgment — perhaps by listening during a needed vent or giving them a quiet space without explanation. You know your teen — follow their lead on what helps them feel secure. Perhaps suggest saying “thanks” to those who have had influence — like a friend or teacher. It’s a mood lifter and builds their sense of community.

2. Don’t make college topic #1 (or even #10). Everything that can be done up to this point has been done, so where possible, encourage letting go. Your student needs a break from all things college. Focus family conversations on just about anything that doesn’t circle back to the “what if” of college admissions outcomes. What songs have you added to your playlist? What’s the nicest thing that someone did for you that day? Or even, “Can you even believe what is happening on this show?”

3. Promote the importance of flexibility. The ability to overcome stress or simply to adjust to changes quickly is one of the first superpowers college students need when they hit campus. Now is a great time for your student to practice flexing this muscle. Sharing stories from your own life is invaluable, especially from when you were their age. As a leader and a mom, I talk openly about the circumstances that challenged me, how I feel when things don’t work out the way I planned, and how I decide what to do. My undergraduate alma mater is not where I was focused when I first started my college pursuit. And yet, I’m confident that I was in exactly the right place and am so grateful for every experience embedded there, including an unexpected launch to the career I have now.

Your student is about to embark on a big and exciting journey. They will look to you to set the tone during this period, which can be hard since you are also experiencing a range of heightened emotions! But you can reframe this wait so it is focused on excitement rather than stress.

2024-01-18T16:01:01

(BPT) – By Irana Wasti, Chief Product Officer at BILL

In today’s fast-paced business landscape, it’s important for small business owners to adopt a mindset for innovation. However, the misconception that innovation requires vast resources and significant time investment can often deter entrepreneurs and business builders from pursuing new ideas and strategies. But with the right approach and perspective, small businesses can foster a culture within the company to make innovation more of an ongoing tenet of a successful business.

As small businesses look at their goals for the new year, with some businesses also thinking about how to do more with the same, consider these four practical tips to innovate without breaking the bank or spinning too many resources.

1. Nurture an innovation mindset with your team

Innovation starts with your team. Cultivating an innovation mindset among your team members is the first step toward achieving small wins that lead to breakthroughs. As someone who has led product development teams for over 20 years, I know that the ability and willingness to analyze the environment, listen to feedback, and adapt to change are key disciplines to delivering products that delight customers. Here are some key aspects to consider:

Embrace diverse perspectives: Different backgrounds and experiences bring unique viewpoints that can spark creativity and improve collaboration within your organization. Where you can, build diversity into your hiring strategy.

Foster a culture of openness: Create an atmosphere where employees feel safe to share their ideas and insights freely. Make them feel that their opinions matter and that they have a stake in the company’s success. You can do this with monthly brainstorm sessions to get the whole team thinking about different challenges faced by the business.

Promote continuous learning: Encourage ongoing learning and skills development. There are lots of free online training resources that help employees stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies.

By nurturing an innovation mindset within your team, you can tap into their collective creativity, which can lead to cost-effective innovations that drive your business forward.

2. Listen to your customers and innovate for them

Research from McKinsey & Company has shown that improving the client experience can increase sales revenues by 2%–7%. However, one common pitfall in innovation is over-engineering solutions that don’t align with your customers’ needs. Prioritize innovation that is rooted in customer feedback, provides value, and aligns with business goals, and is measurable. Here are a few ways you can build trust with your customers and serve as a pipeline to fuel innovation:

Provide multi-channel support: For customers who still need help after navigating your educational resources, offer support across the platforms that matter to them — such as email, social media, SMS, in-app support and more. Leverage tech-enabled tools, such as finance software that offers free phone and chat support with live agents. This meets your customers where they are, letting them reach you in a way they find comfortable and convenient.

Deliver a personalized customer experience with AI tools: Chatbots make a particularly helpful AI-powered customer support tool. A chatbot can respond to customers in real time, offering additional information about your products or services or even fielding customer service questions. AI-powered marketing tools can be used for content creation, social media management, and more. Chatbots and other AI tools can do more than just answer customer inquiries about your products. The best AI tools can adapt and learn from customer behavior.

Cascade the outside, inside: Often customer feedback does not go beyond the customer support team. To help drive more organic innovation, enable regular touch points between team members who face customers and team members who are on the front lines of innovation.

By keeping your customers’ needs at the forefront of your innovation efforts, you can ensure your new ideas are well-targeted.

