Your health: Turkey's good for you

Feast on this

It's time to be grateful that the traditional Thanksgiving meal has some healthy aspects to it.

The November issue of the Harvard Heart Letter looks at the health benefits of Thanksgiving mainstays. You can't beat a lean cut of turkey, for example.

A 3-ounce serving of skinless white meat has 25 grams of protein, and less than 1 gram of saturated fat. Compared to prime rib, turkey has a lot less fat and fewer calories, too.

Gobble up those cranberries, which have dozens of different antioxidants. If you make your own cranberry sauce from whole berries, all the better because there will be less sugar. Sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, potassium and fiber. Before other pie ingredients are mixed in, pumpkin is low in fat and calories and loaded with potassium.

Despite all this good news, remember moderation is the key. Your waistline will thank you.

Run with it

It's all about self-image when it comes to having an exercise attitude, says a study in The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity.

If you identify yourself as a runner, you'll probably be more likely to lace up those shoes and hit the streets instead of parking in front of the television. “In fact, we found that people were more likely to engage in longer bouts of exercise if they saw physical activity as a core part of their identity,” said lead author Lindsay Duncan in Women's Health magazine.

Smoking study

In the U.S., more than 80 percent of persons who have severe mental illnesses are smokers, according to Thresholds, which provides services to people with mental illness. The organization has announced that it is partnering with the Dartmouth Psychiatric Research Center on a groundbreaking study to develop a smoking cessation program tailored for people living with severe mental illnesses.

“Twenty years ago cigarettes were rewards for persons living with severe mental illnesses,” said Tony Zipple, CEO of Thresholds. “This is really the last group where it is still socially acceptable to smoke.”

It's hoped the study will help save lives. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports persons with mental illnesses die 25 years earlier, on average, than the general population.