Category: Health

Plan ahead for Corporate Wellness Week: 1–5 July 2025

Wellness isn’t just a personal goal. It’s a workplace priority. A healthy team is a productive, motivated, and more connected team. And with Corporate Wellness Week taking place from 1 to 5 July 2025, now is the perfect time for businesses to plan how they’ll prioritise employee health and wellbeing.

You don’t need a huge budget or complex programme to make a meaningful difference. Small, intentional changes can go a long way in building a workplace culture that values balance, mental health, and physical wellbeing.

Here are five easy ideas to help your company get started and create a workplace that supports your people.

1. Start with Mental Health Moments

Mental health is foundational to overall wellness, yet it’s often overlooked in busy work environments. During Corporate Wellness Week, create simple ways for your team to take a mindful pause.

Ideas to try:

• Guided meditation or breathing session (in-person or virtual)
• Quiet wellness zones or breakaway spaces
• Encourage a “no-meeting hour” daily to reduce screen fatigue

You can also share mental health resources or invite a speaker for a lunchtime talk on stress, burnout, or work-life boundaries. The message should be clear: it’s okay to pause, reset, and take care of your mind.

2. Encourage Movement (Even the Small Kind)

Sitting all day takes a toll on physical health, circulation, and energy levels. Use Corporate Wellness Week as a launchpad for more movement-friendly routines.

Try this:

• Host a team steps challenge with small prizes or incentives
• Offer walking meetings or “movement breaks” between tasks
• Provide a short daily desk-stretch routine or mobility video

The key is to normalise short bursts of physical activity throughout the workday not just a gym membership or a once-off event.

3. Nourish from the Inside Out

Food fuels focus, energy, and mood. Help your team make more mindful food choices by offering accessible, healthy options throughout the week.

Some easy ways to do this:

• Provide healthy snacks like fruit, nuts, and yoghurt
• Swap fizzy drinks for infused water stations
• Host a lunch-and-learn on nutrition or mindful eating

You could also partner with a local health-conscious café for employee discounts or set up a DIY smoothie station one morning. Simple, supportive choices show your team you care.

4. Personalised Health Checks or Screenings

Prevention is powerful and often overlooked. Offering quick, accessible health screenings during the week is one of the most impactful ways to support employee wellness.

Medshield, for example, supports wellness through activations like Abby Health machines that complete key health checks in under 3 minutes.

Options to consider:

• Blood pressure and glucose testing
• BMI and cholesterol screenings
• Eye checks or posture assessments

Even better, offer these on-site or nearby to make participation easy and stress-free. It’s about taking the step toward better health, one small check at a time.

5. Keep It Going

Wellness Week should be a starting point not a tick box. End the week by asking employees what they enjoyed most, what helped them feel better, and what they’d like to see more of.

Consider:

• Anonymous feedback surveys
• Suggestion boxes for future wellness ideas
• A monthly wellness theme or continued calendar of events

Whether it’s “Wellness Wednesdays” or a flexible hour to support mental health days, small and consistent steps create a workplace where wellbeing isn’t seasonal, it’s part of the culture.

Creating a Culture of Care

Investing in your team’s wellbeing is more than a one-week commitment it’s a long-term strategy for happier, healthier, more engaged people. And it doesn’t have to be complicated.

By planning early and choosing simple, intentional ideas, your business can make Corporate Wellness Week 2025 the start of something truly valuable.

Because healthy companies are built on healthy people.

When it comes to long-distance running, few names inspire South Africans like Bongmusa Mthembu. A multiple Comrades Marathon winner, devoted athlete, and proud Medshield Movement Ambassador, Bongmusa’s story is one of extraordinary perseverance, quiet discipline, and purpose-driven success.

As the nation gears up for the 2025 Comrades Marathon, we look back at the man behind the medals and what we can all learn from a life built on resilience and heart.

A Journey Rooted in Discipline

Born in Bulwer, KwaZulu-Natal, Bongmusa’s journey to running greatness didn’t begin with big sponsorships or professional training. It started with early mornings, hard work, and a strong sense of purpose.

