KIDS, DIABETES, OBESITY, AND FIBER

Every day there is a lesson.  It might be a lesson learned, occasionally a lesson taught.  Today's lesson for me was to be fully engaged in serving others. 

Teaching someone about the basics needed to know what to eat after you've been diagnosed with diabetes is a big step forward towards reversing diabetes.  The basics about what an A1C blood test is, what a "serving of carbohydrate" is and looks like, what low blood sugar is and what to do to treat it and prevent it.  Teaching someone what questions to ask their doctor so they can start reversing their diabetes, not just control it. 

Do we continue to roll the rock uphill?   Don't let diabetes be an uphill battle for you and your family.  Learn the facts.  Here's a fun fact to remember:  most Americans eat too little fiber.  Are you one of them?  What about your child?  The goal is 14 grams of dietary fiber per 1,000 calories eaten.  If you eat around 2,000 calories a day, then aim for at least 28 grams of dietary fiber.  If you are a young, active male, you probably need 2,500 or more calories, which translates to about 35 grams or more of dietary fiber a day.  With McDonald's, Sonic, and Five Guys advertising to get us all fat as pigs, it really is an uphill battle sometimes. 

An easy way to get enough fiber every day is to use "The Nancy Rule" for buying and eating bread and pasta. Even if you eat out.  Never heard of "The Nancy Rule"?  It's simple:  Choose breads and pastas that have 4 or more grams of dietary fiber per serving AND the first ingredient includes the word "whole".  Commit to this one change and see what happens to your blood sugar.   Funny thing is that when you replace low fiber-content foods with higher fiber-content foods, you'll eat less and lose weight. 

One of my favorite creations:  Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Key ingredient in my Veggie Shepherd's Pie:  chick peas

I think that all families with children need to know that this simple fact - and others - can guide them to keeping their kids well for life.  We can reverse the childhood obesity epidemic when we all eat smarter, better, and healthier.  Remember, anyone can eat healthy - and economically (more on that later).

Use "The Nancy Rule" for the 7 days and then let me know how you feel.   Talk with you soon,


Nancy L. Heinrich, M.P.H.
Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids movement to reverse childhood obesity in Indian River County, Florida and beyond

For free tips and videos about food and diabetes you can use:  http://www.healthydiabetescoach.com/. 

PS -- The Veggie Shepherd's Pie recipe will be featured in the soon-to-be released first book in  the Growing Healthy Kids' series,

OBESITY, HUNGER, AND CHILDREN

Choosing to eat healthy foods, like fresh fruits and vegetables, is something you probably take for granted.  To solve the childhood obesity crisis, kids' access to healthy foods, such as locally grown fruits and vegetables must improve and increase.  Fruits and vegetables are what I call REAL FOOD, as opposed to artificial foods, loaded with salt, sugar, and the bad fat, like you find at many fast food restaurants. 

I may be "going rad" on you, but what people buy from the dollar menus at fast food restaurants is not real food because it has no nutritional value.  Something stripped of all the fiber (white flour), fried in fat, and sprinkled with salt and seasonings designed to get you addicted, is not real food.  Yet, people struggling to feed their children, opt for the dollar menus because it is quick, easy, and cheap. It's also a major contributor to the childhood obesity epidemic. 

Something else you should know.  According to an article in the December 3, 2011 issue of the Vero Beach Press Journal, 18% of residents and 30% of children in the Treasure Coast of Florida DON'T REGULARLY KNOW WHERE THEIR NEXT MEAL WILL COME FROM.  

Hunger in America and obesity in America are directly related.  It has to do with access to healthy foods, access to locally grown foods, economic security, and jobs.  If you don't have a job, you have less choices about what to eat.   

Enter Judith Cruz.  Her job just got bigger.  Judith has just been appointed to Feeding America's strategic planning committee "to help formulate the national hunger relief agency's next 5-year plan to close the country's meal gap."  Judith is the CEO of our Treasure Coast Food Bank which provides a stop-gap solution for several counties here on the southeast coast of Florida.  Her Food Bank is part of Feeding America, which is an organization where I will soon be doing healthy cooking classes (they don't know it, however).  Judith deserves our support and ideas.  She is looking at long-term solutions to hunger in America.  Hunger and obesity go hand in hand.

To repeat the key point:  on the Treasure Coast of Florida 30% of kids don't regularly know where their next meal will come from.  Access to healthy food is something most people take for granted.  Yet for almost 1 in every 3 kids here, they are worried about access to ANY food, let alone healthy, fresh food. 

Hunger in America.  Obesity in America.   Be part of the solution.  Go to http://www.feedingamerica.org/ and http://www.stophunger.org/. 

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

Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

Obesity in Kids and Vitamin D

"Obese children with lower vitamin D levels may be at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, a new study shows....Obese children were more than three times more likely than non-obese children to be vitamin D deficient, and both obesity and low vitamin D levels were associated with higher degrees of insulin resistance." 

This quote is from an article I read this morning: "Low Vitamin D May Raise Diabetes Risk in Kids," by Salynn Boyles.

Another finding from the newly published study disturbed me, "Obese children were also more likely than non-obese children to skip breakfast and drink more soda and juice, suggesting that these lifestyle factors may contribute to lower vitamin D levels, the researchers noted." 

