Welcome 2023! I hope you had a glorious holiday season and a reflective new year. For many of us, New Years Eve is much more than a reason to dress up and go out — it is a cherished symbol for starting anew. It is a clear-cut moment for stopping certain habits or behaviors while embracing personal change and living in the present. It's a chance at a new beginning.

The new year and new beginnings represent the possibility to become happier and healthier people; to adjust our outlook on life, to believe that we can change and become better versions of ourselves both physically and mentally. However, the biggest misconception about change is that you need to accomplish it immediately. Your brain often tells you that you need to lose weight as fast as possible, or you need to start working out every day, or you need to completely overhaul your diet in one day. And although these larger goals are fantastic, change takes time and is sometimes accompanied with occasional setbacks. Slower and more consistent is healthier and better, so if you don’t meet your goals on your first attempt, don’t beat yourself up.

We invite you to experience a community for change through integrative medicine by joining the Osher Center for Integrative Health as a patient, colleague, or supporter. To learn more please visit our website. We look forward to supporting your health.

To Your Well Being,

Melinda Ring, MD

Executive Director

www.drmelindaring.com

IM AWARE Council:

Introducing the Executive Committee

We are proud to introduce our 2023 IM AWARE Council Executive Committee. Please give a warm welcome to Lori Lyman, Molly O'Neil and Laura Flynn.

Lori Lyman

Molly O'Neil

Laura Flynn

Green tea extract may help lower blood sugar and improve gut health, scientists say

A recent study found that green tea extract can promote gut health and lower blood glucose levels in both healthy adults and those with metabolic syndrome. Green tea is rich in potent antioxidants called catechins.

Tip: Regularly drinking green tea may help reduce your risk of several diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Drinking three to five cups of green tea per day is suggested to reap the most health benefits.

Researchers use wearable technology to study link between exercise and diabetes risk in women

Using data from wearable devices, a recent study has shown that women with more daily steps had a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Women whose average daily step count was over 10,000 were 44% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with 6,000 steps.

Tip: Setting a target goal of 10,000 steps a day could significantly lower your risk for type 2 diabetes, so aim to hit that amount. The most important goal is to get moving every day.

Read: You can't always prevent a cold, but there are some things you can do to stop it from getting worse. Dr. Melinda Ring, Director of the Osher Center at Northwestern University, shares her advice for keeping that cold at bay.

Read about it, here.

Discover: There are a lot of popular supplements now a day but do they actually work? See what Dr. Selena Chan, Interim Director of clinical programs at the University of California San Francisco Osher Center, recommends for sleep, immunity and memory.

Find out, here.

Connect: Ruth Wolever, PhD, Director of the Osher Center at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, helps folks navigate feeling isolated, especially during the festive season, and shares how to begin to reconnect.

Deep-dive, here.