WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Preventing Diabetes in Adults

"To keep the body in good health is a duty...otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear." 

                                                                                                          --Buddha

Did you know the health ministry of Growing Healthy Kids works with a lot of adults? Having informed and educated parents is absolutely essential for raising conscious, healthy kids. Sometimes when a child attends one of our programs and we have no interaction with the parent or grandparent, we get concerned about whether the child will be given an opportunity to incorporate even one small change towards healthier eating. Preventing diabetes in kids starts with preventing diabetes in adults. 

For kids to have access to real food (not highly processed food), the adults who have the money and make the food purchasing decisions for the family are the ones we need to talk with about preventing diabetes.  We are what we eat.  

Planning family meals around fresh vegetables and fruits is a great place to start a conversation.  On my recent visit to the New Albany Farmers Market, I bought a small bag of beautiful, organic spinach.  Spinach became the centerpiece of delicious vegan enchiladas made with corn tortillas and homemade green tomatillo sauce (tomatillos, garlic, onion, japaleňo pepper, and fresh lime juice).  

We are what we eat. Eat real food.  Cut back on foods from animals.  The saturated fat found in foods from animal clogs up your cells and blood vessels and contributes to diabetes and heart disease.  Who needs that? Meals based on the four food groups of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and legumes will make you a winner.  Start by planning daily meals with at least one green vegetable.  Have a small fresh salad for lunch today.  Enjoy a small walk every day.  Be a role model for your children.  Small changes, big results. 

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Preventing Diabetes in Kids

 

"I do not love to work out, but if I stick to exercising every day and put the right things in my mouth, then my diabetes just stays in check."

                                                                                                                     --Halle Berry

Taking kids to farms and working with them in our teaching kitchens gives me the chance to develop solutions to the diabetes epidemic occurring in America.  

All kids need access to real food, not just kids whose parents can stop by their neighborhood Publix, Kroger, or Safeway whenever they want to buy whatever they want to buy.  I think about all the kids who live in food deserts without easy access to a full-service grocery store. I think about kids who get 2 of their 3 meals courtesy of the free and reduced meal program and then go to an afterschool program where they have highly processed food snacks.  

Growing Healthy Kids connects kids with farmers in our quest to teach kids about healthy eating and foods that make them healthy so they don’t fill up on the foods that cause chronic diseases such as diabetes.  What kids need less of are all the chicken nuggets, the whole milk, the sodas, the white breads, not to mention all the sugar-filled breakfast cereals.

Talking with parents about the importance of health literacy and encouraging them to take their kids with them to their local farmers markets is key to raising awareness. We miss working with the children  - both at the farms and in the kitchens.  The joy that comes from empowering kids how to make good choices about food is powerful and life-changing.  

Preventing diabetes is directly tied to creating food policies that improve access to real foods for all kids, educating parents with knowledge, and empowering kids with skills.  We can prevent diabetes because we must. The health – and lives – of America’s children stand in the balance. 

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect

 

 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Spring Strawberries

 

"Blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries are true super foods.  Naturally sweet and juicy, berries are low in sugar and high in nutrients - they are among the best foods you can eat."  

                                                                                                   --Joel Fuhrman, MD

When you live in Florida, where there is basically one season (summer), fresh strawberries from Plant City signal the beginning of spring.

Strawberries are a bright spot in the world of fruits.  They are cute, sweet, tasty, and fun to eat. They are highly versatile as an ingredient.  You can pick strawberries right off the plant and pop them into your mouth, add them to a green salad, make a strawberry banana smoothie, or slice them into a baked pie crust and top with whipped coconut cream for a fabulous, prize-winning dessert.   

Buying the best strawberries begins with choosing to buy organically grown berries. Strawberries top the Environmental Working Group's "Dirty Dozen" list of fruits and vegetables highly contaminated by pesticides.  More than 90% of the strawberries sampled by the Environmental Working Group tested positive for 2 or more pesticides.  This is why it is recommended that you spend a little more to buy only organic strawberries.

Eat real food.  Buy organically grown fruits and vegetables whenever possible.  

With love and kindness,

Nancy Heinrich, MPH

Founder and Wellness Architect