WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: June is Men's Health Month

“Nutrition.  If it is bad for your heart, it’s also bad for your penis.”

                              ---Menshealthmonth.org

June is Men’s Health Month.   Focusing on men’s health is a good idea.  Men in general have shorter lifespans than women.  That means kids and grandkids have less time with their male family members.

According to menshealthmonth.org, “The purpose of Men’s Health Month is to heighten the awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment of disease among men and boys.  This month gives health care providers, public policy makers, the media, and individuals an opportunity to encourage men and boys to seek regular medical advice and early treatment for disease and injury.”

When I started the Growing Healthy Kids movement in 2009, it was because I saw the long-term consequences of childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases such as diabetes as a preventable threat to our nation.  If children live shorter lives than their parents, one big change we need to make is what we eat.  Preventing diseases and health problems in men is essential if we are to have a nation of healthy kids.  Kids deserve healthy fathers and grandfathers. 

I believe that plant-based eating is key to improved outcomes for men’s health and men’s lives.  The fact is that saturated fat is found in all foods from animals.  Saturated fat clogs arteries, especially the smaller vessels found in the eyes, the kidneys, and the penis. 

According to Neal Barnard, M.D., F.A.C.C., President of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, "A plant-based diet is a powerful tool for preventing, managing, and even reversing type 2 diabetes.  Not only is this the most delicious 'prescription' you can imagine, but it's also easy to follow.  Unlike other diets, there's no calorie counting, no skimpy portions, and no carb counting.  Plus, all the 'side effects' are good ones."

Eliminating saturated fat from what one eats is a big first step toward improved health outcomes, especially for men, and especially for men concerned about their heart health and sexual health.  Erectile dysfunction is common in men with diabetes.  Reducing and eliminating intake of meat and other animal products and eating more fruits, veggies, whole grains, and legumes is a path for men to live healthier and longer lives. 

Heart health and sexual health are very connected for men.  Take steps to protect the men in your family. 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: One Sweet Tea at a Time

"Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) — nondiet soda, fruit drinks that are not 100% juice, sweet tea, sports drinks, and energy drinks — are the largest source of added sugars in the diet of US adults (1). National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data showed that 49.3% of US adults consumed 1 or more SSBs on a given day during 2011–2014 (2). Frequent SSB consumption is associated with increased risk of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and dental caries."

                            —CDC RESEARCH BRIEF — Volume 15 — December 13, 2018

Every workshop we teach in the Growing Healthy Kids project includes direct and/or indirect messages about avoiding added sugars in what we eat and drink.  We teach kids about the importance of reading food labels, avoiding foods that contain “high fructose corn syrup” and other sugars such as those that end in “-ose”. 

Teaching kids about making healthy food and drink choices is easy when they are surrounded by positive role models and can engage in hands-on learning.  On more than one occasion, however, I have intervened with adult and teen volunteers who showed up to help, not with a water bottle but with a soda in hand.  With a graceful nod to step outside, we quickly address the importance of not consuming SSBs before the kids arrive for class.  We explain that they volunteered to assist at a healthy eating workshop, not a class about how to develop a chronic disease like diabetes or arthritis.  We politely ask volunteers to leave the beverage in their car.  As much as we depend on volunteers to assist in all our workshops, we also need everyone to model the good behaviors.  So far, we have not lost a volunteer.  They have all heeded the message.  

As noted above by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 49.3% of US adults consumed 1 or more sugar-sweetened beverages on a given day in 2011-2014.   No wonder kids think nothing of drinking sweet tea, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and nondiet sodas.  Half of US adults drink 1 or more of them every day.  

In the south, where I live, I am frequently asked to health coach people who have diabetes.  One of the first assessments I use determines what they drink.  My anecdotal observation is that most people in the south who drink sweet tea most every day would rather die from diabetes complications than give up their sweet tea before they have a meaningful diabetes education intervention.  They have no idea how much sugar is in one 12 ounce serving of restaurant-made sweet tea.  They don't ask, they don't read food labels if they buy a bottle of sweetened tea at the corner convenient market, and they don't want to know.  Once we enter a health coaching relationship, the light comes on and they become health literate, able to make informed decisions about how much added sugar they want to eat and drink vs preventing an amputation of a toe or limb, erectile dysfunction, or a heart attack as a result of uncontrolled diabetes.  

Until adults are willing to start making simple changes like switching to unsweetened iced tea, kids will need better informed role models if we are going to have an impact on the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and the diseases associated with increased consumption of sugar. 

Please pass the unsweet tea.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Gardening for Health

Spring is God's way of saying, 'One more time!'

                                                                                                   --Robert Orben

My favorite season is spring.  The trees are popping in brilliant color, the dogwoods are blooming, and farmers are getting ready to plant.  The hunt is on for delicious locally grown foods that can make meal planning full of fun and flavor. 

Volunteers tasting herbs during a recent Growing Healthy Kids'
trip to Shining Light Garden

Planting kitchen herb gardens is on my agenda for the next week.  Fresh mint, basil, cilantro, and oregano are some of the herbs that will enhance your family’s meals in wonderful ways.  Teaching kids about real food is important to do consciously because what most kids are exposed to in their school meal program is a sorry substitute.  In the Growing Healthy Kids programs, we take kids to farms where they talk with the people who grow foods, see how foods grow, and experience herb and vegetable gardens. 

     

All kids deserve access to real food.  This spring, start your own kitchen herb garden with your family.  A couple of packs of seeds, some dirt in pots and you are on your way to new flavor-filled foods!

 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids