The Healthy Living Expo is coming up!  Get ready for Knoxville’s largest Health & Fitness Expo.  AND…Guess What??  CPR Choice will be participating this year!  We will be doing live CPR demonstrations as well as teaching classes and handing out information at our booth.  Come visit us and learn “hands-only” CPR and get some information and goodies!  We will also be teaching a Friends & Family class each day of the expo. The class will be $10 and all proceeds will be donated to The American Heart Association.

Friday, Jan 23, 2015 9am-3pm (Family & Friends CPR @ 2PM, click to sign up)
Saturday, Jan 24, 2015 9am-4pm (Family & Friends CPR @ 2PM, click to sign up)

Knoxville Convention Center, Booth #121

Admission to the expo is $10 at the door or FREE if you get your tickets ahead of time.
Seniors FREE on Friday, Children 12 and under FREE

FUN! FIT! FABULOUS and FREE!

The area’s largest event focused on health, fitness, nutrition and living green returns for it’s eleventh year to the Knoxville Convention Center January 23-24, 2015. Over 130 individual companies fill more than 250 exhibits. The Expo continues to grow each year from its launch in 2005 and expects approximately 10,000 visitors!  The Healthy Living Expo offers interactive, educational exhibits, demonstrations and presentations.  Best of all, it is FREE when you get tickets before the doors open.

Some of the features for the 2014 Expo:

• Natural Awakenings Natural Health Pavilion
• Life Saving Skills taught by CPR Choice
• Chiropractic Care Pavilion
• Various Important Health Checks
• Healthy Food Sampling Booths
• Hundreds of prizes given away both days!

FREE WELLNESS PROGRAM FOR EMPLOYERS
Cigna Healthcare takes the lead promoting employee wellness by sponsoring tickets to the expo for any company that registers on The Healthy Living Expo website. Whether you have a handful of employees or one of the largest employers in our region, registration only takes a few minutes at the website, TheHealthyLivingExpo.com then you can offer:

MANY WAYS TO GET FIT and GET HEALTHY!
From natural health products to fitness companies, you will find a plethora of new ways to get fit and get healthy at The Healthy Living Expo, including life saving techniques from CPR Choice!

CPR CHOICE
What could be more important than knowing how to save someone in a life threatening situation? The Expo is proud to have CPR Choice demonstrate on stage some of the techniques you can learn when you take a CPR class. You can even take a class while you are at the expo, so by the time you leave you can be prepared to properly assist someone with life saving skills!

Natural Health Pavilion
This section of The Healthy Living Expo has companies with products and services that have a natural health aspect. Natural Awakenings Magazine, the foremost leader in our community promoting natural health is the sponsor of this area. Everything from household products, nutritional supplements to local green suppliers are found in the pavilion promoting a healthy mind, body and planet.

Chiropractic Care Pavilion
In keeping with the natural health approach to wellness is the Chiropractic Care pavilion. Three top chiropractic health professionals host this section with information about whole body wellness using natural health solutions.

FUN Outdoors
Getting outdoors, taking walks and hikes, visiting local parks are all part of living healthy so the City of Knoxville sponsors this area to inform our community of these available resources. Look for many associations and businesses offering information and products for outdoor fun for the entire family available right here in East Tennessee.

Get FIT with Health Checks
More than a dozen free health checks are available at the Expo. Screenings for allergies, blood pressure and a list of other simple tests will be listed at TheHealthyLivingExpo.com under the health check tab.

FABULOUS FOODS
Local Chef Walter and other experts using healthy products create FABULOUS foods at the Eat Right stage then share samples with visitors.  And after each segment, prizes are drawn for those attending. In addition to the stage presentations, numerous exhibitors offer samples of healthy products.

Get Active to stay FIT!
Fort Sanders Health & Fitness Center takes the lead on this stage with plenty of ideas for getting active. Music fills the area for two days highlighting numerous ways to become more active. Demonstrations are exciting to watch, inviting to participate and created for visitors of all ages.

It is informative and fun!  Come check it out!  This is a prime opportunity to find ideas, products, and services from the many exhibitors! CPR Choice is offering these Family & Friends CPR classes as a public service. All proceeds from this class will be donated directly to the American Heart Association.

