WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Saving Our Children

"My diabetes is such a central part of my life...it did teach me discipline...it also taught me about moderation...I've trained myself to be super-vigilant...because I feel better when I am in control."

                                                                         --Sonia Sotomayor

Today, diabetes reared its ugly head when I least expected it.  While shopping for fresh vegetables, I saw a man suddenly slump over the bananas.  I rushed to his side, assisted him to a chair, and got a manager’s attention.  

When asked if he had diabetes; he replied yes.  An employee was immediately dispatched to get orange juice for the customer.  Was it a low blood sugar event?  It very well might have been.  Only the doctors in the emergency room will know.  I am saying a prayer that he receives the help he needs.  

The threat of low blood sugar - plus other complications such as high blood pressure, peripheral neuropathy, kidney disease, diabetic retinopathy, and gastroparesis - is a very real scare for millions of Americans living with diabetes.  Managing diabetes is not spectator sport.  Successfully managing diabetes takes work, vigilance, and education.  It requires knowledge about healthy eating habits and importance of daily fitness routines.   Can diabetes be managed?  Yes. 

The question for parents is, can diabetes be prevented?  Yes.  What does it take to do that?  The same as managing diabetes:  work, vigilance, education, and knowledge about healthy eating habits and the importance of daily movement.  Making decisions to ensure that our kids stay at a healthy weight. Choosing foods and drinks without added sugars.  

ALL kids deserve access to healthy foods.  ALL kids deserve parents who are informed and health literate.  ALL kids deserve the opportunity to erase their nature deficits to ensure their mental health is balanced with their physical health. 

Without informed and health literate parents, our children’s risk of developing diabetes is greatly increased.   Diabetes is a preventable disease, only if we dare to become embarrassed and do whatever it takes to ensure our children’s health – and lives. 

In gratitude,

Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Learning at the Library

"I wouldn't say that processed meals, ready meals and takeaways aren't relevant; it's just that over the past 40 years there have been 3 generations of people who have come out of school and and gone through their home life without ever being shown how to cook properly."  

                                              --Jamie Oliver

Summertime is a great time for kids. Three months of playtime!  Sometimes playtime comes with passive learning, when kids don’t even know they are learning. 

I recently taught a workshop for elementary age kids at a public library called, "Becoming a Nutrition Detective".   While everyone sampled gluten-free crackers with the sun-dried tomato hummus made in the Growing Healthy Kids Test Kitchen, the kids learned about reading food labels.  It was a powerful lesson for not just the kids but also for the parents who sat quietly around the perimeter of the room. 

Our message is clear:

• ALL kids need access to healthy foods.
• Eliminate added sugars (one clue: common sugars end in “-ose”.)
• Less ingredients is better than more.
• Identify foods and drinks with high fructose corn syrup and food dyes.  Make the commitment not to consume them.
• Can you pronounce the ingredients?  If not, don’t eat them.   
• Buy vegetables from the farmers near where you live.
• Teach your children to cook.  

Learning at the Library with Growing Healthy Kids

Make learning fun.  Every day is an opportunity to improve the life of a child.  Be the change you want to see in the world.  Eat healthy foods. 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Sleep=Growing Healthy Kids

"Sleep is the golden chain that ties our health and our bodies together."  
                                                           --Thomas Dekker

Cell phones.  I always ask kids where they keep their cell phones at night.  The most common answer is, “on my bed” or “next to my bed”.  

All parents need to know that having a cell phone within 10 feet of a child’s brain can interfere with brain development and the ability to get a good night’s sleep.  It is frightening how many parents are not educated about the dangers associated with children’s brain and cell phones.

“Sleep hygiene” is the habit of preparing one’s body and mind for restful sleep: no caffeine at least 6 hours before bedtime, no TV or video games at least an hour before bedtime, no vigorous exercise right before bedtime, and creating one’s bedtime as a peaceful sanctuary.  Add “cell phones charging in another room” to this list. 

Talk with your family.  Ensure that everyone with a cell phone is charging them someplace other than right next to their heads at night.  Start a new family habit and move all electronics out of the bedroom.   At least unplug any electronics in the bedroom at night so the blue and red lights do not interfere with sleep.

