Do you think social media helps you become more informed and empowered to be your own best health and wellness advocate?

Meet Toby Bloomberg, Founder of the award-winning Diva Marketing Blog and noted by Forbes Magazine as a top 20 women in social media blogger.

Last night I spoke with Toby and a group of social media experts on the topic “How to Gain Women’s Trust and Advocacy via Social Media”.   The premise is that the more women know how to access information that they trust, the more empowered we can be in making healthcare decisions and learning what’s best for ourselves and our families.

The  key issue for women is “who do we trust”?  And, how can companies and organizations do a better job at fueling trust?

With over 66% of women who don’t believe healthcare marketers understand them and only 14% of women who trust advertising, Toby clued us in on how brands and organizations can do more and better through social media.

We’ll be publishing our tips from the panel discussion shortly here, but, in the  meantime if you’d like to listen to our panel discussion last night, here it is.

What are the ways you believe health and healthcare marketers can gain YOUR trust and advocacy?  Let us know here and we’ll bring you into our conversation!

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Are you hooked on diet sodas, thinking you can shed a few extra pounds by avoiding sugar? I’m sure your relationship can be quite addictive and I’d love to share this with you ….just saying:))

Here’s what Marcelle Pick, NP, Co-Founder of the Women-to-Women Clinic in Yarmouth, Maine has to say about diet sodas and how they affect women. “Companies have spent billions of dollars convincing all of us that diet soda is the healthier, lighter choice — that all we have to lose is the calories, ergo the weight. And since so many of us are struggling with weight gain, who can blame us if diet soda seems like a dream come true?

And while I admit that diet soda may have its uses in the short term — particularly if you are dealing with a sugar addiction — I encourage you to resist it as your default beverage, especially if you are trying to lose weight. Different studies have been flying around on this subject, but a majority show that diet soda may actually set you up to gain even more weight.”

Now a consumer advocacy group is questioning whether Coca-Cola should be allowed to sponsor a national heart health campaign. Granted Coca-Cola has 3.38 grams of sugar per ounce and Diet Coke has zero, but much controversy and scientific evidence swirls around the health risks of Diet Coke.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest has issued a letter to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute asking the agency to end its partnership with Coca-Cola in a program that raises awareness of heart disease among women. Diet Coke is the most prominent sponsor of the Heart Truth campaign, which includes heart graphics on Diet Coke cans and appearances by the model Heidi Klum as the “Diet Coke heart health ambassador.”

In a statement, the center’s executive director, Michael Jacobson, compared Coke’s corporate sponsorship with allowing a cigarette maker to fund a government anti-smoking campaign. The fact that the campaign is sponsored by Diet Coke, rather than a sugar-laden soda brand, is irrelevant, he said.

“Coca-Cola promotes heart disease by marketing drinks that contribute to obesity,” Mr. Jacobson wrote. “Coke has long sought to affiliate with or co-opt health groups and associate its brand with athletes and models. I fervently hope that N.H.L.B.I. officials understand that letting Coke bask in their agency’s good reputation does American hearts far more harm than good.”

Coca-Cola defended its participation in the Heart Truth program, saying in a statement:

We’ve used our communications and marketing expertise to reach millions of people with this important heart health message. We’ve made free heart health screenings available to thousands of people across the country. As a result of The Heart Truth campaign, awareness that heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death among women has risen to nearly 70 percent compared to 34 percent in 2000 when the campaign was first introduced. And since Diet Coke has been involved, awareness of The Heart Truth and our support of it has nearly doubled. We are extraordinarily proud of the work we’ve done in partnership with N.H.L.B.I. and Heidi Klum to have a positive impact on the lives of our consumers.

Since other food marketer, like the snack food company Snyder’s of Hanover and the Sara Lee Corporation, are co-sponsors of the campaign, we know corporate money is an essential partner in public health…but how do you balance it out with the fact that processed food is cheaper than whole food?

And, this is where the problem lies. Inside processed foods lie a cornucopia of ingredients best left outside the human body.

