March is National Nutrition Month. Developing healthy eating patterns can help us lower our risk for serious health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. It’s still early in 2024, with plenty of time to make meaningful changes for this year! That helps you, and the State Health Plan, control and lower health care costs.
In addition, for people with chronic diseases, healthy eating can help manage these conditions and prevent complications. According to the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans, a healthy eating plan:
- Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products
- Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts
- Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars
Stays within your daily calorie needs
USDA’s My Plate can help you identify what and how much to eat from the different food groups while staying within your recommended calorie allowance.
Do you need some help making a change in your diet? Nutrition counseling is free as part of your preventive health benefits. Please see your 2024 benefits booklet for your Base PPO Plan (70/30) or Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20) for more information. You can also find details on the Plan website.
In addition, Blue365 offers premier health and wellness discounts and is free to join for State Health Plan members. Blue365 is available to members on the Base PPO Plan (70/30) and Enhanced PPO Plan (80/20). A variety of discounts are available and include:
- Nutrition: Enjoy savings on nutrition services and products
- Apparel & Footwear: Save on name brands
- Fitness: Gym and online experience discounts
For Plan members, Blue365 is available via Blue Connect. Blue Connect is available via eBenefits, your one-stop shop for all member benefit information. Follow these steps to get started:
- Go the State Health Plan website at www.shpnc.org.
- Click on eBenefits at the top of the page.
- Once logged into eBenefits, look for a link to Blue Connect in the left-hand menu.
- Once in Blue Connect, scroll down to the Blue365 program to click and save! Remember to sign up for weekly email offers.