Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Health and Wellness Uncategorized

Healthy Recipe of the Week – Tropical Salsa

With the sun coming out and the feelings of warm weather finally hitting Spokane (for now at least), I’ve been more accepting of the phase out of the winter squashes with all the wonderful fresh produce that comes with springtime. This tropical salsa recipe is a great example of how to incorporate some of the fresh fruit that is out now and doesn’t leave you disappointed in it’s shelf life (I’ve kept mine up to a full week) or its versatility. I have used it in fish tacos, grain bowls, salads and lunch wraps. You cannot go wrong with having this recipe on hand. » More …

30 Day Green Challenge for March 2017

By: Tera Lessard
Learning & Career Specialist
WSU Spokane, Student Affairs

For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a “waste-not, want-not” kind of person.  Last April, when I accepted a position at WSU, I was excited.  Of course I was excited about the job, and the innovative community I was joining, but I was also looking forward to taking advantage of alternative commuting options.  I wasn’t sure if I could be successful biking to work and back home each day, so I set a goal.  I called it my 30 Day Green Challenge.  My goal was to bike to work at least 4 days a week, for 30 days.  I wanted to give myself one day to drive in case I needed to lug large items to work, or attend mid-day appointments.  I am glad to report that I was successful with my 30 Day Green Challenge.  Beyond successful.  I found that I could be pretty creative with bringing larger items on my bike, and that most of my appointments could be scheduled within walking or biking distance of campus.  I only drove to work two days that month.

» More …

Why Should I Attend #StressAndHealthyU?

By: Richard Young, PhD Candidate, Nutrition Exercise Physiology
Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, Washington State University

As a SERE Specialist in the Air Force Special Operations (AFSOC), I instructed select Department of Defense personnel in stress management from combat survival and captured situations in order to return with honor. I finished my undergraduate education at the University of Washington and I am a 4th year PhD candidate studying the impact of exercise on the body’s ability to tolerate and recovery from stressful events.

What I believe is of significant importance is that people understand the impact that chronic stress has on health outcomes. Beyond gastrointestinal distress, tension headaches, and lost sleep, stress can have serious consequences.  Stress has been implicated in cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, and shrinkage of the amygdala, a part of the brain responsible for memory.

It is impossible to avoid stress in life. Therefore, your attendance will arm you with the ability to detect signs that will help you identify and counter any stress that you may be experiencing before it becomes chronic and problematic.

Richard Young will be a panelist at #StressAndHealthyU at WSU Spokane January 12th from 12:00-1:00pm in SAC 20. Students, faculty, and staff from the university district are encouraged to attend!

A simple guide to a balanced lunch

By: Hayden Thrasher & April D. Davis, RDN, CD, ACSM CEP

Nourishing your body with nutritious food is a key component to get through long, busy and perhaps stressful work days. Use this simple guide to create your own balanced lunch, and you may find you have both increased and sustained energy throughout the day. Check out more quick tips and recipe ideas below! » More …

The Cultivation of Mindfulness

By Tracy L. Skaer, PharmD, Professor of Pharmacotherapy

I would like to share the following email message that I received from one of my mentors, Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn today in the wake of the latest tragedies in Nice, France.

“It strikes me at this particular moment on the planet that the well-being of the world itself depends on our willingness—each and every one of us—to tap into our capacity for embodied wisdom. That is precisely what the cultivation of mindfulness offers. It is a way to, in Derek Walcott’s words, “give back your heart to yourself,” and in doing so, to live and love and work in ways that are inwardly and outwardly healing and transformative. » More …

Fun in the Sun: Campus Co-ed Softball

By April D. Davis, RDN, CD, ACSM CEP

Life without fun and games isn’t just dull – it’s downright unhealthy.  Take time to enjoy life and unplug from everyday stresses to help decrease cravings for junk food and boost your metabolism.  Here are four ways to reconnect with your carefree side for your best summer ever:

1. Add fun to things you do every day.

    • Crank up the funk on Pandora while cooking and dance your way around the kitchen
    • Make phone calls outside while walking around the block
    • Prepare an ethnic meal and ask family members to research interesting facts about the Country to be shared at mealtime
    • Hop/skip/jump your way around the yard when moving hoses or doing yardwork.  It’ll make you and your neighbors smile

» More …

It takes a (walkable) village

This article originally appeared in Washington State Magazine and is reposted with permission from Rebecca Phillips, ’76, ’81, DVM

They call it Tangletown—a Seattle neighborhood where streets and trolley tracks intersect like wayward skeins of yarn. In the 1930s, local residents routinely chose the trolley for trips to work, the market, or hardware store. They did that several times a day and it involved a lot of walking, says Glen Duncan, professor in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and chair of nutrition and exercise physiology at WSU Spokane. » More …

Staying Mindful at Work

Washington Post: Staying Mindful at Work

This article originally appeared in the Washington Post and is reposted with permission from author Joyce Russell, senior associate dean of learning at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Stressed? Overworked? Feeling out of control? Sound familiar? Thanks to technology and the 24/7 world we live in, the pressure seemingly never ends. Workers feel they are on call at all times, day or night, and that they are never caught up. Most would say they work too many hours, and often with few real breaks. » More …