Make sure your kids are getting enough sleep (see “Wellness Wednesdays” published August 19, 2015:  “Sleeping for Good Grades and Good Health”).  Not getting enough sleep is associated with being overweight and with poor academic performance.  Make sleep a priority.  Your brain and your body will thank you!  

Everyone deserves to "sleep like a baby" and ALL kids deserve to be Growing Healthy Kids.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Fun Summer Foods for Kids

"The ultimate test of a moral society is the kind of world that it leaves to its children."  

                                                                   -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Dear Parents,

Say “guacamole” 10 times real fast while jumping up and down on one foot.  Can you pronounce “jicama”?  Have you made starfruit (carambola), strawberry, and kiwi kebobs?

Making summertime memories and fun-filled adventures can be a challenge if you don’t plan.  Here are some ideas you can use to make this summer the best ever for your kids AND help them learn healthy eating habits on their terms:

• Every week between now and when school starts, ask your kids to pick out one new fruit or vegetable when you go shopping together. 
• Task the kids with researching what they choose, including its nutritional values, how to cut it up, and recipe ideas. 
• Let the kids decide how to eat each new vegetable or fruit.  Can it be eaten raw or does it need to be cooked?  Can you use it in a salad or as a snack? 
• Ask your kids to prepare a chart to track each week’s new treasure, what they made with it (if not eaten raw), and ask them to rate each item on a scale of “love it, it’s OK, or pass”.

Enjoy the summer.  Turn shopping trips into learning opportunities.  Go play! 

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Our Children's Mental Health

“The purpose of our existence is to seek happiness.” 

                                                           --Dalai Lama

“Love life.”  Those were the only words on a sign carried by a friend, Steve Fugate, on his 34,000 mile journeys around the United States.  Steve has lost both of his children.  His response to this horrible loss was to walk around the country-several times.  His precious children are both gone.  But this man fiercely loves life and by sharing his story, he teaches others how to love life.

In my work with people struggling from a lifetime of living with mental health issues, I often meet families who struggle because a child has a mental illness.  Some parents will do anything for their child and others decide that doing nothing and walking away is the best they can do.

Some conditions, such as bipolar, emerge in children when they are in their late teens and early twenties.  Learning disabilities are rampant among those I serve.  As someone who has always loved to read (I drove baby sitters crazy reading by flashlight under my covers late at night), it is heartbreaking to work with individuals with dyslexia who have never known what it is like to spend a Sunday lost in a good book. 

I want to introduce you to two people I have met in my journeys working with people with disabilities:

Alex, a wonderfully smart man who did not learn to read until he was 18. He is bipolar and has dyslexia.  No one noticed him struggling to read until he had lost his youth.  He shared that he tried to commit suicide several times because he knew he was different but did not know why.  He has spent a lifetime of regret wondering what would be different is someone had noticed his disability earlier and intervened sooner. 

Roger, a caring man who has never been able to keep a job more than a few months because of his disabilities until now because he is getting the supports he needs.  He has bipolar, learning disabilities, and barely reads, with no ability to understand numbers.  He struggles every day of his life with things most people take for granted.  He shared with me that when he was in public school, teachers knew he could not read or do math but they passed him from one grade to another anyway.  He said he felt ashamed to ask for help because he was the child and all the adults in his life just turned away and looked the other way.

Who are we as a country if we cannot recognize when a child is struggling with school work or missing school for unexplained reasons?  What kind of country are we that we allow children who through no fault of their own have dyslexia, learning disabilities, depression or attention deficit disorder to not be properly diagnosed and effectively treated? It takes a village to grow healthy children. 

Just as all children deserve access to healthy foods and time outside in nature, all children deserve access to mental health services and all children deserve happiness.  A young man called me this week to say that when he went to his first appointment for mental health care he was told that his copays were $40/visit, beyond his means.  Why should taking care of bipolar or social anxiety disorder cost more than a well child visit? 

We can do better.  Learn about the mental health resources in your community.  We are the village.  Help a child.  Listen.  As Steve Fugate knows too well, kids are really good at holding in their feelings.  Often we find out something is wrong when it is too late.  

Be the change you want to see in the world.  These are our children. Their mental health is directly related to the health of our communities.

For more information about mental health, please visit the National Institute of Mental Health website at www.nimh.nih.gov.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Favorite Cole Slaw Recipes

“If you can shred a vegetable, you can make slaw.” 

