WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS
"I see the lack of access to what we need the most, fresh fruits and veggies. I'm concerned about what the kids eat in school, all the processed foods. I'm concerned about the health of the children and what diseases they are going to be growing up with because of poor food choices or the lack of availability of good food choices."
---Nancy Heinrich (from "Lovavores unite to promote local farming" by Stephanie Labaff in Vero Beach Newsweekly, August 28, 2013)
For each adult who parents or mentors a child, we have a responsibility to be a good role model. With 2 in 3 adults overweight or obese, teaching children the habits they need for a lifetime of good health means taking a look at ourselves in the mirror first.
What is something you can do right now? Eat less of the bad foods. Look at food labels for the ingredient “high fructose corn syrup”. By eliminating this highly processed sugar from the foods you buy and bring into your home, you are taking a huge step in the right direction. Eating less of the bad foods and more of the good foods is a simple strategy that all families can use. Let your kids become NUTRITION DETECTIVES by checking processed foods for high fructose corn syrup and letting them search for a similar food product that does not contain what we at the Growing Healthy Kids project call the Evil Empire ingredient.
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| GHK on the Move: Teaching kids how to make Healthy Snacks at a recent Boys and Girls Clubs of Indian River County. |
If high fructose corn syrup is something we need to eat less of, then what are the good foods we need to eat more of? Here are ten good foods to get your family started on the path to wellness:
- Wild salmon (full of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids)
- Kale (rich in vitamin K)
- Avocados (a good source of glutathione, an antioxidant that improves overall hormone function)
- Olives and olive oil (containing the “good” fat called unsaturated, olives are known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol)
- Walnuts (ounce for ounce, walnuts have almost twice as many antioxidants as any other nut)
- Sweet potatoes (loaded with vitamin B6 and potassium, they also help regulate blood pressure)
- Dark chocolate (can aid in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels)
- Garlic (when garlic is crushed, allicin is released, which wards off heart attacks and strokes)
- Blueberries (LOADED with antioxidants, this is a key disease-fighting food)
- Asparagus (a natural diuretic, this vegetable is high in vitamin B12 and potassium)
For some affordable breakfast ideas, check out this website I found this week. Click here.
To read the brand new "F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future 2013" report from the Robert Wood Johnson foundation, click here.
If you have suggestions of topics you would like to covered in a future issue of WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS, we'd love to hear from you. Please contact us at: growinghealthykids@gmail.com.
In gratitude,
Nancy Heinrich
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