3. Ensure your tech tools help you move the business forward

Efficiency is a cornerstone of cost-effective innovation. Leveraging technology to automate manual tasks lets you accomplish more in less time, freeing up valuable staff time to focus on strategic and creative thinking. You want to work with technology partners that can help you customize tools to meet the needs of your business and facilitate integration. Remember that innovation can come from anywhere in your business so keep your automation goals broad. Here’s how some small businesses have found solutions that make an impact:

Automate financial operations: Using technology to eliminate manual activities, such as invoicing, bill payments and financial reporting, helps you streamline operations and reduce human error. It also helps you get back to focusing on what matters to you, your business. Finding a solution that pre-populates invoice information can save business owners, on average, 50% of time on bill pay alone. One of BILL’s customers, Ascent Respiratory Care, a home health care provider that helps patients with respiratory issues, eliminated writing paper checks entirely. “We do not write checks anymore. I would say about 95% of what we do is all paid out via BILL, whether it’s a hard copy check or an electronic payment,” said Ascent Respiratory Care Senior Business Development Associate Heather Thompson.

Use data analysis to uncover business insights more easily: Solutions that bring efficiency and optimization to your business can provide valuable analytics that can uncover insights to fuel innovation, inform your decision-making and identify areas for improvement. Golf Genius has seen firsthand how financial analytics has provided better control, visibility and efficiency. “I believe we’re saving thousands of dollars a quarter as a result of real-time budget tracking. Before [BILL], people would ask where they were against their budgets, and now we know,” says Golf Genius CFO, Lou Lombardo.

By harnessing technology to optimize key foundational parts of your business operations, you can achieve cost savings and efficiency gains that contribute to your overall business innovation. For example, BILL’s Financial Operations Platform for SMBs allows businesses to manage and optimize their cash flow all on one platform, delivering the most comprehensive suite of capabilities for SMBs.

4. Don’t be afraid to fail forward

Innovation is inherently risky, and not every idea will yield immediate success. However, the more efficient and automated some functions or processes are, the more a small business can embrace a culture of “failing forward,” where failure is viewed as a learning opportunity rather than a setback. It will help employees have the space and time to be more creative or innovative. Here’s how to do it:

Encourage experimentation: As product leaders, oftentimes we tell our peers: “If experiments aren’t failing often, then you are not experimenting enough”. Encourage your team to experiment with new ideas and approaches, even if they come with a degree of uncertainty. Build in time to test-run the idea, with an evaluation checkpoint, before implementing it system-wide.

Iterate and refine: After an experiment, assess what worked and what didn’t. Use these insights to refine your approach and try again.

Acknowledge lessons learned from failures: Celebrate the lessons learned from failures. This will encourage a culture where innovation is valued regardless of the outcome, giving business owners a competitive edge and supporting employee retention.

Remember that many groundbreaking innovations have emerged from a series of trial and error. By embracing failure as a stepping stone to success, your small business can take actionable steps toward building a culture that promotes creative thinking, and develop innovative solutions without a big investment.

In conclusion, innovation isn’t solely reserved for large corporations with deep pockets. Small businesses can thrive in today’s competitive landscape by adopting an innovation mindset, listening to customers, harnessing technology to optimize and adapt to market shifts, and being unafraid to experiment and learn from failures. With the right strategies and a commitment to cost-effective innovation, your small business can stay ahead of the curve.

At BILL, we’re 100% focused on helping SMBs to get more control, visibility, and efficiency in their business. Automating financial operations can be a game changer for your business, saving valuable team time on inefficient manual processes and focusing on high-value strategic tasks instead. BILL helps businesses thrive with technology that is powerful, secure, and easy to integrate and use. To learn more, visit Bill.com/Resources.

2024-01-16T23:01:00

(BPT) – Are you working toward specific health goals for your New Year’s resolutions? If so, there’s a good chance that improving your eating habits is at the top of your list. With a lot of conflicting information out there, it can be confusing to sort out what’s helpful from what’s not when it comes to nutrition. The one thing many experts agree on is the important role protein plays in your overall well-being.

“Focusing on protein as a major nutrient your body needs can help make a difference for your wellness goals,” said registered dietitian and Quest Nutrition paid partner Kristin Kirkpatrick, M.S. “And the good news is that it’s not hard to make small changes that will increase how much protein you’re eating every day.”