                                                                           --Chef Michael Glatz

Summertime is here and all kids deserve access to healthy foods.  Here is a simple food idea that kids love to help make.  Gather together the ingredients in this delicious Summer Slaw recipe.  Put the kids in the back yard* with a grater, a head of red or green cabbage, and a big bowl.  The key to most slaw recipes is to make them ahead of time, allowing the flavors marry in the fridge for at least an hour before serving. 

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS:  Our Recipe Collection

SUMMER SLAW

INGREDIENTS:

·        ¼ head red cabbage

·        ½ jimaca (or substitute rainbow carrots)

·        ½ cup fresh squeezed orange juice

·        1/3 cup fresh squeezed lime juice

·        1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

·        3 Tablespoons local honey

DIRECTIONS: 

• SHRED cabbage and jimaca in food processor (or use a hand grater).
• WHISK together remaining ingredients. 
• MIX juice mixture with the vegetables, cover and place in fridge for at least 1 hour. 

SERVE with your favorite summertime dinner such as shrimp tacos or black bean burgers.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

*Kids and cabbage can get a little messy, so taking this preparation step outside will keep your kitchen neat.

NOTE TO PARENTS:  If using a mandoline for the cabbage, do this yourself.  This kitchen tool is not for kids.  

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: National Mental Health Awareness Month

“Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.”  

                                                                                                     --Mother Teresa

Did you know...One in five is the best estimate of the number of adults with any diagnosable mental disorder within the past year?

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.  If one in five people have a mental health disorder, then the number of people indirectly affected by depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders and the other conditions that fall under the “mental health” umbrella is much larger.

When a child is overweight or obese, there can be psychological consequences resulting from being ostracized, bullied, and made fun of by their peers.  These can have lifelong consequences, including depression.

The fact is that it can be downright uncomfortable to talk with someone who has an anxiety disorder or who is depressed.  In working with thousands of people with diabetes, I have talked with many people struggling with depression caused by uncontrolled high blood sugars.   Sometimes it is their family members who I meet first.  They are often the ones who ask for help.

The worst thing we can do is ignore someone who may be struggling with depression.  Be a friend and open a door. Talk.  Listen. Smile.  Connect them with help.

To learn more, go to National Institute of Mental Health at nimh.nih.gov or click here.

   

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Health and Happiness

“It’s difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.”          

                                                              –Lewis Grizzard 

Do you laugh every day?  How often do you perform a random act of kindness?  Do you eat several  small meals every day?  Do you say "please" and "thank you"?  Do you eat dinner with your children most nights?  What makes you smile?   Do you get at least 6 hugs every day?  Who is your favorite comedian?  Is your bedroom a sanctuary where you sleep well every night?  Do you wake up every day excited about what might happen?

There is a strong correlation between how healthy you are and how happy you are.  Happiness is an attitude, a verb, a noun, a state of mind.  A passing thought, a favorite song, or watching a child play in the rain.  A memory from a family wedding, the smell of your favorite pizza, the anticipation of a summer vacation.  Being happy often means conscious action to create desired results.  Health is more than the absence of disease; it is the state of well-being.

Happiness is the dependent variable in the equation of lifestyle, nutrition, and fitness.  If you never get enough sleep, you will be too tired to see the beauty of life.  If you eat too much sugar, your body and mind will suffer like being on a bad roller coaster ride.  If you do not exercise daily, your body  will be sad and your mind will be depressed.  

As parents, we sometimes get too wrapped up in our work.  This habit can have disastrous consequences for our families.  This week, make it a priority to focus on what makes you happy.  Laugh, smile, and play.  Share good times with your children.  Cook together.  Being happy is key to being healthy. 

Smile.  Laugh.  Repeat.  It might be the difference between health and disease for you and your children.  Because your health may depend on your happiness.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Drowning in Sugar

“Woman is the light of God.”  

                                                                              --Rumi

It happened again. While on the way to give a talk called "Good Foods for Growing Healthy Kids," I stopped at a convenience mart across from where I was speaking.  I asked the clerk one question: “What is your most popular drink that kids buy?”

There was no hesitation from the clerk: “Far right cooler door, top shelf.  Short bottles.”  I walked to where he was pointing and opened the cooler door.  There were three different colored drinks: blue, red, and pink.  Something called Tum-E Yummies.  Never heard of them before.  I settled on a blue drink, walked back to the front of the store and paid for it.  The clerk said, “One dollar even.”