Filed under: Consumer marketing, Wellbeing, Wellness, beauty, health, healthcare marketing, marketing, marketing health to women, marketing to women, proage, women's health, women's health education, women's health public relations, women's healthcare, women's wellness | No Comments »

Have you heard about Jenny Sanford’s new book “Staying True”?

Just recently, Jenny Sanford talks to the women on “The View”. Open communication can create opportunities for healing and understanding – even in the most difficult of situations. Jenny Sanford’s release of her new book highlights her journey in coming to terms with her husband’s affair with his mistress from Argentina. And, her ability not to be a “victim” turns out to be inspiring for many women.

Yet, many women have opinions about how Jenny Sanford got married in the first place as Mark wanted to get rid of the word “fidelity” in their vows.

What’s your opinion on this? Should she have married him despite his inability to say that he would be faithful in his marriage. As Jenny says, everyone has doubts about getting married:))

Better yet, what would you have done?

I asked one of our Real Women on Health! experts, Janis Spring, PhD, that same question as she is the author of the best-selling “After the Affair”. Janis said, “I haven’t read Jenny Sanford’s new book, but on the question, should you marry someone who wants to delete the idea of fidelity from your vows?”, I’d start with wanting to know the meaning of that partner’s objection. It may mean tons; it may mean little. After all, most people enter marriage swearing fidelity, but, often, end up having affairs. Other people question whether they can promise fidelity but stay true to their partner. I’d say, verbal promises and commitments provide no guarantee of fidelity but, while the wedding bells are still ringing, if one partner has serious doubts about the likelihood he’d/she’d stay faithful, I’d say the other partner who values fidelity should have as much discomfort with their willingness to tie the knot.”

Dr. Spring is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology, a recipient of the Connecticut Psychological Association’s Award for Distinguished Contribution to the Practice of Psychology, and has served as a clinical supervisor in the Department of Psychology at Yale University. She received her B.A. from Brandeis University, magna cum laude, her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut, and her post-graduate training from Aaron Beck, M.D., at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University of Pennsylvania. In private practice for more than three decades, Dr. Spring is known for the richness and originality of her clinical skills and trains hundreds of therapists each year. She is a popular media guest on programs such as NPR, Good Morning America, Anderson Cooper 360, and the CBS Early Show, and she presents regularly at such public venues as The Smithsonian Institute, Harvard’s Continuing Education Conferences, Smith College School of Social Work, and Kripalu Institute. She and her husband live in Westport, Connecticut, and have four sons.

Filed under: Kelley Connors, Reinvention, Uncategorized, Wellbeing, Wellness, anti-aging, health, healthcare communications, marketing health to women, marketing to women, real women on health, sexual health, women's health | No Comments »

It’s not all in your head, it’s not a sign of age, nor is it even a lack of interest: About seventy million American men and women have problems in the bedroom. Join health psychologists Dr. Robert Fried and Dr. Lynn Nezin to learn about the eating plan for sexual vitality.

Sexual function requires an adequate arterial blood supply to the endothelium, or inner cell lining of arterial vessels. The endothelium produces the gas nitric oxide, or NO, that relaxes the blood vessels and increases blood flow not only in the heart but, importantly, in the sex organs.

Damaged endothelial tissue impairs blood flow during sexual arousal, and SAD (the Standard American Diet) is particularly damaging to the endothelium. Impaired blood flow is associated with sexual dysfunction in both men and women.

Tune in to hear more about cardiosexual nutrition as we discuss “Great Food, Great Sex: The Three Food Factors for Sexual Fitness.’’ Our plan focuses on three Food Factors that help supply the body with the ability to synthesize NO, as well as provide important sources of antioxidant-rich foods to help lower LDL, or “bad” cholesterol that can cause plaque to build up in vessel walls. Learn how to plan delicious, healthy meals that can take you from the kitchen to the bedroom.

Join Kelley and Cassie with Drs. Lynn Nezin and Bob Fried, this Wednesday, February 10th @8:30 pm EST. And, sign up to join our community on our home page, and get the top recipe that Lynn and Bob recommend you try out for this Valentine’s Day!