After the loss of his parents, Bongmusa took on work as a bricklayer to support himself. But even then, he ran. Before sunrise. After shifts. Through challenges many would use as reasons to quit, he used them as fuel.

That foundation of self-discipline has carried through his career. To date, Bongmusa has claimed three Comrades Marathon titles and placed in the top ten multiple times. But beyond his physical ability, his mental toughness and humility continue to set him apart.

Why He Runs

For Bongmusa, running has never just been about the finish line. It’s about purpose and showing the next generation what’s possible through hard work and belief.

“I run for the people who believe in me and for those who don’t,” he once said. “I run to show that your beginning doesn’t have to determine your end.”

It’s this mindset that makes him more than a champion. It makes him a role model. As a Medshield Movement Ambassador, Bongmusa shares that mindset with others, encouraging South Africans of all fitness levels to move with intention and take control of their health.

What The Comrades Marathon Means to Him

The Comrades Marathon isn’t just a race. It’s one of the most gruelling ultra-marathons in the world. More than 90 kilometres of hills, sweat, and mental tests. It’s also a celebration of human endurance, community spirit, and South African grit.

For Bongmusa, Comrades is personal. It’s a race that changed his life and one he approaches each year with gratitude and focus. Every training session, every stretch, every rest day. His approach reminds us that preparation isn’t just physical. It’s emotional and mental, too.

Lessons We Can All Take From His Run

You don’t have to be an ultra-marathoner to take something from Bongmusa’s journey. Whether you’re starting to walk more, making time for a check-up, or pushing yourself to try something new, there’s wisdom in the way he moves through life.

1. Start where you are

No fancy gear. No perfect timing. Bongmusa started with what he had and built from there.

2. Keep showing up

Discipline, not motivation, is what creates change. Even on hard days, consistency matters more than perfection.

3. Run your own race

You don’t need to be the fastest. You just need to keep moving forward for your health, your goals, and your sense of purpose.

On Reflection

Bongmusa Mthembu’s journey is a reminder that purpose powers progress. His endurance is not just physical, it’s personal. His discipline is not just routine, it’s rooted in heart.

This Comrades Month, let his story inspire you to find your own rhythm, your own reason, and your own road. Whether you’re walking for fitness or running toward something greater, Medshield is here to support you.

Because when you move with purpose, every step counts.

Medshield. Partner for Life.

Fueling well can be the make or break between a personal best and a personal worst. Here are some of the common mistakes people make that cost them in performance gains. 

1.Not fueling before workouts 

Think of our body as a car. If a car doesn’t have fuel it won’t be able to drive. The same applies to our bodies. Our bodies require fuel in order to perform at their best. Before a workout we want to be focusing on carbohydrates because carbohydrates are our bodies primary source of fuel during exercise. They should also be easily digestible and low in fiber to reduce potential gut discomfort during exercise and to make it easy for our body to get hold of that much needed energy quickly. 

2. Avoiding carbohydrates 

Carbohydrates are our bodies primary source of fuel- especially during exercise. Restricting them can negatively affect performance and overall recovery from training and exercise. Make sure to include them at all meals. Carbohydrates should be a staple part of our diet, especially when it comes to fueling sessions! 

3. Not fueling longer sessions 

Our bodies have limited amounts of stored carbohydrates. This means that after about 60-90 minutes, we need to start fueling our workouts to give our body the fuel it needs to perform. Small, frequent feeds are our friend and make it easy to give our body that intra-session fueling. 

4. Forgetting about post-session recovery 

Our bodies adapt to the training we have done during our recovery. This means that if we don’t recover well, we are also not getting stronger or faster. To optimise training load adaptation, we want to make sure to have a post-session recovery meal or snack. A general rule of thumb is to aim for a meal or snack with a carb to protein ratio of 3:2. 

5. Trying new things on race day 

Trying new things on race day has been the downfall of many. Whether it be a new nutrition product or new shoes or kit. Don’t try anything new on race day. You want to make sure that by the time race day comes along you have tried and tested everything you are using and that it works well for you. 

Carbohydrates have become increasingly demonised over the past years. However they are not all that bad. On the contrary. They are actually our body’s preferred source of fuel and vital for optimal health and performance. 

When we eat carbohydrates, they are broken down into glucose which is then used by our brain, muscles and other organs, giving us the fuel to thrive! 

What’s important to note is that there are different types of carbohydrates. 

Simple and complex carbohydrates. 

Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly and lead to a quicker spike in energy. These are usually your more refined carbohydrates such as white bread and sweets etc. Simple carbohydrates should be used in context. For example if you are someone who is exercising a lot and has very high energy requirements, looking to fuel for performance, then simple carbohydrates should be a regular part of your diet. 

On the other hand, complex carbohydrates. These are digested slower and lead to a slower and more sustained release in energy. These are usually found in more unrefined carbohydrates sources such as whole grain products and legumes. 

Another very important nutrient that is found in complex carbohydrates is fiber. Fiber plays a crucial role in promoting gut health, blood sugar control, healthy cholesterol levels and has also been found to reduce the risk of many diseases. If we were to restrict our complex carbohydrate intake, we would also be restricting overall fiber intake, which would be detrimental to our overall health. 

In summary, depending on our individual activity status, we want to include both simple and complex carbohydrates in our diet to ensure that we are giving our body the fuel it needs to thrive. At the end of the day it is about balance and making sure that we are enjoying a variety of foods in moderation, not excessively restricting anything, but also being mindful of how we fuel our bodies. 

We are all bombarded with information about all things health, diet, good foods, bad foods and everything that comes with it, on a regular basis.

So here are some myths that you have probably come across, that need some debunking.

1. Myth: “You need juice cleanses to detox your body”

Truth: Our bodies do not need juice cleanses to be detoxed. Our bodies do need to detox, but the good news is that we have our own built in detox system- Our liver and our kidneys. We are better off making sure that we are making choices that support our health as a whole versus buying expensive juice cleanses.

2. Myth: “Carbohydrates make you gain weight”

Truth: Carbohydrates on their own do not make you gain weight unless they are consumed in excess. Weight gain occurs when there is a calorie surplus- meaning there are more calories being consumed than expended- and this can occur with any foods. Not just carbohydrates alone. Fun fact: did you know that 1g of carbohydrates contains 4 calories, whereas 1g of fat contains 9 calories?

3. Myth: “Weight training will make you bulky”

Truth: Weight training will stimulate muscle protein synthesis which will help you to build lean muscle mass. But that does not automatically mean you will get a big and bulky physique. The extremely large physiques that we are afraid of are often a result of some weight training and often also performance enhancing drugs. We should all include weight training in our regular routine because muscle tissue comes with numerous health benefits.

4. Myth: “Intermittent fasting guarantees weight loss”

Truth: A calorie deficit guarantees weight loss. Intermittent fasting is simply another way to do it, but it is not superior to a standard calorie deficit approach. It is simply a different way of achieving a goal.

5. Myth: “All thin people are healthy”

Truth: Appearance does not reflect a person’s true health status. Our outside appearance is a very small snippet to what is going on internal and it is about so much more than just weight. For example things like energy levels, blood markers, strength, sleep quality and mental health all matter when it comes to assessing overall health.

Weight loss medications and injections have seen a surge in popularity lately, and it’s easy to understand why. They offer fast, noticeable results and can feel like a solution for those who’ve struggled with repeated dieting and haven’t found long-term success.

But while these medications may seem promising, it’s essential to understand that they are not without risks, and deciding to use them should be an informed, carefully considered choice.

When it comes to weight loss, the goal is not only to lose weight, but also to keep it off. That means the method one uses needs to be sustainable and something one can realistically carry into the future.