To help you revamp your diet as the new year begins, Kirkpatrick offers four simple tips around boosting your protein intake.

1. Make protein a priority when cutting overall calories

If you’re trying to lose weight as one of your resolutions, whether with the help of a pharmacological source or strictly through dietary measures, protein will make a difference.

“For starters, protein will keep you fuller longer, so you’ll eat less,” advised Kirkpatrick. “If your food intake is limited to begin with, protein will help in maintaining muscle mass so that you’ll lose fat, not muscle, during the process.”

2. Mix up your sources

Protein comes in a wide variety of different foods including meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese, legumes like beans, peas, lentils and soy products, plus nuts and seeds — as well as some grains.

By varying your protein sources, that means you’ll also be getting a wider variety of different nutrients, vitamins and minerals. For example, you can choose eggs for breakfast, legumes for lunch and salmon for dinner. Regularly including protein in your snacks is also a great idea to help keep your energy up throughout the day.

“To get through my mid-morning or afternoon slump, I love grabbing one of the Quest Protein Shakes. The Chocolate flavor is delicious, satisfying and filling,” said Kirkpatrick. “The Salted Caramel is my go-to for in my coffee in the morning, and in the evening, Vanilla fits my craving for something sweet — while staying high protein.”

Quest Protein Shakes are rich and creamy, with 30 grams of protein, 3-4 grams of carbs and 1 gram of sugar, making them a delicious, satisfying way to drink protein without piling on carbs. Visit QuestNutrition.com to find these and other products to help you meet your New Year’s goals.

3. Add protein to every snack and meal

A great way to ensure that you’re getting enough protein is to make it a priority to fit some into every meal and snack.

“Adding protein throughout the day is easier than you think,” Kirkpatrick noted. “Try adding hemp seeds to your oatmeal in the morning, then enjoy a cheese stick as a snack or have a bowl of cottage cheese with cinnamon for a sweet treat — then finish the day with slices of lean meat in a salad.”

4. Don’t forget sources that aren’t traditionally known for protein

Protein-containing foods fall into the obvious (think chicken breast, eggs, beans and milk) as well as the less obvious, so it can pay to think outside the box.

“For example, although nuts and seeds are often seen as fats, they contain protein as well. One-half cup of walnuts, for example, has about 9 grams of protein, and an ounce of pumpkin seeds has about 9 grams as well,” said Kirkpatrick. “Grains like spirulina and quinoa are other tasty options you can try that you might not immediately think about.”

Improving your eating habits doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Following these tips to include more protein in your daily routine will help you follow your resolutions throughout the year, so you can feel good about the nutrition you’re getting while supporting your wellness goals.

2024-01-16T08:01:00

(BPT) – Everyone knows that the new year is the most popular time to focus on yourself. It is a time to realign with your wellness goals, career aspirations, social life and more. Many people focus on improving their nutrition and eating habits in the new year, and finding one core ingredient to incorporate into meals is a great solution to achieve that goal.

Whether you add it to a soothing cup of warm tea, or incorporate on a cheese board for that added boost of flavor, honey is that one pantry staple that is both good for you and the ecosystem at large. Honey is also extremely versatile, and the ways one can incorporate it as they whip up a dish in the kitchen are unmatched. It can be a key ingredient in any meal at any point in the day.

The National Honey Board is sharing three easy-to-make recipes for everyone to add to their diets this new year and beyond:

1. For breakfast: Polenta with Berry Preserves and Honey Toasted Walnuts

What better way to kick-start your day than with a good breakfast? Since honey is a natural source of carbohydrates, providing 17 grams per tablespoon, it is a great source of natural energy. So if you are about to go on a morning run, or have a to-do list that seems to be a mile long, spend some time to sit down and eat a hearty breakfast, like this honey breakfast polenta with berry preserves and honey toasted walnuts.

Research also shows that honey is a natural source of a wide array of nutrients, including trace amounts of 7 vitamins and 11 minerals, 5 antioxidants, and 17 amino acids.

2. For a snack or light lunch: Watermelon Salad with Whipped Feta

The versatility of honey is unmatched, which means it can be incorporated into your diet in a variety of manners — from honeycombs to liquid honey and more. There are also a wide range of honey varieties, with more than 3,000 unique types of honey found throughout the world, leading the way to creativity when it comes to meal prep.