Robert Fried, Ph.D., is a New York State licensed clinical psychologist, professor of biopsychology and neuroscience at Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY), and Doctoral Faculty in Biopsychology and Neuroscience, CUNY. As the former director of the Stress and Biofeedback Clinic at the Albert Ellis Institute for Rational and Emotive Behavioral Therapy, NYC, Dr. Fried taught the stress-reduction techniques he developed to his private and corporate clients. In addition to University teaching duties and his clinical practice, Dr. Fried, as consultant to the “nutraceuticals” industry, has developed a number of widely sold sexual vitality-enhancing dietary health products.

He is the author of a number of book including his most recent, “Human Sexuality” (Whittier, 2010), and “Great Food, Great Sex” with Dr. Nezin (Random House, 2006), “The Arginine Solution” (Warner Books, 1999), and his popular stress-reduction book, “Breathe Well, Be Well” (John Wiley, 1999). In addition, he has authored several textbooks and more than fifty scientific journal articles.

Lynn Nezin, PhD, holds a doctorate in clinical health psychology. She is a senior strategic planner at Medicus Life Brands in New York City. She is the former assistant to the president of the American Health Foundation. Dr. Nezin’s research includes body image in older women, nutrition in diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and physician-patient interactions. She is a former marathon racewalker and certified personal trainer.

Filed under: Wellness, anti-aging, marketing health to women, marketing to women, nutrition, real women on health, sexual health, women's health public relations, women's wellness | No Comments »

“Reinvention…Restoration…Relaxation..or Get Real!

Upcoming on-line radio show this Wednesday, February 3rd at 8:30 pm EST

The women-to-women on-line radio show will be dynamic conversation to help women de-code the meaning of Reinvention for their own personal and professional lives. The outcome of the show will be greater insights into how women can access and embrace their true self in attaining personal wellbeing.

We realize that women have many different ways of thinking about Reinvention…and we’re going to explore them all!

Join us live and online for our next RealWomen on Health! online health salon and radio show with Suzanne Douglas Harris, MBA, Personal and Professional Life Coach and Susan James, Co-Founder, Self-Discovery Group, LLC in a dynamic conversation with Kelley Connors, MPH, Women’s Wellness Coach and Cassie Holm, Women’s Advocate and Communications Strategist.

Suzanne brings a distinctive blend of expertise, solid experience and personal empathy, especially around career and life changes.  Susan brings a mastery of cutting edge techniques that put her at the forefront in the field of human consciousness evolution and “true self” facilitator of leaders around the world.   They’ll be the catalyst for you to explore “reinvention” in your own life.

Just dial in on Wednesday, February 3rd at 8:30 pm EST to www.blogtalkradio.com/realwomenonhealth. If you have not registered yet, please do so and you’ll receive a link that will allow you to listen through your computer. If you would rather use a phone to listen, just dial (646) 929-2625 and you’ll be connected to our conversation. You can choose to listen or talk!

Filed under: Reinvention, Wellness, anti-aging, health, healthcare communications, healthcare marketing, healthcare public relations, real women on health, women's health, women's health public relations, women's wellness, yoga | No Comments »

Welcome to our on-line radio show and women’s health and wellness community where we give women the platform to share their voice, experience and professional expertise with women “like us”.

Our host and founder, Kelley Connors, is a women’s wellness coach and women’s health advocate who brings real women together with experts on health to create new conversations that are educational, inspirational and fun.   Cassie, the show’s co-host,  is a communications strategist who’s worked on the front lines of women’s health, diabetes, sexual health, breast cancer and more.  She adds commentary from the latest published women’s health research to help fuel the conversation, supporting women’s desires for credible information.

Together, they aim to transform the women’s health conversation to one that inspires not just “talk” but “action”.   We’re all about women becoming more proactive – no matter their health challenges.

OUR TOPICS: Our topics range from prevention to treatment, wellness to reinvention and re-vitalization.  There’s no topic that’s taboo and no topic we won’t consider important from a women’s perspective.  We’re here to bridge the gap between your life and your health and to encourage and support women in being their own best health and wellness advocates.  While the topics are health-oriented, Kelley, Cassie and their real women guests bring charisma, personality and pizzaz to create a fun, light atmosphere so women feel comfortable to share their stories.