Medications like Ozempic and other GLP-1 receptor agonists work primarily by suppressing appetite, which leads to reduced food intake and, in turn, weight loss as a result of a negative energy balance being achieved. However, there are some points one needs to look at:

• These medications are short-term solutions. Long-term use is not practical or affordable (for most), and extended use can increase the risk of nutrient deficiencies due to significantly reduced food intake.
• Once the medication is stopped, most people tend to regain the weight, if sustainable habits haven’t been established.
• There are also potential side effects and health risks, such as gastrointestinal issues, gallbladder problems, muscle loss, and others that should not be overlooked.

Ultimately, while these medications may be a helpful tool for some, they are not a substitute for building consistent, healthy lifestyle habits. Sustainable weight loss comes from gradual, long-term changes, not quick fixes.

Before turning to medication, it’s important to work on long term lifestyle changes such as changing dietary habits, movement habits and general mental health.

Training for a triathlon means that our body needs more fuel, especially during the actual hours that are spent swimming, cycling or running.

It’s very important to fuel longer and harder training sessions, not only to provide the body with the fuel it needs to perform, but also to practice one’s race day nutrition strategy to ensure that the gut is well trained and adapted to taking on the fuel one is taking on.

Here are some easy to follow tips to help you fuel your triathlon training and ultimately, your race day.

Choose your fuel

Fueling looks different for everyone and it’s important to choose something that you enjoy! Some love gels, some enjoy jelly sweets, and some prefer to go the more ‘natural’ route of dates and bananas.

Workout your hourly requirements

A good guideline to follow is aiming for 0.8-1g of carbohydrates per hour of exercise. For example someone who weighs 60kg would want to aim for 48-60g of carbohydrates per hour.
TIP: small frequent feeds are your friend. Try to aim to eat every 20-30min to make it easier for you to meet your fueling requirements.

Hydration

We want to make sure that we are meeting overall fluid requirements, but also sodium requirements as we lose sodium and other electrolytes when we sweat. This varies from person to person and it is hard to say how much sodium each individual loses without conducting a sweat composition test, but if you are someone that struggles with muscle cramping, nausea and often find salt marks on your clothing and skin after exercising, then you are more likely than not a more salty sweater, meaning you need to ensure your sodium intake is adequate.

*Note that overall fluid intake is also dependent on the conditions you are training/racing in. Hotter and more humid conditions will require more liquids, vs colder ones for example.

Once you have worked out all of the above, the only thing that is left to do is practice it in your training sessions. Especially during longer sessions this will be important because it will help you work out whether what you have got planned in terms of fueling actually works.

TIP: Include some higher, race-like intensity efforts to get a true reflection of your planned race day nutrition strategy.

Sample fuelling strategy:

Jenna weighs 60kg so she wants to aim for 48-60g of carbohydrates per hour for her race.

She wants to fuel with jelly babies and gels.

1 gel contains 20g of carbohydrates and 5 jelly babies contain 15g of carbohydrates.

She chooses to have 1 gel and 5 jelly babies every 20 minutes which will give her an hourly total of 50g of carbohydrates.

In terms of hydration she will aim for 500ml of water containing an electrolyte effervescent every hour. Race day conditions will be mild and she is not a very salty sweater.

___

In summary, there are so many ways a race day nutrition strategy can look. The most important thing is that it works for you. Try to tick the above boxes and you will be on a great track to finding your perfect strategy!

There is so much information out there when it comes to nutrition. From the latest fad diet, to the newest trending supplement on the market. But what are some things that your dietitian wants you to know?

Here it goes:

What you do consistently brings about the biggest changes.

Extremes do not work and we need to remember that small,sustainable changes are key when it comes to trying to make long lasting changes for our health.

Sleep is important.

Did you know that if we don’t get adequate sleep, it doesn’t just affect our mood and feeling of restfulness, but our hormones are also affected. Specifically our hunger and satiety hormones. After a bad night’s rest, it has been found that hunger hormone levels increase and satiety hormones decrease. Ever feel like you are more snacky after broken sleep? This may be the reason why

Increasing your overall fiber intake might just be your missing puzzle piece.

