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On Your Health

Check back to the INTEGRIS On Your Health blog for the latest health and wellness news for all Oklahomans.

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Healthy Tailgating: Recipes and Tips to Enjoy this Football Season

As football season kicks off, so does the tradition of tailgating. The hours leading up to kickoff is a time to gather with friends and family and indulge in food. However, maintaining a healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be sidelined in favor of game-day treats. We'll show you how to keep the flavor and fun alive while making smarter choices. Our tips and recipes will help make your tailgate both enjoyable and nutritious. ​

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Is Ozempic Safe for Weight Loss?

In this blog we talk to Brian Herritt, M.D., a bariatric surgeon at INTEGRIS Health Weight Loss Center about Ozempic and whether it is a safe option for weight management.

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Breakfast: Is It the Most Important Meal?

Breakfast: it’s the most important meal of the day! Right? This popular platitude has been echoed time and time again, but what kind of scientific support is there to back it up? Breakfast helps many people kick start their day with energy, but some morning meals can do more harm than good.

Lainey Townsend

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What is Volume Eating?

This eating philosophy is also sometimes referred to as the energy density approach. It’s all about evaluating foods based on nutrition, calorie density and fiber content. Foods with a lower calorie density contain fewer calories per gram than high-calorie-density foods. Fiber content is something to pay attention to because fiber keeps you feeling full.

Lainey Townsend

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How to Shop for Higher-Protein Foods

There are changes to make when shopping to make adding more protein into your diet easier. Whether it’s revamped products that feature more protein or existing products that are healthier alternatives, consider these swaps the next time you’re at the store.

Lainey Townsend

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Are Low Carb Diets Healthy?

Finding a diet that works best for your body can involve trial and error, but once you find a diet that does work well for your body and your lifestyle, staying in peak physical health becomes much easier. We explain what a low-carb diet entails, who it might be good for and who it might not work well for.

Lainey Townsend

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Why Couples Gain Weight and How to Reverse it

Maybe you’re approaching a milestone anniversary and as you take stock of your beautiful relationship and flip back through old pictures, you notice something. Ten or fifteen somethings parked right around your middle. And you’re not the only one. Your sweetie looks a little less svelte than when you met. How did this happen? Can it be reversed?

Lainey Townsend

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What is the Difference Between Serving Size and Portion Size?

Serving size and portion size are often used interchangeably, but the two terms are different. To help avoid confusion and to help establish healthier eating habits, this blog will dive into why it is important to know the distinction between serving size and portion size.

Lainey Townsend

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Food Choices That Impact Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is one of the most common diseases Americans live with. The latest figures show about 11 percent of the population has type 2 diabetes and an additional 96 million American adults have prediabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association. While there isn’t a magic food to prevent diabetes, eating the right combination of healthy carbohydrates, fats and proteins can help you in the long run.

Lainey Townsend

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Benefits of an Anti-inflammatory Diet

Diet and exercise are terrific tools for managing chronic inflammation. While you may not be able to prevent chronic inflammation through diet and exercise alone, you can certainly choose foods that inhibit your body’s inflammatory response. You can also make inflammation worse by eating certain foods.

Lainey Townsend

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Are Plant-Based Coffee Creamers Healthier?

These days, most of the milk or creamers in the dairy section don’t even contain any dairy. That’s because plant-based creamers are on the rise. What’s all the fuss about, though? Are they really that much healthier than half-and-half or heavy cream? We answer these questions and offer ways to make your own plant-based creamers at home.

Lainey Townsend

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Are Meat Sweats Real?

Meat sweats is an unofficial phrase used to describe excessive perspiration when eating large quantities of any high-protein food – not just meat. Most often, meat sweats describe fatty foods such as steaks or barbecued meats.

Lainey Townsend

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Eleven Reasons You Always Feel Hungry

Feelings and physical sensations that come with true (physical) hunger are low energy, an empty-feeling stomach and even fatigue. The longer it’s been since you last ate, the more noticeable the sensations will be.

Lainey Townsend

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Ten Healthy Foods to Eat Right Now

As we enter the fall and winter months, there are lots of things to look forward to: Sweater weather, holidays, football, chilly mornings and cozy evenings. It’s also a great time to revamp your diet according to the season. Soups and hearty stews, while not very appealing during Oklahoma summers, are perfect for cooler temps. Done right, they can be warming, tasty and packed full of nutrients.

Lainey Townsend

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Are Your Healthy Snacks Actually Junk Food?

There are a lot of foods perceived as “healthy” that are packed with hidden calories and sugar. Despite your best efforts in choosing healthier snacks, many choices might be sabotaging your health and your weight.

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Is There a Link Between Obesity and Brain Function?

Being obese comes with a long list of health risk factors that include diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, lung disease and 13 types of cancer. For decades, these effects have been well known. Researchers have discovered a new link between obesity and brain function.

Lainey Townsend

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How Dangerous is Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity is a disturbing epidemic in the U.S. The number of children who suffer from it has more than tripled since 1980. This means the future health of our children is dire as they suffer from diseases that were traditionally reserved for adults - diseases like type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. The good news is that childhood obesity is reversible.

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How to Eat Complete Proteins in Vegetarian and Vegan Diets

Eating more veggies and fruits is never a bad idea, just be sure to incorporate enough complete proteins. Without them, you might feel sluggish and lose muscle mass. Fortunately, a little menu planning can help you include enough complete proteins in your diet.

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The Basics of Portion Sizes

Believe it or not, dietitians often rely on non-culinary images such as tennis balls and hockey pucks for portion control references. Once you master those, you’ll soon have more than a "sporting" chance of perfecting portion control.

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Are Healthy Energy Drinks Really Healthy?

What exactly constitutes a healthy energy drink, and are these products even good for you? This blog will examine what you need to know about these natural options.

Lainey Townsend

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