HOW WE DO IT: Real Women on Health! is in tune with who the experts and advocates in areas of women’s health that women tell us are important to them, like sexuality and intimacy, cancer survivorship, environmental health, skin care, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis and other chronic conditions that affect women in ways that are not easy to discuss in a healthcare setting.

HOW WE’RE DIFFERENT: Most important to women is privacy.  We know where women prefer to remain anonymous in describing their issues and we respect their privacy.  That’s why we use both the telephone and the computer to create our live conversations – and women can, indeed remain completely “nameless” on our calls.  Also, we have content partnerships with the nation’s leading health organization, HealthyWomen, which grants us access to leading healthcare professionals and researchers who are on the front lines of women’s health issues – both treating women as patients and leading research trials that impact women’s health and healthcare.

So, we bring in healthcare experts that are world re-known and locally re-known to add credibility to our “candid conversations” among women.

Finally, we wrap up our conversations with a re-cap of action steps and post a call to action with resources on our blog.  So, if you miss a show, you can find out more on our blog on a page called Well-Care Tips.

Interested in joining us?

Here’s how you can participate in the community:

1.  Find out about our on-line radio shows first!   SIMPLY LISTEN RIGHT NOW THROUGH YOUR COMPUTER!

2.  Share Your Story: e-mail me kelley@kc-health.com and tell me about yourself and your health and wellness experience. Let’s discuss how you want to share your story with other women.

3. Receive Our Updates on Events and Stories:  email me at kelley@kc-health.com to receive our monthly Real Women on Health! updates, radio shows and events.

4.  Be an Expert or Advocate:  email me if you’re a women’s health advocacy group leader who would like to express your point of view on our show.   Or if you’re a researcher or healthcare professional,  you’re invited to share your expertise with others to spark dialogue and inspire action!

Filed under: Reinvention, health, healthcare communications, real women on health, sexual health, women's health, women's health public relations, women's healthcare, women's wellness | No Comments »

If you’re a woman in her 40’s and 50’s it’s a pivotal time. Your body is changing in dramatic ways that will remind you of…er..hormonal swings much like what you experienced in puberty.  Your memory will become slightly porous, and you may be at risk for hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic conditions.  There’s alot at stake.  Especially as women retire later with conditions like osteoporosis.  But, as you head into midlife, there’s also a lot you can do to be the strongest, nimblest, and healthiest version of yourself possible.

Share Your Experience and Expertise in Our On-line Radio Show called “What You Can Do Now to Feel Great In Ten Years

Join Ivy Alexander, PhD, Associate  Professor of Nursing at Yale Unversity School of Nursing and Mid-life Women’s Health Consultant at Yale University

Prevention and treatment of bone loss is a key issue for women in their 40’s and 50’s.  And, new research from HealthyWomen indicates that older working women’s ability to work may be undermined by their suboptimal management of osteoporosis.

Join Dr.  Alexander in a conversation about diet, exercise, complementary therapies, and those medications which can treat bone loss after it has occurred.

We’ll be joined by other members of the Real Women on Health! community like Lisa Sheehan, skin care aesthetician.  Lisa will share her perspective on bringing a woman’s inner beauty to skin care, where her outer beauty can  truly shine.

Date: Thursday evening, January 14,  2009

Time:  8:30 pm EST

Place:  www.blogtalkradio.com/realwomenonhealth

Sponsored by

Here’s how you can join us:

Just for Audio via Telephone: : (646) 929-2625 or You can just listen through your computer and Live Chat, Real-Time, And Network with Others

1. First, and before the show starts, you must register yourself with www.blogtalkradio.com
2. To go to the show live, type in http://www.blogtalkradio/realwomenonhealth and you will hear the discussion.
3. If you want to use the chat feature, you will be able to do so and ask your question that way. Or just post a comment on what you think!

This on-line radio show was sponsored by

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While everyone is talking about how you can make 2010 your best year ever, I invite you to restore yourself.

Why?

It’s hard to heed advice like “reinvent your life” when you’re exhausted from the holidays and anxious about yet another year ahead.  It’s overwhelming to feel that everything in your life could use a “change”. Consider restoration as a pathway to a state of health, soundness, or vigor.