Fiber plays a crucial role in overall gut and digestive health. Adding more fiber to your diet will also help you stay fuller for longer because it balances the blood sugar response we get from a meal. We want to aim for about 25-30g of fiber per day. While foods such as fruit, vegetables and legumes contain fiber, wholegrains give us the best bang for buck. For example half a cup of oats contains about 5g of fiber. Try to include whole grain carbohydrates that contain more than 6g of fiber per 100g in your daily diet.

Don’t forget about movement.
Movement is not only for burning calories. It is so much more than that. From improving mental health to improving digestion. Movement is something we should do at least 3-5 days a week for optimal health.

Get to know the 80/20 guideline.

80% of the time, learn to make choices that honour your health, and the other 20% you can choose foods purely based on taste. There is space for all foods in our diet and we don’t have to restrict any foods permanently. At the end it comes down to moderation and being mindful around the foods we eat as opposed to labelling some foods as ‘bad’ and ‘good’.

By Mariella Sawyer,
Pro Triathlete & Registered Dietician

Knowing how to read food labels is something that we should all know how to do because it helps us make informed decisions about what we are buying, and ultimately consuming. In South Africa all food labels must comply with regulations to ensure we, as customers, are given clear information about the product at hand.

Here are a few helpful tips to help you make more informed choices when buying your food.

• A nutritional label usually contains the serving information at the very top, followed by overall calories, nutrient breakdown and finally the percent of recommended daily value of said nutrient. Noting the serving size on a nutritional label is key because what is listed as a serving size on the label, might not be what we interpret as a serving size ourselves.
• The ingredients list on the packaging is always listed in descending order by mass. In other words, the ingredient that is listed in the biggest amount, will be listed first and so on.
• “Best before” and “use by” don’t quite mean the same thing. “Best before” means that the product is still safe after the given date, but its quality is likely to be ‘best before’ that given date. “Use by” on the other hand is a date given, after which the product is no longer safe to consume.
• If a product is claiming specific benefits at the front of the packaging, it is mandatory to have a full nutritional information table on the packaging.
• Carbohydrates and added sugars. You might have noticed that food labels often list ‘carbohydrates’ and ‘added sugars’. The ‘carbohydrates’ are what is naturally present in the given food, where as the ‘added sugars’ are the sugars that are added to the product in the process of processing.

It is important to note that when it comes to labelling, there are regulations that protect us but clever marketing strategies are very common, which may affect our ability to make a non-bias decision.

Did you know that there are three different pathways through which our body uses energy during exercise? All dependant on the type of exercise? Which pathway is used mostly depends on the intensity and duration of the exercise ie a gentle walk vs an all out sprint. 

First off we have the so-called ATP-PC system. This is the energy system that is favoured during very short and high intensity bouts of exercise. Think of an all out effort of 10 seconds or less.This energy system doesn’t require any oxygen and it is depleted very quickly because it relies on bodily stored energy (ATP) and creatine phosphate in the muscles. 

Secondly we have the Glycolytic system. This is the energy system that gets activated for efforts that are a bit longer, ie 30 seconds to 2 minutes and it also doesn’t require any oxygen, just like the ATP-PC system. However, the glycolytic system uses glucose, which it gets from carbohydrates, to form energy (ATP). If you haven’t eaten any carbohydrates before your workout, your body will have lower than ideal stores of glycogen, meaning your performance will suffer because it will not have the fuel needed to perform. 

Thirdly, and finally, we have the oxidative system. This energy system is used during longer, low intensity forms of exercise. It uses oxygen to convert bodily stored carbohydrates, as well as fat into energy. This energy system helps us to go for long! 

It is important to note that our body never uses one system exclusively, but rather uses a combination of the above pathways. How much of each pathway is used, depends on the activity as a whole. For example if you are running a marathon, your body will primarily be generating energy through the oxidative system, but there will likely be times where you run a bit faster, and then the body will tap into the glycolytic system. 

Knowing how our bodies generate energy during exercise, can help us get to know our bodies better when it comes to performing, and fuel for the work required.