Recent wellness seminars promote healthy lifestyles
Published Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 11:00 AM
Healthy living is an ideal that most people strive for in one way or another.
Clark County Farm Bureau recently had the opportunity for individuals to learn from highly qualified professionals and others.
The seminar, titled “Get Ready…Let’s Get Started!”, which promotes health in a variety of ways, was held at the Clark County Farm Bureau, 115 S. Highland Street.
“I thought it was a beautiful day,” said Carolyn Bartner, who helped organize the event. “I think everyone was excited to see how it all came together!”
The seminar, which began at 9:00 a.m., featured a session titled “Winning@Wellness.”
The movement was led by social worker Bradley Y. Burtner, son of Carolyn Burtner and former Winchester Mayor Ed Burtner, and Dr. Patricia Stewart Hopkins, an adjunct professor at Lindsey Wilson College in Adair County.
“One of the big lessons I learned from this session was [is] “We have to define health for ourselves,” Stewart Hopkins points out. “When we set health goals, they need to align with our values. Setting goals based on someone else’s health plan often leads us off track.”
This was followed by a session titled “Exercise and Community for Health,” led by Legacy Greenscape Executive Director Deborah Jackson and Tiffany Fletcher and Barbara Amix of Winchester-Clarke County Parks and Recreation.
As part of the session, participants took part in a drum circle, where everyone in the circle played a percussion instrument repeatedly together with the other participants.
Jackson said such activities are beneficial in a number of ways.
“[It’s] “It’s a great way to communicate when you don’t have words,” she said. “You can’t go wrong with a drum circle…There’s this sense of community here when we’re all playing together.”
Most importantly, Amy M. Williams, a Bachelor of Science in both Community and General Nutrition, led approximately 30 participants in a session titled, “Nutrition Your Brain for Health.”
Williams offered several recommendations for a good diet, including eating foods low in omega-3s and saturated fats.
“You can’t make up for a bad diet with exercise,” she says.
She also pointed out that five foods linked to improved brain power were green vegetables, oily fish, berries, tea and coffee, and walnuts.
Attendees were able to sample some of the products.
Additionally, Williams introduced the DASH diet.
The DASH diet, which stands for “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension,” has been proven to lower blood pressure and prevent heart disease, stroke, diabetes and even some cancers, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
Overall, Stewart Hopkins acknowledged that the variety of speakers was encouraging.
“It was really exciting to have all the presenters be vulnerable and share parts of their health journeys,” she said. “I think the audience really received that well.”
In continuing efforts to promote public health, upcoming events include a summer diabetes class to increase awareness of problem solving and surveillance on Thursday, June 20, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m. at the Clark County Health Department, 273 Shoppers Drive;