I write frequently about the importance of not skipping meals, ESPECIALLY breakfast.  This study, published in the latest issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, makes me stop and think about whether every child whose lives we each touch starts their day with a good breakfast.  Given the current economy and high unemployment rates, it is to the point now where almost anything kids eat for breakfast is better than NOTHING for breakfast. 

In a recent program I did for middle school kids in Indian River County, Florida, only one child had breakfast that day.  ONLY ONE CHILD OUT OF 12!!!  Why?  Is it because of the food insecurity crisis affecting families where parents of young children are unemployed or underemployed?  Is it because of the embarassment and shame that prevents families from applying for the free and reduced meal programs at their child's school?  With the rising prices of food due and fuel, many families are forced to make choices which are affecting their children's (and their own) health. 

One of my jobs is to raise awareness about the root causes for the childhood obesity epidemic in America. The journal article referenced above shines a spotlight on a topic I have long been following. 

I will be writing more on the relationship between low vitamin D levels, obesity, and diabetes in future blogs.  Stay tuned. 

Growing Healthy Kids is a movement to educate adults, school administrators, and policy makers about the root causes of obesity so we can prevent obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, in America's kids.  Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. creates solutions which improve the health - and lives - of America's kids, one child and one garden at a time.  It is my belief that our society will be judged in the future by how well we protect our children. 

Gracefully yours,
Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

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

Year-End Goals

December 31, 2011 will soon be here.  Have you accomplished all that you wanted to do this year?  I'll share a few thoughts with you as I enjoy the perfect weather today in Florida, writing while the fresh air blows through the house.

A gentle reminder about achieving your goals is in order.  Having written goals for your health, your family, your personal development and for your work is a great place to begin.  Pull out the goals you have already written and see if you are moving forward in each area.  If you don't have any written goals, then get out a piece of paper and write some.  Go to a quiet place today, before we get back to the crazy-busy work and school routines tomorrow. Reflect on where you are now and where you want to be.  Think about what you want.  Write it down.  Visualize it.  Picture it your mind how it will look.  Act as though it is already done. 

I am reflecting on one of my 2011 goals which is to get the Growing Healthy Kids work into book form and have it ready for distribution on the http://www.growinghealthykids.me/ store in December.  I'm almost there.  Now we're looking for a couple of people with a national presence to write notes for the back of the book.  Who do you know?? 

Every day I think about this goal and what I am doing to move the project forward.  So many people have been asking me to do a book that brings the lessons we teach in each Growing Healthy Kids program together into a format they can share with others, beginning with the kids' favorite recipes.   Each healthy cooking program we do for kids includes a recipe, a healthy eating tip, and a physical activity component.  It is a lot of work to summarize the work and energy.  I hope you will be pleased with the results.  Preventing obesity-related diseases seen primarily in adults is the focus of the Growing Healthy Kids movement I started.  It is an ambitious project because this country values treatment of disease more than prevention of disease.  Yet, our mantra is still, "Think globally and act locally."  With every local Growing Healthy Kids project we do in Indian River County, we are thinking globally about ways to reverse childhood obesity. 

As I continue to bring this project (and goal) to completion, I want you to think about what you need to move your own goals forward to completion.  Let's get some wins in before the end of the year.  I want to hear about your goals that involve improving your health or your kids' health.  Please send me a comment so we can support each other to achieve our goals! 

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

To your health!
Nancy Heinrich
Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

National School Lunch Week and Your Call to Action

Did you know that this is National School Lunch Week? Did you know that many of America�s children eat 2 of their 3 daily weekday meals from their school cafeteria? I am always amazed when I ask parents how often they eat lunch with their child at school and how rarely they�ve even been once. The results of my informal surveys reveal that most parents of kids whose breakfast and/or lunch is prepared by �lunch ladies� have never eaten what their kids eat. This is your CALL TO ACTION. 

National School Lunch Week is an opportunity to find out what your local public schools are serving for lunch. Here�s my challenge to you: Pick up your phone right now. Call the principal of your child�s school and let him or her know you�d like to come for lunch in the next week. If your kids are already grown or you don�t have kids, then call your local elementary school and make a lunch date anyway. Tell them you are celebrating National School Lunch Week.

Why am I asking you to make this call? Because the Growing Healthy Kids movement is about reversing childhood obesity. Kids deserve access to real food. Healthy food. Locally grown food whenever possible. I�m not saying that schools don�t serve real food. However, there�s lots of room for improvement.  With so many kids eating 2 of their 3 meals at school, it only makes sense that what they eat should not be high in fats, calories, added sugars, and salt. 

There is a �Farm to School� momentum underway here in Florida, which is great because one of Michelle Obama�s four guiding principles in her national call to action on childhood obesity is to increase access to locally grown foods. Who better to take the lead on making this happen than our schools? It�s a great way to support  local farmers, increase the nutritional value of foods served in America�s schools, and increase America�s productivity by creating agriculture jobs.

To learn more about National School Lunch Week, then check out: http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Level2_NSLW2011.aspx?id=15284

Growing Healthy Kids designs and delivers solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic because it is our belief that failure to reverse childhood obesity is not an option.

Have a fabulous and healthy day!

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

PS-Get some exercise today!!

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!