During the month of November, several Diabetes association’s partner together to build awareness and provide support for people who live with diabetes.  The national Diabetes Education Program (NDEP) and its partners promote “Be Smart About Your Heart:  Control the ABCs of Diabetes” to help people with diabetes learn they are at greater risk for heart disease, and also how they can lower the risk by managing the ABCs:  the A1C test, Blood Pressure, Cholesterol and Stop Smoking.

ABCs of Managing Your Diabetes

• A: A1C Test- the A1C test is a blood test that measures your average blood sugar over the past three months
• B: Blood Pressure- Blood pressure is the force of your blood against the wall of your blood vessels.
• C: Cholesterol- There are two kinds of cholesterol in your blood: LDL and HDL. LDL or “bad” cholesterol can build up and clog your blood vessels. I can cause a heart attack or stroke.
• S: Stop Smoking- Simple enough!

As a complication of diabetes, heart disease is the world’s number one killer, killing 17.3 million people per year, we encourage you to improve your heart health and learn CPR.  CPR paired with an automated external defibrillator (AED) can greatly increase someone’s chance of survival if experience cardiac arrest.  Heart disease can hit anyone at anytime!  Be prepared to help a loved one, co-worker, or friend if the time ever arises and they need CPR.

Make a heart choice, an easy choice and use CPR Choice to learn today!  We offer the best CPR classes in East Tennessee.  Proudly serving Knoxville, Maryville, Oakridge, Lenoir City, Sevierville, Johnson City, Morristown, Kingsport and Bristol!  Find a CPR course near you! 

November is Diabetes Awareness Month! According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1.9 million adults in the United States are diagnosed with diabetes every year.  Affecting men and women of all backgrounds and ages, diabetes can cause serious health complications, including blindness, kidney failure, heart disease, stroke, and the loss of lower limbs.  During National Diabetes Month several organizations and groups rally together to bring awareness, education and support for helping our communities adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Most commonly diagnosed in young people, type 1 diabetes has no known method of prevention.  However, it can be managed with regular exercise, good nutrition, and proper medication.   Type 2 diabetes accounts for roughly 90 to 95 percent of diagnosed cases of diabetes in adults, and the risk of developing it is commonly associated with older age, obesity, physical inactivity, and a family history of diabetes.

Here are a few simple steps that will make a huge difference in your commitment to managing and/or preventing the disease:

• Eat Whole Foods– The easiest way to ensure you are eating the right kinds of foods- avoiding processed foods all together. Whole foods include vegetables, fruits, nuts, eggs, and lean meats. When grocery shopping, make it a point to spend a lot of time in the produce section and avoid the middle of the store where packaged foods are found.
• Exercise for 30 Minutes Each Day– We know it can be difficult to make time for yourself to exercise, but you owe it to your family to do this! Create accountability, engage family and friends to help you get active and stay that way!
• Cook at Home– Even if you like to add a bit of extra butter to home-cooked meals, it will still be far healthier than anything you could order in a restaurant. On average, a meal consumed while dining out will cost you a minimum of an extra 200 calories.
• Portion Control– Try filling your plate with 2/3 of what you think you need. Then wait 15 minutes before going back for seconds. This is the amount of time your brain and body need to communicate you are full. You will be surprised at how satisfied you feel if you allow your body the time to process food without over-indulging.
• Avoid Alcohol– The main ingredient found in alcohol whether it is wine, beer, or spirits is sugar.
• Read Nutrition Labels– If you choose to purchase packaged foods, get into the habit of reading nutrition labels. You may find disturbing information once you start to study the nutritional content and ingredients.
• Track Numbers Daily– It has been proven that tracking your daily food and water intake is one of the best ways to make progress towards goals. When faced with a cupcake following dinner, it’s easy to forget about the piece of pie you ate after lunch. Many people are surprised to see how much they consumed over the course of the day when they look back at their log. Look for helpful Smartphone Apps to make this an easy and efficient process!Start today with these simple steps! Stay tuned for more helpful information throughout the month!

Start today with these simple steps! Stay tuned for more helpful information from CPR Choice throughout the month!