October Kitchen B2B February 2018
This is our way of saying that you are important to us and we truly value your business. Please feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends and neighbors. ENJOY!
THE NOURISH
LETTER FEBRUARY 2018 Meet the Men Behind Your Meals
www.OctoberKitchen.com | 860-533-0588 | 309 Green Rd, Manchester, CT 06042
Combating Loneliness in Seniors and Employees FOREVER ALONE?
L ast July, St. Monica Trust — a retirement home in the United Kingdom — opened its doors to a group of preschoolers. As part of a social experiment, residents would interact with the children for six weeks. At the start of the program, doctors determined that a third of the elder volunteers showed signs of depression, all but one were in poor health and risked falling and 9 out of 10 reported they found life to be dull. When asked if she was satisfied with her life, one replied, “I’m going to die. Quite soon, actually.” Keep in mind, these participants are no more unhealthy than other seniors in nursing homes and long-term care facilities around the world. Most of their conditions stem from something that afflicts countless people, young and old: loneliness. More than just not having a date on Valentine’s Day, loneliness is a crushing condition cutting our lives short. Research from Brigham Young University in Utah estimated that loneliness can shorten our lifespans in a way similar to smoking 15 cigarettes every day. Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, former Surgeon General of the United States, wrote a piece for the Harvard Business Review about the epidemic of loneliness in his patients.
“During my years caring for patients, the most common pathology I saw was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness … I found that loneliness was often in the background of clinical illness, contributing to disease and making it harder for patients to cope and heal.” Today, 40 percent of adults in the United States report feeling lonely, even among those who are surrounded by people in the workplace. In fact, many employees and over half of all CEOs report feeling lonely in their roles. As Murthy pointed out in his article, “Loneliness reduces task performance, limits creativity and impairs other aspects of executive function, such as reasoning and decision making.” How do we solve the problem of loneliness? To start, in the workplace, it’s important for management to take initiative in helping build healthy, productive relationships between employees. Evaluate the state of social connections in your workplace, encourage co- workers to reach out to help each other, create opportunities to learn about your colleagues’ personal lives, and make strengthening these relationships a strategic priority. One strategy I adopted in my kitchen after reading Murthy’s article is the “Inside Scoop.” At weekly meetings, each member of the team is
“More than just not having a date on Valentine’s Day, loneliness is a crushing condition cutting our lives short.”
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Be Social Media Savvy and Stay Connected
kidney stone, feel free to cut ties. That might entail unfollowing (you remain friends but no longer see their posts in your feed), unfriending, or blocking a person entirely. There’s no reason to keep in touch with someone whose very profile picture makes you angry. Check a Source Before Sharing Just because something is online, that doesn’t make it true. It’s just as easy for someone to post a lie about a celebrity or politician as it is for Judy to post about her dog. If you read a news story that gets a rise out of you, double check the facts before you hit share. Googling the article’s claims and main points will bring up similar articles — if those claims are true. This will help you determine if it’s breaking news or a big hoax. Just 10 years ago, snail mail and expensive long-distance calls were the only way to keep in touch with the people we couldn’t see every day. Thanks to social media, we can stay connected to our loved ones around the world. Now that’s something that deserves a like.
It’s time to break the bad news to your grandkids: Social media isn’t just for them. A study from the Pew Research Center found that 47 percent of baby boomers are using social media. Facebook in particular proves to be an excellent resource for adults moving through the later stages of life. This social media platform helps keep you in touch with friends, family members who live far away and workplace acquaintances who you don’t see during retirement. Social media can help you gather the people you want to keep in contact with in one centralized location. Here are a few things to remember for keeping your digital friendships enjoyable. Social Media Isn’t a Diary No one wants to see a feed clogged with posts from the same person. Your friends might like reading about exciting vacations or days with the grandkids, but they don’t need updates about your wait in line at the grocery store. Sharing TMI (too much information) will put you on the fast track to losing friends. It’s Okay to Hit Unfriend Likewise, if you find yourself sick of Judy’s moment-by-moment updates of her dog’s
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Can Chocolate Boost Mental Health?
is particularly affected by aging and therefore the potential source of age-related memory decline in humans.”