As I choose restoration this year, I’ll share with you my one BIG tip to guide you on your own pathway to restoration:

B: Be open to making your first yoga class of the year (or your life!) the beginning of  restoration in your life.

Yoga can help you become open to restoration by helping you relax and gain clarity.  A regular practice has many health benefits that are proven – especially those that relate to stress management.

Need convincing?  If you’d like to know the health benefits of yoga, do some research beforehand.

I:  Invite a friend to a yoga class that you found particularly inspiring and beneficial in mind and/or body.   If the friend is resistant, let it go.  This is also part of yoga practice….acceptance.   There may be a better time later…or, perhaps someone else you can invite?

G:  Go to a yoga or mind/body event in the next two weeks to kick off 2010.   I’d like to invite you all (if you’re in the metro NYC area), to a restorative yoga class this Saturday, January 9th with Rita Trieger whom I met last year through Elements Yoga in Darien, Connecticut.

Rita Trieger is the founder and editor-in-chief of Fit Yoga magazine, as well as the author of Yoga Heals Your Back (Fairwinds, 2005), and Tranquil Mind, a meditation and yoga CD. A nationally known and sought after teacher, Rita incorporates many different traditions into her inspiring and challenging flow-style classes. She is also a certified Relax and Renew (restorative yoga) teacher as well as a Reiki practitioner. Rita lives, practices, and teaches yoga in New York City, and in Connecticut at Elements Yoga, Stamford Hospital’s Health and Fitness Institute and the Bennett Cancer Center. More recently, Rita has been hired as the stress management facilitator for the newly established Center for Integrative Medicine and Wellness, also at Stamford Hospital. Her dedicated students are truly a testament to her genuine, spirited style.

Check out Elements Yoga in Darien, CT for more information on new classes, workshops and retreats.  They have a really great retreat coming up in Jamaica in March 2010 you’ll want to find out about!

Filed under: Uncategorized, Wellness, anti-aging, health, women's health, women's health education, women's wellness, yoga | 1 Comment »

My 5 foot ten inch frame has always seemed more naturally built for basketball, yoga or cross country running but I found a sport 30 years after those dreadful high school phys ed classes that is absolutely perfect for me at this point in  my life.

Ladies…I am keeping my day job but  the sport of  rowing  is one which has grabbed me by surprise and has triggered a new view on “health”.

I made a decision that it was “time”  to reinvent my life, including health, so I could sustain both weight management and fun!  In essence, I had to re-program how I saw health fitting into my life.

Was it just the desire to loose weight and get in my “skinny jeans”?  Not really, but that was a start.

Approaching 50 years old this year, I found that my latent desire for physical competition was brewing like a tempest tea pot and that the creative demands of my marketing consultancy needed more than just sleep to really thrive.  Yes,  not only loose 20 pounds but regain a sense of energy and sustained interest in being more physically active.

Does that sound like you?  Are you looking for more energy and more vitality…and doubtful that diet pills, a new gym routine or new vegan diets will change anything?  Do you see yourself as the midlife equivalent of your high school past?  Does your poor body image still prevail?

I decided to challenge this in myself and so began a more wellness-focused journey that would introduce me to authors like Eckhardt Tolle to Christiane Northrop and Nora Ephron.   (In fact, I became so interested in how wellness happens that I became certified as a wellness coach…but that’s another story!)

I found inspiration and the freedom to enter into a new conversation with  myself through these three ways:

1) DISCOVERY:  What I discovered began on a learn to row vacation I took with my  husband up to Craftsbury Vermont, where the world-reknown outdoor center started over fifty years ago.   I thought it would be a great way to spend time with my husband, who had been rowing for more than 30 years.   Since world class athletes also train and practice at this center, I completely lowered my expectations as to what I could achieve in a week’s time there.  And, because I was open to the experience of being a midlife novice, I was much more relaxed and actually learned much more than if I had pressured myself into performing.

2) ACTION:  When I returned from this vacation, I immediately sought  to sustain my motivation, using the passion for the sport to get into shape.   This meant I needed to both loose weight – initially – and gain muscle mass.    I lost 30 pounds by first joining a spin class and getting into better cardiovascular shape.   I also decided to join a local rowing club, and began a learn to row program within three months of my Craftsbury learn to row vacation.  And, I learned to row with other women who were local – many over 40 – who were, and still are, practicing two to four early mornings each week on the Norwalk River.

