TEN FOODS TO EAT MORE OF

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS

"I see the lack of access to what we need the most, fresh fruits and veggies.  I'm concerned about what the kids eat in school, all the processed foods.  I'm concerned about the health of the children and what diseases they are going to be growing up with because of poor food choices or the lack of availability of good food choices."

---Nancy Heinrich (from "Locavores unite to promote local farming" by Stephanie Labaff in Vero Beach Newsweekly, August 28, 2013)

For each adult who parents or mentors a child, we have a responsibility to be a good role model.  With 2 in 3 adults overweight or obese,  teaching children the habits they need for a lifetime of good health means taking a look at ourselves in the mirror first. 

What is something you can do right now?  Eat less of the bad foods.  Look at food labels for the ingredient �high fructose corn syrup�.  By eliminating this highly processed sugar from the foods you buy and bring into your home, you are taking a huge step in the right direction.  Eating less of the bad foods and more of the good foods is a simple strategy that all families can use.  Let your kids become NUTRITION DETECTIVES by checking processed foods for high fructose corn syrup and letting them search for a similar food product that does not contain what we at the Growing Healthy Kids project call the Evil Empire ingredient. 

GHK on the Move:  Teaching kids how to make Healthy Snacks
at a recent Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County.

If high fructose corn syrup is something we need to eat less of, then what are the good foods we need to eat more of?  Here are ten good foods to get your family started on the path to wellness:

1. Wild salmon (full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids)
2. Kale (rich in vitamin K)
3. Avocados (a good source of glutathione, an antioxidant that improves overall hormone function)
4. Olives and olive oil (containing the �good� fat called unsaturated, olives are known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol)
5. Walnuts (ounce for ounce, walnuts have almost twice as many antioxidants as any other nut)
6. Sweet potatoes (loaded with vitamin B6 and potassium, they also help regulate blood pressure)
7. Dark chocolate (can aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels)
8. Garlic (when garlic is crushed, allicin is released, which wards off heart attacks and strokes)
9. Blueberries (LOADED with antioxidants, this is a key disease-fighting food)
10. Asparagus (a natural diuretic, this vegetable is high in vitamin B12 and potassium)

For some affordable breakfast ideas, check out this website I found this week.  Click here.

To read the brand new "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2013" report from the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, click here.

If you have suggestions of topics you would like to covered in a future issue of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS, we'd love to hear from you.  Please contact us at: growinghealthykidsnow@gmail.com.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

INSTANT RECESS, FAITH, AND FITNESS

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS 

�No matter how great your idea is, you�re just a lone nut until someone follows you and transforms you into a leader.  Thanks from the bottom of my heart for following me to start the real momentum behind Instant Recess.  Now if every one of us shares this idea with others, we�ll have a real MOVEment on our hands!  That�s my wish for the New Year � that Instant Recess becomes an unstoppable MOVEment helping us to turn around the obesity trends in this country.� 

(from an email sent by Dr. Yancey to colleagues at the beginning of 2013)

                                     Toni Yancey, MD, MPH

                                      1957-2013                                                                                     

                                                                                            

Believing that you are on the right track is important, no matter what your goal.  Solving America�s obesity epidemic will be done by setting goals and finding the right track to achieve them.  Have faith that achieving your fitness goal or goals is important for parents.  

How do you get to a healthy weight?  One way is to eat less of the bad foods and more of the good foods.  Another way is to eat smaller portions and to not skip meals and snacks.  You can eat less and exercise more.  To STAY at a healthy weight, however, requires increasing the amount of regular exercise you get.  Without the exercise, most people who lose weight tend to gain it back. This has been verified over and over again in the key habits of successful losers, a national database of people who have lost weight and kept it off for more than a year.

I strongly believe that as parents, we must be good role models for children.   Especially when it comes to fitness.  The funny thing is, when we have a Growing Healthy Kids education project and we talk about what the physical activity recommendations are (60 minutes a day for kids, 150 minutes a week for adults), the kids always ask why the recommendation for adults is less than half what it is for kids.  Great question.  Maybe we would be healthier as a country if adults set the bar higher for their own fitness goals.

Did you know that a minimum of 10 minutes of exercise gives you cardiovascular benefits?  A lot of people I talk with say, �I don�t have any time to exercise.�  What we teach parents is to break your 30 minutes a day recommendation into either three 10 minute or two 15 minute exercise period.  Finding 10 minutes to take a walk then becomes an easy goal to set and keep.

The fact is that most Americans are getting far less exercise than our bodies require to work right.  Many diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, can be prevented by staying at a healthy weight.  Dr. Toni Yancey has been working in the field of public health to educate churches and communities that fitness is essential to the prevention of obesity-related diseases.  She was a nonsmoker who died April 23 at the young age of 55 from a year long battle with lung cancer.  Dr. Yancey believed in short bouts of exercise, just 10 minutes, and she created a MOVEment called Instant Recess because isn't recess the best part of school that everyone looks forward to?  

Dr. Toni Yancey, creator of "Instant Recess"

The Growing Healthy Kids movement to reverse, halt, and prevent childhood obesity pays its respect to Toni Yancey.  We have lost a leader who fought to protect public health.  Her MOVEment and her message lives on.  To learn more about Instant Recess, click here.  

Now, I'm off for 10 minutes of Instant Recess.  On with the walking shoes and that's me out the door!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.