I handed over my dollar, then walked out to the car and drove to the Fellsmere City Hall in Fellsmere, Florida.  At the “Women and Girls Summit,” I looked over my prepared notes and looked at the people in attendance. Faces of all colors and ethnicities, mostly women and girls with some high school age boys as well.  I waited as the police detective, the speaker before me on the agenda, finished talking about domestic violence.  

When I was introduced as the next speaker, I held up the blue bottle of Tum-E Yummies and announced that I had decided to change my presentation to “Why Kids Fidget.”

I handed the bottle of Tum-E Yummies to a girl sitting near the front.  She counted 14 ingredients, including:

• High fructose corn syrup
• Food dyes
• Preservatives
• 2 different sugars
• Zero fruit juice

What kids drink and eat can have a big effect on their physical and mental health, including their ability to learn and focus.  To improve our children’s results in school, it is my hope that parents become aware of the food and drink choices kids make.  All the sugar, food dyes and preservatives found in Tum-E Yummies and thousands of other processed foods and drinks contribute to poor health outcomes.  

Tum-E Yummies and other drinks like it are just sugar water and food dyes, which are known to contribute to obesity, certain cancers and attention deficit hyperactivity.  

Thank you to all the mothers and grandmothers who attended the “Women and Girls Summit.” Kids need food that makes them healthy and strong, not sick and unfocused. Together, we can guide children to make healthier choices.  

Off for a glass of water!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Sleep and Your Weight

"Sleep is the best meditation." 

                                       --Dalai Lama

Whoever invented sleep is my hero.  Nothing beats a great night’s sleep. 

I talk with so many people who take prescription drugs for sleep.  Doctors love to hand out prescriptions for sleeping pills instead of getting to the root cause.  How much profit is being made by Big Pharma with all the prescriptions written? What is the marketing budget? Apparently, we can a big problem sleeping in the U.S. because we spend more than $32 billion a year trying to sleep.

A good night’s sleep is key to staying at a healthy weight.  When people who want to lose weight ask me for help, one of the first questions I ask is about sleep.  Not getting enough sleep is a risk factor for obesity.

According to National Institutes of Health, “Sleep helps maintain a healthy balance of the hormones that make you feel hungry (ghrelin) or full (leptin). When you don't get enough sleep, your level of ghrelin goes up and your level of leptin goes down. This makes you feel hungrier than when you're well-rested.

Sleep also affects how your body reacts to insulin, the hormone that controls your blood glucose (sugar) level. Sleep deficiency results in a higher than normal blood sugar level, which may increase your risk for diabetes.”

Here are 3 tips you can use:

• Maintain regular bedtimes.
• Keep electronics out of the bedroom.
• Have sleep hygiene habits such as no caffeine after 3 pm.

Parents should be mindful of the importance of a good night’s sleep for their own health and children’s health.  Teach your children.  Be a good role model.  Now, off to bed!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Obesity in Adults: 7 Tips You Can Use

"Pasta does not make you fat.  How much pasta you

eat makes you fat." 

                                                 --Giada De Laurentiis

Obesity rates continue to climb.  Adults who are obese are 4.7 times more likely to develop diabetes.  For the wealthiest nation in the world that spends more than $245 billion on diagnoseddiabetes (as estimated in 2012), a whopping 41% increase over the previous 5 years, we are spending a lot of money on a preventable disease that could be used many other ways.

Growing Healthy Kids is committed to preventing diabetes in children and educating parents how to prevent, control, and reverse diabetes.  Are you are parent?  Start with a simple plan to make one change a week.  Record your plan in a notebook and measure your changes. 

Make health goals that are SMART:  Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-Specific.  Review this list of 7 tips and pick out several to implement for you and your family.  Use them to create SMART goals:

1. Start every day with a breakfast that includes some high quality protein (like eggs or yogurt), a little fat, and some healthy carbs (fresh fruit or veggies). 
2. Make family dinner time a priority at least 4 nights a week (depending on the kids’ sports and other commitments)
3. Ban cell phones from the dinner table.  This small change encourages conversation about the day and dining at a slower, relaxed pace, allowing everyone to taste and enjoy their food.
4. Take a walk after dinner, whenever the weather permits. 
5. Eat a salad featuring local greens (when available) at least once a day.  Ask your kids to create a family salad bar with 5 or 6 ingredients. 
6. Learn to make a simple vinaigrette for your salads (see my recipe below).
7. Replace fruit juice with fresh fruit. 