Try this watermelon salad recipe which incorporates two forms of honey — liquid honey and honeycomb! Not only is this recipe proven to be delicious, but it is also a great meal choice for those who choose to follow the Mediterranean Diet, of which honey is a key component.

3. For dinner: Honey Roasted Cherry Tomato Pasta with Kale and Lemon Sauce

Honey bees are one of the most crucial components of our food ecosystem. Aside from the honey they help to produce, they are responsible for more than a third of the foods we enjoy each and every day. Without them, so many of our core ingredients would cease to exist, such as the tomatoes, kale, lemon, and garlic in this delicious pasta recipe.

By purchasing and incorporating honey into meals such as this one, you are directly supporting the beekeepers that care for the honey bees, helping make the production of much of our food supply possible.

It is clear that honey is an all-natural sweetener that has many benefits, both for individuals themselves and the greater good. It is also clear that honey can be incorporated into your diet in a multitude of ways. Be sure to check out some more recipes to add to your New Year meal plan at honey.com/recipes.

2024-01-16T00:01:00

(BPT) – “Every day, for every child, to the extent that it’s possible, there should be something at school that makes life awesome and inspires a love for learning,” says veteran elementary school principal Dr. Kathleen Corley, author of The Magical Place We Call School: Creating a Safe Space for Learning and Happiness in a Challenging World.

The Magical Place We Call School offers insights and best practices based on more than 40 years of experience, sharing advice on facing everything from coping with bullying and safeguarding against threats of gun violence to creating a school culture that benefits everyone in the community.

Schools as the heart of the community

One of the strongest messages Corley emphasizes is the importance of community: Schools are a place not just to send children each day, but central to the “village” around that child — family, neighbors and more. To foster this sense of community, Corley created an annual Stew Day at her school when every child brings ingredients from home to help create a feast to share. The ingredients represent the cultures of the students’ families and a crew of adult volunteers help the students prepare and serve the stew.

This hands-on activity creates feelings of belonging and nurturing that Corley hopes every school can engender, so that each child views school as their “happy place.”

Children as the center of the school

At a time when parents hold a wide range of views on what or how to teach, Corley reminds teachers that children’s needs are the focus. One of her well-known “Corleyisms” (sayings she’s famous for) is: “The child is our client; the parent is not.” This sometimes means challenging parents’ notions of their child’s needs and behavior in a positive, constructive way.

While today’s schools are full of challenges, they’re also full of enthusiastic teachers filling multiple roles: as educators and sometimes therapists, social workers, cheerleaders and problem solvers. Behavior issues also require taking on the role of detective, to investigate why a child is having difficulties.

“Everything a child does happens for a reason,” Corley says. “Find out the reason, then meet the need. Don’t just deal with the behavior.”

Showing children they’re the first priority helps establish the crucial teacher-student bond that’s the foundation of learning. Another Corleyism: “Students don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

The role of the principal

Troubleshooting problems, communicating with parents and advocating for teachers and students are all part of the principal’s job.

Corley believes the principal’s primary function is supporting teachers, mostly by eliminating difficulties so they can do their jobs well. Her experience taught her to respect the profession, and she hopes all parents can appreciate what teachers do.

“The best, most effective teachers I’ve known put their everything into their teaching,” says Corley. “Unfortunately, many teachers feel the general public does not understand or appreciate the lengths to which they go in order to thoroughly teach their students the curriculum while attempting to create magic in the process.”

“Nothing wonderful happens in the principal’s office. Rather, the magic happens in the classroom,” says Corley. “Once a principal truly understands this, his or her overarching mission becomes clear: Remove any and all impediments between good teachers and good teaching.”

School culture is paramount

“Positive culture is critical to every school’s success,” says Corley, noting that it is a principal’s responsibility to foster a positive school culture, in which teachers and students feel happy and engaged throughout the day. “Schools must provide a highly supportive environment that is responsive first and foremost to the needs of students. The guiding beliefs and values at such a school create a safe and healthful physical and emotional environment for everyone.”

Corley’s advice is interwoven with anecdotes about challenges she and her colleagues have faced, highlighting what it means to be a dedicated educator in these challenging times.

For anyone interested in how schools are coping — and how they can better support their schools — this book provides plenty of food for thought.

The Magical Place We Call School: Creating a Safe Space for Learning and Happiness in a Challenging World is published by Forefront Books/Simon & Schuster and is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and wherever books are sold.