... Continued from Page 1 encouraged to take five minutes and share something about themselves through pictures. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the people in our lives and recognize the traits our co-workers believe are important about themselves. As for combating loneliness in elderly patients, back in the U.K., after just a few weeks of the experiment, even the grumpiest, most closed-off seniors at St. Monica Trust were engaged, playing with the kids and going on longer walks than they thought possible. It’s not exactly groundbreaking research, but it is a reminder of how important it is to build intergenerational connections. In Seattle, the Intergenerational Learning Centre is a day care center located in the middle of a retirement home. The waiting list is currently two years long. Anna Draper from “Mad Men” once said, “The only thing keeping you from being happy is the belief that you are alone.” Funny thing is, as lonely as we feel sometimes, we’re never really alone. We are surrounded by plenty of interesting, incredible people in our lives. All we have to do is extend the possibility of a genuine human interaction to each other. “This result suggests the potential of cocoa flavanols to protect cognition in vulnerable populations over time by improving cognitive performance,” researchers explained. “If you look at the underlying mechanism, the cocoa flavonols have beneficial effects for cardiovascular health and can increase cerebral blood volume in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. This structure Between Halloween, Valentine’s Day, Easter and your general sugary cravings, chocolate sales continue to rise each year. In 2017, chocolate sales in the United States soared past $22.4 billion. While Americans tend to overindulge when it comes to chocolate, research suggests that, when enjoyed in moderation, your favorite treat may hold the key to preventing mental decline. A study from the University of L’Aquila in Italy looked into how flavonols, a chemical compound found in cacao beans, affect cognition. Head researchers Valentina Socci and Michele Ferrara noted consuming flavonoid-rich cocoa — particularly dark chocolate — enhanced memory performance, attention, processing speed and verbal fluency in older participants.
Chocolate lovers will be delighted to learn this isn’t the first time science has concluded that chocolate may be good for your health. The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that bioactive compounds found in cocoa and dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow; a Canadian study involving almost 45,000 people determined individuals who ate chocolate were 22 percent less likely to suffer a stroke; and research published in the British Medical Journal found that chocolate consumption may be linked to a lower risk of heart disease. The research is promising, but it’s not a green light to eat an entire box of discount chocolate the day after Valentine’s Day. The high levels of calories, caffeine and sugar found in chocolate aren’t good for you. However, if you’re craving something sweet after dinner or need a midday pick-me-up, feel free to treat yourself to a small square of dark chocolate. It might make you a little healthier. TESTIMONIALS At October Kitchen, our mission is to provide delicious, nourishing meals. In doing so, we hope to help our clients lead healthy and independent lives. Nothing fills our hearts more than to know we’ve succeeded in our goal when we hear such kind words from our clients. “My mom and dad have faced some serious health issues in the past few years, which has limited their ability to prepare healthy meals for themselves. The meals are fresh, well-balanced and easy to heat. There is always a great variety available and the fact that they deliver makes it such a great option for my parents. I feel better knowing that they have a hot meal every night and a few tucked away in the freezer! The staff is always ready to answer questions when my mom calls. I recommend this service to anyone who worries that their folks might not be eating as healthy as they could be. Thanks, October Kitchen!” “We have been with October Kitchen for over four years. That in itself should tell you something. We order essentially every week we are home. The meals are excellent, tasty and wholesome. The menu changes, but there are specials that we look forward to, like Candy Cane blondies, mango muffins, stuffed peppers, tortilla lasagna, eggplant anything and pulled pork. I love everything. We also stash meals in the freezer and take them to work for lunch. The food is not over salted, so you can salt to your taste. Worth a try, especially for a busy household with kids!” –Lisa M.
–Shawn G.
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Forever Alone?
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Are You Committing a Facebook Faux Pas?
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Join the Alliance
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Your Sweet Tooth Might Help Improve Brain Function
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Testimonials
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Are 529 Plans Right for You?
Invest in Your Grandchild’s Education T here are many strategies out there for folks who want to invest in their grandchildren’s education. Different options may be more attractive than others depending on your income bracket and the needs of your family. Traditional strategies, like life insurance policies or paying for your grandchild’s schooling directly, only work if you have the capital. Furthermore, those methods can often negatively impact how much financial aid your grandchild qualifies for. Before you commit yourself to one of these paths, it’s worth exploring a third option: 529 saving plans.
529 plans are income tax-free savings plans specially designed to help you invest in a child’s higher education. In general, these are treated favorably by financial aid assessors, meaning you won’t hurt your grandchild’s chances of receiving government grants. There are two broad types of 529 plans: college savings plans and prepaid tuition plans. Savings Plans College savings plans use one or more investment portfolios to grow your grandchild’s tuition fund. Each portfolio contains a diversified mix of investments curated by the plan’s money manager. Most plans allow you to select from a menu of portfolio options that best fit your goals and risk tolerance. Many college savings plans start aggressive and then become more conservative as your beneficiary approaches college age. The downside with these sorts of plans is that there will always be risk involved; there’s no guarantee on investment returns. Prepaid Tuition Plans States and some private institutions have 529 plans available that let you pay for
your grandchild’s tuition up front, well before they are ready to head off to college. Some plans guarantee to cover a set amount of future tuition expenses in exchange for a lump sum or payment plan. Other plans allow you to buy “units” or “credits,” which translate to a fixed percentage of an institution’s tuition. Essentially, you pay the cost of tuition today rather than what it will cost by the time your grandchild goes to college. Prepaid plans are far less risky than savings plans, but they aren’t as flexible. They often limit options to state schools or select institutions, though most plans offer some form of reimbursement option if your beneficiary decides to attend another school. College just isn’t as affordable as it used to be. Knowing your options and finding a savings strategy early in your grandchild’s life can help ensure the avenues of higher education stay open for them.
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