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS:  Our Recipe Collection

HEALTHY VINAIGRETTE

MIXtogether in a bowl (or in a jar and then you can just shake it well):

• ·        1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ·        1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ·        ¼ cup Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
• ·        1 teaspoon honey (use locally produced honey where available)
• ·        sea salt
• ·        fresh ground pepper

BEAT with a whisk or a fork until the mixture emulsifies.

This is a great dressing for a simple chopped salad using fresh, locally grown greens.  We love salads made with fresh picked organic greens, arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, pears, avocados, garbanzo beans, and apples.

Make a plan.  Keep it simple.  Think of what YOU would do with $245 billion!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Savor the Flavor of Parsley

"Health is not a condition of matter, but of Mind."  

                                                             --Mary Baker Eddy

With the obesity epidemic all around us and threatening the lives - and health - of America's children, it is the simple steps to healthier eating that make each meal a delight.  

The fresh organic parsley in my refrigerator will soon be made into a delicious parsley pesto.  Pesto is a key ingredient that enhances the flavor of several of my favorite meals:  (1) served on gluten-free Portobello mushroom ravioli (with a green salad made with local greens from my favorite farmers) and (2) my favorite grilled sandwich EVER made with extra sharp Vermont cheddar cheese, a slice of organic heirloom tomato, a sprinkle of pink Himalayan sea salt, and pesto on sprouted whole grain bread.  

Parsley has so many incredible health benefits, yet many people believe think it is “just a garnish” to make the plate pretty.  Let’s banish that myth! 

Some of parsley's health benefits:

• Vitamins K
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin A
• Folate (folic acid)
• Iron
• Copper
• Magnesium
• Potassium

According to The World’s Healthiest Foods (www.whfoods.com), “The flavonoids in parsley-especially luteolin-have been shown to function as antioxidants that combine with highly reactive oxygen-containing molecules (called oxygen radicals) and help prevent oxygen-based damage to cells.  In addition, extracts have been used in animal studies to help increase the antioxidants capacity of the blood.”  

A half cup of parsley contains about 11 calories – good for the waistline! Parsley pesto is easy to make.  Here’s my recipe: 

PARSLEY PESTO

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh organic parsley (use curly or Italian)
• ½ cup walnuts (to enhance the flavor, lightly toast them in a dry pan)
• ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano cheese
• ½ teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ½ cup (or so) of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Place all ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and process until well mixed.   Then drizzle the olive oil down the tube until you get the consistency you want.  

Note:  If not using pesto immediately, then store in a container and pour a thin layer of olive oil on top.  Cover and refrigerate.  Use within a week. 

Savor the flavor of parsley.  It's oh, so good!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc. 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: "I want to eat better, can you help me?"

“Quite simply, the more you substitute plant foods for animal foods, the healthier you are likely to be.” 

                        --Dr. T. Colin Campbell, nutrition expert at Cornell University and co-author of The China Study

Every day, while giving presentations or talking with people around the country about the work we do in the Growing Healthy Kids organization to defeat childhood obesity, there is always at least one person who asks for help in eating better.  Sometimes it is because they have just been diagnosed with diabetes.  Frequently it is because they know they are not eating right and are gaining weight or having issues with their blood pressure. 

Learning howto eat better often starts with a stark realization that if something doesn’t change, one’s health will change for the worse.  The fact is that obesity is the root cause of many preventable diseases.  Taking responsibility for what you eat is the first step towards better health.

March is National Nutrition Month.  Here are 3 tips you can use to eat better AND feel better:

1. Eliminate high fructose corn syrup from everything you eat and drink by reading food labels on all processed foods.  This highly processed sugar is stored as fat and has no nutritional value. 
2. Eat super foods every day, such as almonds, walnuts, blueberries, kale, quinoa and sweet potatoes. 
3. Take a walk after dinner every day, or at least most days.  Adding this simple step can aid in digestion, help you sleep better, reduce stress, get to a healthier weight, and prevent overeating. 

Savor the flavor of eating right!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.