A Healthier Michigan

Butterflies at Frederik Meijer Gardens
Community

6 Michigan Cities for a Fun, Low-Cost Spring Break Trip

An exciting spring break can be found right here in Michigan. Here are six destinations to get you started.

Health and Wellness

What Color Noise is Best for Sleep

There is not one color of noise that has proven best for sleep. Rather, each color of noise has unique qualities and affects different listeners in various ways. To better understand how color noises can help you with sleep or other activities, it’s best to understand how color noises got their names.

Blurred picture of a weekend festival
Community

2024 Spring Festivals in Michigan

This spring, make sure you make time to get outside and play. And there’s nothing that says springtime fun like the bevy of Michigan festivals you can put on your calendar.

Health and Wellness

Does Running Destroy Your Knees?

For a long time, there has been sentiment among runners and doctors that long-distance running, especially long-term and regular running, would predispose runners to arthritis or joint issues as they age. However, there's evidencethat challenges this long-held belief.

Staying Healthy During Spring Break
Health and Wellness

How to Stay Healthy During Spring Break

Make the most of the wonderful weather by getting your body up and moving. Springtime outdoor workouts can reinvigorate you after a long cold winter. Make sure you are staying healthy and moving this spring.

A lady with short white hair is picking out flowers at an outdoor spring market.
Community

5 Signs of Spring in Michigan

Look out for these 5 telltale signs that spring has hit Michigan. Whether you've been waiting for the blooms, for baseball starting up, or to get some ice cream from a Michigan ice cream stand, make sure to enjoy spring while it is here.

A new mother is comforting her sleeping newborn on her shoulder.
Health and Wellness

How To Adjust Baby Sleep Hours for Daylight Savings

It will likely be easier to go through the time change with your baby if you take some steps ahead of time to prepare you both for Daylight Savings Time. These methods work to both “Spring Forward” and “Fall Back” for Daylight Savings Time if you adjust the sleep schedule in the right way each time.

8 women together, smiling for a group picture.
Community

5 Ways to Celebrate International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is set aside for us as a society to recognize and celebrate the contributions and achievements of women, including their social, political, economic, and cultural impacts. This day developed from a long tradition over the past two centuries of protests and celebrations by women laborers and women’s rights champions.

A pregnant woman preparing healthy snacks for her pregnancy.
Food and Recipes

8 Healthy Snacks for Pregnancy

These healthy pregnancy snacks incorporate many key nutrients and are also easy to prepare, transport and eat whether at home, work or on-the-go.

Ripe White strawberries, pineberries
Food and Recipes

Everything You Need to Know About White Strawberries 

White strawberries are sweeter than red ones and can even smell tropical. Here’s what you need to know about this cream-colored fruit.

What to Know About the New Mayo Clinic Die
Food and Recipes

What to Know About the New Mayo Clinic Diet

A new diet and healthy lifestyle program being rolled out by the well-known Mayo Clinic is creating a buzz.

A couple in a hot tub
Health and Wellness

How Healthy Are Hot Tubs?

A good soak in a hot tub can make you feel better, but how healthy are they?

Community

Explore Black History Across Michigan

Visit some of these unique Michigan gems that tell the story of African-American contributions to our state’s cultural history.

Community

PPO vs. HMO: What is the Difference?

The right healthcare plan varies from family to family and person to person. As with any big decision, knowledge is power. Whether you receive insurance through your employer or you’re self-insured, you typically have a choice between the two most common types of managed care plans – health maintenance organizations (HMOs) or preferred provider organizations (PPOs).

Food and Recipes

Cheese You Can Eat if You’re Lactose Intolerant

If you're lactose intolerant but still crave cheese, there are several kinds that won't upset your stomach and can still satisfy your taste buds.

Health and Wellness

5 Ways to Get Moving with Meditation

Who says meditation has to be solitary, still and boring? Get active in your practice with these five moves. Meditation takes many forms, and these five can be a boon for your physical and mental health.

Friends having a snowball fight
Health and Wellness

Melting Away Winter Health Myths

Not everything you hear about how the winter affects your health is true. As the dead of winter approaches, it's important to be as informed as possible.

Man running through the snow.
Health and Wellness

Winter Workout Safety

Adding snow and ice to a workout routine presents additional challenges and health risks. Before you step outside, keep these health and safety tips in mind.

Community

10 Places to Walk Indoors During Michigan Winters

Michigan gets pretty cold during winter months, but it doesn’t mean you can stop exercising. Check out these 10 places to get your 10,000 steps in indoors.

Health and Wellness

Winterize Your Home for a Healthy Season Indoors

As you cozy up at home during the long winter months, take these simple precautions to keep the flu bug and other illnesses at bay.

Health and Wellness

Shovel Snow Safely: 12 Tips

You shouldn't dive right into snow shoveling without first taking your health into consideration, especially if you have preexisting conditions. These tips should help.

An older couple jogs in the park.
Health and Wellness

Improve Your Walking or Running Form in 3 Steps

Simple tweaks to your running or walking form can help you go farther while preserving the condition of your back, joints and other body parts.

Home and Family

How to Help Your Child Make Healthy Eating Choices at School

How can you help kids make healthy choices when they buy lunch? It’s important to educate children on nutrition and how to make healthy decisions on their own.

Senior lady and caregiver talking together
Home and Family

How to Have Difficult Conversations with Aging Parents

Are you caring for an aging parent? Here's how to approach difficult topics like caregiving and end of life planning.

Health and Wellness

Why Decluttering Makes Your Brain Happy and How to Start

Is your space running out of...space? Before you buy more organizational products, consider going the opposite direction and getting rid of some of the clutter. That can be easier said than done, so here are some tips.

Home and Family

The Stress-Free Way to Host a Huge Family Gathering

There's a lot to juggle when setting out to host a family gathering. Before you host yours, give these five tips a glance.

Community

Michigan Bucket List: Christmas Light Displays

One of the best Michigan winter activities is visiting one of the many extravagant Christmas light displays. Here are some of our favorites.

Home and Family

Healthy & Affordable Gifts to Give this Holiday Season

Stressed out over holiday gift-giving? Fear not: We’ve brainstormed healthy finds that fit all budgets and personalities.

Health and Wellness

Parents: The Flu Shot Is For You, Too

The more members of your family who receive the flu shot, the greater the effect the vaccine has on your household. Here's how you protecting yourself can actually help protect others.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Food and Recipes

How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds (Plus Two Tasty Variations)

Don't sleep on homemade roasted pumpkin seeds this fall! Here is a basic recipe for this crispy, crunchy and delicious snack, plus two fun variations.

Little boy showing off his handwashing technique
Prevention

Are You Washing Your Hands the Right Way?

Germs are spread when you touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands, so it's important to wash them the right way. Especially during flu season.

Health and Wellness

Fighting Breast Cancer With Food

Healthy eating cannot completely prevent every kind of disease and illness. However, a balanced diet featuring these five foods can help fight against breast cancer.

Lake Superior Chapel Beach in Autumn at Pictured Rocks
Community

Beautiful Michigan: Top Picturesque Locations For Fall

Grabbing photos of fall foliage here in Michigan makes for a fantastic October activity. So, where are the best places in the state to capture the perfect fall images?

A Healthier Michigan is sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, a nonprofit, independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association.
No Personal Healthcare Advice or Other Advice
This Web site provides general educational information on health-related issues and provides access to health-related resources for the convenience of our users. This site and its health-related information and resources are not a substitute for professional medical advice or for the care that patients receive from their physicians or other health care providers.
This site and its health-related information resources are not meant to be the practice of medicine, the practice of nursing, or to carry out any professional health care advice or service in the state where you live. Nothing in this Web site is to be used for medical or nursing diagnosis or professional treatment.
Always seek the advice of your physician or other licensed health care provider. Always consult your health care provider before beginning any new treatment, or if you have any questions regarding a health condition. You should not disregard medical advice, or delay seeking medical advice, because of something you read in this site.