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National Nutrition Month puts focus on good health

Written on March 08, 2009

Every March, we celebrate National Nutrition Month. It is a month to focus on the importance of good nutrition and healthy lifestyles. We can all reflect on our current eating behaviors, level of physical activity and total life balance, including how much stress we feel.

Good nutrition helps us to better cope with our emotions, thus better enabling us to manage stress, depression and anxiety. Additionally, good nutrition primes our body to be able to do work, including physical activity. With the proper fuel, our bodies become more efficient and healthful, thus making exercise more effective and possible.

Healthy weight, for instance, is a product of how we eat and use that food (exercise). If you feed yourself junk, your body cannot function optimally — think about giving a sports car regular gasoline, rather than plus gasoline. You will feel better, look better and perform better if you eat healthfully.

Remember, too, looking better does not mean "being thin." It means having a healthy complexion (skin), strong hair and nails, achieving a healthy weight and more.

So, to get yourself on the right track, write down some goals to improve your health. Meet with a registered dietitian to help you get on track and help you with monitoring. March 11 is National Registered Dietitian Day — a great day to get connected with a local dietitian.

Listed below are some key messages from National Nutrition Month 2009, as posted by the American Dietetic Association (ADA). I included some of my own ideas, too:

1. A healthy eating plan emphasizes: fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and lowfat or fat-free milk and milk products; lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs and nuts; is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium) and added sugars.

2. Make your calories count. Julie's take: Choose nutrient-rich foods, rather than foods with low nutritional value. For instance, an apple is more nutrient rich than a high-sugar juice drink. Both are carbohydrate-rich foods, but an apple contains fiber and phytonutrients the juice drink would not. Or, if you are choosing bread, go for whole grain rather than refined white versions.

3. Focus on variety. Eat a variety of foods from all the food groups to get the nutrients your body needs. Julie's take: Choose different types of fruits and vegetables as much as you can. Additionally, focus on a mix of good proteins and nutritious grains. Good powerhouse foods include: salmon, quinoa, broccoli, yogurt, spinach, berries, oatmeal, natural poultry products and beans.

4. Know your fats. Julie's take: Limit saturated and trans fats. Include appropriate amounts of unsaturated fats like those from plant foods (i.e. olive oil, canola oil, nuts) and those in fish and fortified soy foods (i.e. soymilk). Read food labels or meet with a dietitian to learn more.

5. Physical activity for fitness and health. Julie's take: Set achievable and appropriate exercise goals in order to manage heart health, stress, weight, digestion and more.

6. Special nutrient needs for older adults: vitamin D, calcium, fiber and potassium are especially important for older adults.

7. Healthy eating habits for kids. Julie's take: Role model healthy eating for your children and encourage them to choose healthful foods both in and out of the house. Chips, sodas, fries and chicken nuggets do not give the appropriate fuel to children. Remember what I mentioned above — you will feel better, look better and perform better if you eat healthfully.

For more details on the above 2009 key messages from the ADA, visit: http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/NNM_2007_landing_20224_ENU_HTML.htm

Originally posted on Statesville, written by Julie Whittington

http://www2.statesville.com/content/2009/mar/01/national-nutrition-month-puts-focus-good-health/lifestyles/