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.

Feeding the children

Hello Friends,

Today I would like us to talk about health and nutrition. Nutrition has been called the single greatest environmental influence on babies in the womb and during infancy, and it remains essential throughout the first years of life. A proper balance of nutrients in this formative period is critical for normal brain development.  Shortages of nutrients such as iron and iodine can impair cognitive and motor development, and these effects are often irreversible. Nutrition is also an important part of academic success and physical development. In vulnerable communities children often attend school without having had anything to eat and spend the whole day at school on an empty stomach. In the rural communities we work in, teachers highlight how difficult it is for some of the pupils to concentrate during class when they are hungry. When we conduct our regular health assessments one can clearly observe stunted growth due to malnutrition in some of the pupils. To mitigate this challenge, Nhaka Foundation with the help of its partners and the rural communities in the Mashonaland East Province is currently implementing a Health Assessment Program and a wet School Feeding Program in primary schools. 

Each day pupils receive a traditional, highly nutritious drink called maheu at break time. 

Maheu consist of a blend of maize meal, sorghum and water and has since time immemorial been used as a meal on the go. It has a high roughage content making it a food and a drink at the same time which can be taken at any time of the day. Maheu also have a high nutritional content with 12 vitamins and nutrients, which guarantees the health and development of the children having it on a daily basis.The kids love it and seeing them drink and enjoy the drink is enough reward for me. As Programs Officer part of my job is ensuring the food drink is delivered timeously and that it is being served according to agreed food and health standards. I am so passionate about the feeding program that the kids now call me “Mr Maheu”.

Our organisation’s mission;, “to educate, feed and improve the health of orphans and vulnerable children” is put to the test in a climate where millions are facing hunger due to political, socio-economic challenges which have been exacerbated by two consecutive drought seasons between 2015 and 2016. In order to ensure that the feeding program is sustained past the intervention period Nhaka Foundation seeks to provide a nutritional solution that will not only address the immediate need to provide food relief but also have an option that can be replicated in the communities that we serve. This is why we chose Maheu. Since maheu has been made for decades communities know how to grow the ingredients as well as make it. They can therefore come together to as a collective to feed the children on a continuous basis. 

I would like to leave you with this thought I read from the Journal of Nutrition (2010); the long-term health and vitality of entire nations depends on the wellbeing of its individual children. As an organisation with the support of local and international partners we seek to provide our children with the fair opportunity to grow and develop just as well as they privileged peers, through the use of sustainable methods that can be replicated with ease.

Best wishes,

Garikai 

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Become a Sugar Detective

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." 

                                                                                                              --Anonymous

One constant in the educational work we do in Growing Healthy Kids is teaching parents and kids about sugar.  All parents need to know about the difference between added sugars and natural sugars.  All kids need to learn that natural sugar is what our bodies were designed to process, but only in small quantities. Excessive sugar intake is linked to belly fat, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and poor cancer survival rates. The average American consumes about 41 teaspoons of sugar a day, while the guidelines from American Heart Association call for limiting sugar intake to 6-9 teaspoons a day.  NOTE:  One teaspoon of sugar contains 4 grams of carbohydrates.

Sugars that are added to foods during processing are the ones we don't need.  Read a nutrition facts panel on a cereal box or a box of Pop Tarts and see how many different added sugars you can find.  Here's a clue: any ingredient that ends in “-ose” is a sugar.  Always check food labels for what I call “the evil empire sugar” or high fructose corn syrup.  Added sugars come in many names, more than 50.  To view a list, just go to pages 23-26 of Nourish and Flourish:  Kid-Tested and Approved Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes.*

The sugar you eat should be limited to natural sugars, that found in fruits and some vegetables (like sweet potatoes and corn).  Fruit also contains dietary fiber (the "bones" which give fruits their unique form ) which helps to slow down the absorption of sugar.   

Here are 3 tips parents and kids can use:

1. Read food labels and look for “high fructose corn syrup”.  If the food or drink contains it, don’t buy it.
2. Choose foods and drinks without added sugars.
3. Replace fruit juice with fresh fruit.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

*To order a copy of Nourish and Flourish, click on the link in the top right corner of this page.  

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: Springtime Foods

Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!"  

                                                                                       --Robin Williams

What is your favorite thing about spring?  Watching leaves appear on trees?  Buying daffodils?  Exclaiming over beautiful azaleas, redbuds, and dogwoods?  For me, it is all of these.  My very favorite?  Waiting for locally grown asparagus to show up in local farmers markets!  

I am not talking about the asparagus shipped in from Mexico.  Who knows what chemicals they contain?  How many days ago were they harvested?   No, I am talking about locally grown asparagus, wherever you happen to be.  Last year, I was in Denmark when white asparagus was in season.  What a feast it was every evening!

While I (im)patiently wait for the season’s first asparagus, I am busy collecting favorite  veggie recipes into a little book to share with friends.  There are so many health and cancer prevention benefits of asparagus!  It contains chromium (a trace mineral which helps insulin move sugar out of the blood into the cells, great if you have diabetes), folate (great for your brain), and lots of fiber.  One of the simplest ways to prepare and enjoy fresh asparagus is to roast or grill it.  Here’s my recipe for this delicious spring delight:

GROWING HEALTHY KIDS:  ROASTED ASPARAGUS

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pounds fresh asparagus
• Olive oil
• Pink Himalayan sea salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 450.  Trim woody ends off stalks.  Place asparagus in a single row on a baking sheet.  Drizzle oil and season with sea salt.  Gently toss.  Roast about 10 minutes or until asparagus is tender.  Top with freshly grated parmesan, if desired. Serve immediately.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: The Year of the Pulses

"Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have."   

                                    --Winston Churchill

Lentils, dried peas and beans are always included in our Kids in the Kitchen lessons.  They are one of the most nutrient dense foods available.  There are so many ways you can prepare them.  You can buy a truckload for a dollar (maybe not that cheap, but they are really, really cheap).  When people tell me they can’t afford to feed their kids healthy foods, the answer is to teach them how to prepare lentils and other pulses. 

In 2013, the United Nations declared that 2016 will be The Year of the Pulses. Confession:  I had eaten lentils for years before I heard the term “pulses”. 

What is a pulse?  A pulse is an edible seed that grows in a pod.  Pulses include all beans, peas, and lentils.  They do not include fresh beans and peas.  They are extremely high in both soluble and insoluble fiber.  They are also rich in protein and have high levels of minerals such as iron, zinc, and phosphorus as well as folate and other essential B vitamins.   They are cheap and are easy to store.  They help prevent diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Some of my favorite pulses:

• Brown lentils
• French lentil
• Black lentils
• Garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• Pinto beans
• Black beans
• Cannellini beans
• Mung beans
• Yellow split peas

For some great pulse recipes, visit www.pulsecanada.com and www.iyp2016.org.  For my favorite hummus recipe, check out Nourish and Flourish:  Kid-Tested Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes (available at www.amazon.com).  

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.