WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: The High Price of Cheap Food

“If you let corporations cook your food, they’re going to load it up with sugar.” 

                                                                  --Michael Pollan, author of Cooked

Common statement heard from parents:  “I can’t afford to feed my family healthy food.”

Nancy Heinrich's response: “Give me an hour and I’ll show you how.” 

Michael Pollan recently spoke at the Emerson Center in Vero Beach, Florida and one of our youth Nutrition Scientists was able to attend his talk with me.  Throughout Mr. Pollan’s talk, I said to her several times, “That is something we discussed in our class.” He kept coming back the fact that as food has become increasingly processed with the advent of the industrial food chain, people have cooked less and we have gotten sicker.

 

Getting kids out to farms and farmers markets and into the kitchen is what we do.  As kids learn about using locally grown, fresh ingredients and that when you can cook at home instead of eating highly processed foods, they are also learning that they are no longer at the mercy of large corporations that prepare foods filled with added sugars, salt, and fat.  Giving kids the confidence to know how and where to shop for locally grown ingredients (organic where available), to prepare easily modifiable basic recipes, and to buy the best ingredients they can afford are some of our key lessons. 

Whenever I ask the kids in our classes if they have family members with diabetes or high blood pressure, most of the kids raise their hands.  Sometimes I also ask the kids if they know anyone with Alzheimer’s and more hands go up.  We know that Alzheimer’s is a disease process that is 30 or more years in the making before symptoms appear.  Diabetes has an incubation period of about 5 to 10 years.   

The “ah-ha” moments we see in Growing Healthy Kids’ classes are a constant reminder of how essential our work is to reversing and preventing obesity-related diseases such as Type 2 Diabetes.  One of the essential lessons taught in Growing Healthy Kids’ educational programs is that everyone can afford to eat healthy foods.  Be the solution.  Cook at home with your kids!

With love and gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

PS - If you need ideas to get you and your kids started in the kitchen, then get a copy of NOURISH AND FLOURISH:  Kid-Tested Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes may be just the thing!  Available at Amazon.com.  

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Respect Your Food

"Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible."

                                                                            -- Dalai Lama

One of the first lessons we teach kids during the educational programs at Growing Healthy Kids is about treating food with respect.  This is why we take “field” trips to local farmers markets and introduce kids to the farmers and the vegetables they are growing.  We believe that when you know where your food comes from and you know how it is grown, that you will make better choices by respecting your food and how good you feel when you eat good food. 

 

Recently, I taught a healthy eating program for children attending an afterschool program where the local school district provides daily snacks.  Since part of the lesson was about reading food labels and raising awareness about what you consume, I checked out the day’s snack the children were given.  The drink, with 20 grams of sugar, was apple juice: “100% apple juice”.  I read the nutrition facts label.  The ingredients were:  “water, apple juice concentrate, calcium, ascorbic acid (vitamin c), vitamin A palmitate, and vitamin D3.  Contains concentrate from China.”  China???  Why are schools buying apple juice from China?  Something is wrong.  Very wrong.

America’s children who qualify for free and reduced school meal programs are being fed foods and drinks from China?  What other food products contain ingredients grown in countries where we have no idea what chemicals are being used? 

As a parent concerned about the health of children, I know that when we eat foods grown organically and free of chemicals that come from laboratories, we will be healthier.  As an epidemiologist who looks at the root causes of diseases, I know that we must ask about the relationship between foods grown with hormones, pesticides, insecticides and fungicides and diseases such as obesity and heart disease.

Read food labels.  Ask questions.  Our children’s health – and lives – are at stake. 

With love and gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Have a Happy Heart

"Let no one ever come to you without leaving 

better and happier.  Be the living expression of 

God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness

in your eyes, kindness in your smile."  

                                                                             

                                                                      --Mother Teresa

February is American Heart Month.  

While thinking about a title for this week's article, my consideration was about positive messages to empower parents.  Some of those ideas included:  Matters of the heart.  Heart health.  Heart beats.  Love your heart.  Take time for your heart.  Exercise your heart.  And the beat goes on.  

I settled on "Have a Happy Heart" as an inspiration for you to enjoy life, to take time to share fun times with your children and to empower kids to eat heart-healthy foods.  Sometimes we parents get so involved in day-day activities and forget the value of sharing meals with family and friends, to laugh, and planning our days so we can enjoy nature. 

  

The following pictures are from several recent Growing Healthy Kids' programs where we introduce kids to locally grown foods and heart-healthy habits. 

American Heart Month is about increasing your awareness so you have the best heart health possible.  Our heart is that small muscle in the middle of our chest.  The human heart is about the size of an adult’s closed fist.  The size and weight depends on the age, health, and size of the individual.  It weighs between 7 and 12 ounces-less than a pound.  It beats 100,000 times EVERY DAY.  It sends an individual’s 6 quart blood supply through the body 3 times EVERY MINUTE.  Your blood travels about 12,000 miles EVERY DAY  (source:  www.reference.com).  

Taking care of your heart is important and requires making conscious choices.  One thing all parents can do is become aware of all the added salt found in processed foods.
 

The message for keeping hearts healthy and happy is clear.

• All kids need access to healthy foods.
• Purchase fresh vegetables and fruits that are the colors of the rainbow.
• Eliminate added sugars and other foods that contribute to inflammation and obesity.
• Reduce consumption of processed foods containing added salt. 
• Identify foods and drinks containing high fructose corn syrup and food dyes and don’t consume them. 
• Buy foods from your local farmers whenever possible.
• Cook at home.  
• Buy the best ingredients you can afford. 
• Be kind to others.
• Laugh often.  
• Be full of joy and gratitude.
• Treat your heart with respect. 

In gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids