New Numbers for Diabetes in American Adults

The Growing Healthy Kids project started as my response and reaction to the increasing number of overweight and obese children I see attending our public schools.  What I really see is kids who will soon be diagnosed with diabetes.  These are kids who already cannot complete a physical education class due to their weight.  These are kids whose parents say they cannot afford to eat healthy, so they let the kids buy energy drinks at the 7-11 loaded with 17 teaspoons of sugar on the way to middle school and they eat the "dollar menu" from McDonald's 2 or 3 nights a week because they think that is all they can afford.  These are the kids on the free and reduced meal program in public school who choose the fried foods and chocolate milk instead of salads and baked fish because of ignorant school district employees who are obese themselves. 

So when I saw yesterday's PARADE magazine with the column entitled "Say What?" I was not surprised.  There are nearly 2 million Americans each year being diagnosed with diabetes.  The column addressed 3 questions these newly diagnosed people are being hit with by their doctors:
1) You need a glucometer.
2) I want you to reduce your hemoglobin A1C.
3) Choose foods that have a lower glycemic index.

Remember Lucy's husband Desi, in "I LOVE LUCY", saying, to her, "You got some 'splaining to do!"  The thing is that doctors are not teachers and they don't do the "'splaining" when they diagnose someone with diabetes.  They say, "You need a glucometer to test your blood sugar and I'll see you in 3 months."  So many times I've encountered patients newly diagnosed with diabetes who've been told they they to start checking their blood sugar and the patient is just wandering around the lobby in circles, clueless about what their next step is, let alone what a glucometer is or how to use the darn thing. 

Because of my passion for teaching and for preventing diseases such as diabetes, I created an education program that answers questions 1-3 above and SO MUCH MORE for anyone diagnosed with diabetes or prediabetes.  If you know anyone who the PARADE article is addressing, you should know that getting educated quickly about all the basics is key to preventing complications.  The education program I created is simple to use, effective, and explains all the basics in language you and I can understand without having to go to medical school.  The place to go is http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/.  There are a bunch of educational videos I've created that you can look at in addition to the numerous blog entries which each teach important lessons. 

I'm serious about preventing diabetes.  I'm serious about doing something serious about the obesity epidemic.  Especially when it comes to the kids all around us who are overweight and obese through no fault of their own.  If adults with diabetes and prediabetes don't start taking responsibility for learning the basics on their own instead of staying with the mindset of "If my doctor didn't prescribe it, I'm not going to do it", then the kids have NO CHANCE of escaping a diabetes diagnosis. 

The fact is that diabetes is preventable and reversible WHEN YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO.  For more information about what to do, go to http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/.

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time.

Are YOU willing to do to be part of the solution?

To your health,

Nancy L. Heinrich, M.P.H.
Founder of Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
A non-profit organization which designs and delivers solutions to America's childhood obesity epidemic

The Seed Lady Visits Doughboy's Donuts

I am always talking with people about healthy eating and healthy cooking.  As an epidemiologist, I study diseases and their root causes.  Obesity is a disease directly related to the excess consumption of sugar in its many forms.  Just yesterday, someone was telling me about a father they knew who bragged about his kid drinking 10 sodas every day.  I call that child abuse. Excess sugar consumption leads to inflammation in the body which leads to diseases such as diabetes and arthritis.  No child deserves those diseases. 

This morning, after a great morning walk and workout, I stopped by Doughboy's Donuts in Vero Beach, Florida to treat myself to one of their insanely delicious Red Velvet donuts.  (Yes, it is OK in my book to have an occasional donut.  It is not OK to eat them every day.) 

The woman at the counter looked at me and said, "Are you the Seed Lady?"  I answered, "Yes," although that was the first time someone had formally addressed me that way.  I then asked how she knew me. 

She then told me that last summer her son volunteered through Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County for one of our projects building a very large garden in north Indian River County.  She said he had really enjoyed the work and the project.  I thanked her for speaking to me and then invited her son to join us in an upcoming volunteer service leadership project.  I hope to hear from him, as that would just make this Seed Lady's day! 

In gratitude to ALL the kids who volunteer with Growing Healthy Kids,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids
"Improving the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time"

PS - Shout-out to Doughboy's Donuts -- apparently I'm not the only one who loves your Red Velvet donuts becauses you were out of them this morning!  The blueberry donut, however, was almost as delicious! 

Dancing and Exercise

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Whenever I give a talk about preventing diabetes and reversing childhood obesity, EXERCISE is always at the top of the list I give to my audience. Regular physical exercise is soooooo important.

This is what you need to put into practice: 60 minutes a day for kids and 30 minutes (or more) a day for adults.

What counts as exercise?? ANYTHING THAT GETS YOU MOVING! So before I head off to the beach for a walk, here's a video from some of my son's classmates at Vero Beach High School to help you get your exercise groove on today:



Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to reverse and prevent childhood obesity, one garden and one child at a time.

To your perfect health,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

One Child's Future: Diabetes and Colorectal Cancer

Last week a woman I worked with for the day told me she was �on a diet.� If you�ve read my book, Healthy Living with Diabetes: One Small Step at a Time (www.ourlittlebooks.com), then you know I hate the word �diets� because a short-term diet doesn't teach you what you need to know about how to eat healthy for the long-term ("for the rest of your life").

This woman is clearly obese and in her early 30�s. Getting to a healthier weight will not only add quality (less stress on her joints, decrease her chance of getting high blood pressure and cholesterol, sleep apnea and obesity-related cancers such as cancer of the breast) but also quantity to her life. Her comment that she is on a diet opened a window of opportunity for me.

Within 5 minutes of our conversation, I learned that her 12 year old son has only one bowel movement a week. My teaching immediately zoomed in on teaching her about what dietary fiber is (the undigestible part of plants that give them structure), what foods have it (only foods that are grown from the Earth like beans, lentils, vegetables, fruits, and whole grains), and how much of it we need to eat every day (14 grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories we eat, or around 28 grams a day if you eat around 2,000 calories a day). She started writing down everything I said to her, as I quickly sensed her worry and quiet desperation for her son.

Let's talk about something most people don't talk about. It is normal to have at least one bowel movement every day. It is not normal to have one just once or twice a week. Not getting enough dietary fiber is common in children, particularly those who are on the free and reduced lunch program in public schools and get 2 of their 3 daily meals at school. Fiber in foods is what gives us the sense of fullness so we stop eating. Lack of dietary fiber leads to overeating, obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers like colorectal cancer. This woman and her 12 year old son are part of the majority of Americans who eat far less than half the dietary fiber needed.

There is no to little fiber in fruit juices, fruit drinks, Capri sun drinks, white breads, �honey wheat� breads, McDonald�s or Burger King items, sodas, and energy drinks.

Become a fiber detective. Read food labels. Aim for at least 28 grams a day (the current recommendation for American men is 35 grams a day according to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, see www.usda.gov).

I am 100% confident that the homework assignment I gave last week to the woman was completed in one day. She learned a key piece of knowledge and the skills to get herself on the path to a healthier weight and help prevent a future diagnosis of diabetes and/or cancer in her son.

Growing Healthy Kids - improving the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time. Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to reverse childhood obesity. Because failure is not an option.

In kindness,
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

PS -- "The Nancy Rule" says choose breads and pastas with 4 or more grams of dietary fiber per slice or per serving and the first ingredient includes the word "WHOLE".