Usually I rowed in a “quad” where four women row together – each with two oars.  With my long arms, I was frequently asked by our coach to be in the first seat which is the stroke seat.  It’s fun to be in the lead but it also means there is no one to follow!  All the other rowers are following the stroke so you need to focus and concentrate.  You also need to relax.

3) RELAX I don’t think you can appreciate how important recovery is in our lives today unless you start rowing.  The recovery allows your body to relax and the boat “runs” underneath you, effortlessly.  Of course, that all depends on your ability to technically row.   However, my 20-year long yoga practice came in handy because in order to do well with rowing you must balance “drive” with “recovery”.  These two opposites work well with me, because I use yoga breathing on the recovery, and find that this breathing mechanism simply reduces the feeling of stress in my body.  Even better,  wellness experts do recommend exercise as an evidence-based stress-reducer!

Skinny jeans aside, there’s so much more to health for me today.

We’d love to know!  How Have You Reinvented Health?  Email me at kelley@kc-health.com and tell me your story to be featured on Real Women on Health!

P.S. I have sustained about a 20 pound weight loss for two years now…it’s still a process of discovering new opportunities daily to make incremental changes that make a difference over time!

P.S.S.  Making new friends is the biggest “health” benefit of all!

follow me at twitter@realwomenhealth

Filed under: Wellness, anti-aging, health, real women, sculling, women's health, women's wellness, yoga | No Comments »

When I invited Lori and Sheryl to contribute to our Real Women on Health! community, I was struck by my naivite about talking to a loved one or friend who is coping with a cancer diagnosis.

But,  that’s no longer.

I was with  my dad when he was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a rare leukemia that is partially curable with Gleevec.  In last month since his diagnosis, I’ve struggled to find a way to talk to him about anything…without being overly concerned or too dismissive, too humorous and too serious.

I’m feeling like there’s no perfect way to talk to a loved one or friend and much guilt about my own apparent health…. at least for today.

So, it was with relief when Sheryl Kraft outreached to me to see how we could collaborate on an upcoming radio show on how to help a friend with cancer.  As a breast cancer survivor of many years and women’s health writer and advocate at HealthyWoman.org, Sheryl was enthusiastic about helping friends talk with their friends who might have just been diagnosed..or are in the throes of a long, active treatment cycle for any type of cancer.

Sheryl suggested we contact Lori Hope, Lung Cancer Survivor, and Author of “Help Me Live:  20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know”.

Always the filmmaker, one of Lori’s first thoughts after being diagnosed with lung cancer was, “I should make a documentary about this.”   When her therapist urged her to deal with the disease first and worry about documenting her journey later, Lori dropped the idea. But soon after, when a well-meaning friend said something to Lori that made her extremely anxious, and when people continually asked her whether she had smoked, and regaled her with tragic stories about people who had died of lung cancer, she revised her thought somewhat: “Someone really ought to write a book about what people with cancer need others to know!”

About nine months later, Ten Speed Press publisher Kirsty Melville took Lori’s seminar on documentary production at Bay Area Video Coalition in San Francisco, and asked Lori whether she had ever considered writing a book. After several meetings, Help Me Live started to come to life.

Published by Celestial Arts, an imprint of Ten Speed Press, Help Me Live: 20 Things People with Cancer Want You to Know, tells intimate stories of words and actions that have made a tremendous difference to people with cancer. Designed to help caregivers, friends, and loved ones of cancer patients and survivors communicate more effectively and compassionately, Help Me Live does not prescribe behavior, but encourages compassion, respect, and listening.

Please join us on Thursday evening, November 19th at 8:30 pm EST for a 45 min conversation with Lori and Sheryl.  Come prepared to share your story, your own struggles and your own victories with us.

Filed under: Kelley Connors, breast cancer, caregiving, healthcare communications, marketing health to women, oncology, real women on health, women's health education, women's healthcare, women's wellness | 2 Comments »