We all know that what we eat affects how we feel physically. But did you know that what we eat also impacts our mental and emotional health? In fact, studies have found that a diet consisting of mainly whole, unprocessed foods can help lower the risk of depression, anxiety and even attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Good food makes us feel good. Let’s face it. Eating the foods that we grew up with keeps us connected to who we are, our families and our heritage. We just need to make the foods that we love healthier. And we can. Not only am I a doctor, but I am a cook. I love to prepare meals for my family, especially around the holidays. Over the years, I have learned to introduce healthy swaps for certain ingredients in my traditional Haitian-Creole dishes, like substituting plant-based sausage for pork sausage or changing some of my preparation methods, like baking instead of frying. I have also tried new ingredients, like flaxseed, which can stabilize blood sugar levels, reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels and improve our mood! It has a mild, nutty flavor with a crisp, crunchy consistency and can be added to almost any breakfast or baked good. I use it in smoothies, oatmeal, cereals and on occasion muffins that I like to bake with my daughter.

As your Benefit Fund doctor, I really encourage you to try new ingredients and learn simple, healthy food swaps, like replacing white rice with brown rice, quinoa or even a sweet potato.

These two 1199SEIU members are part of a group of coworkers from Long Island Community Hospital who have joined WeightWatchers together.

Joanne Rosso, Unit Secretary

Joanne Russo has been a Unit Secretary at Long Island Community Hospital for over 37 years and is not ready to stop any time soon. When she learned about her Benefit Fund’s partnership with WeightWatchers, Joanne was thrilled. She’s off to a great start, losing eight pounds in eight weeks. “It’s important to me that you can eat regular food with WW,” Joanne says. “You use their Points® system and budget your diet accordingly to what’s going on in your life.”

She attends workshops about five times a week—either in-person at a nearby WeightWatchers Studio or by Zoom. “I love sharing my experiences with other members—and getting feedback is great, too,” Joanne says. “I always walk away feeling like I learned something. And everybody at work who’s joined is absolutely loving it!”

Joanne loves all the things she can do with the WeightWatchers app, like track her food.

Salvatore Oliveri, Radiology Associate

Salvatore Oliveri knows how effective WeightWatchers can be, having used it to lose weight in the past. Since being diagnosed with diabetes, he brought his numbers down by changing what he eats but had trouble developing healthy eating habits and maintaining his weight. “I needed to do something about my weight,” Salvatore says. “The WW partnership with the Benefit Fund was a great opportunity, so I jumped on it.” He’s off to a good start, having lost 12 pounds in just about a month.

Salvatore regularly shares tips with his coworker Joanne Rosso. “It’s awesome having other people at work use this benefit,” he says. “If Joanne shows me something on the WW app I didn’t know about, I’ll try to return the favor. We help each other out and encourage one another.”