March is National Nutrition Month: Food Connects Us!

Article submitted by Terri Long, RD, LDN
Clinical Dietitian at Cornwall Manor

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics – the world’s largest organization of nutrition and dietetic professionals – promotes March as National Nutrition Month. This year’s theme is “Food Connects Us.”

Think about all the occasions that involve food – birthdays, Thanksgiving, Passover, Christmas, baby showers, weddings or just socializing with friends over coffee or lunch and how this impacts our quality of life. Foods connects us with our families, friends, co-workers as well as our cultures. Our traditions, memories, our health, access to food and the seasons all impact our relationship with food. National Nutrition Month is a good time to learn about these connections and how the foods you eat impact your health throughout life.

When traditional holiday or family favorites are served, take the time to talk to those who prepared it about the family history of the food or the culture it represents. Learn about preparation methods and where the food comes from. Experiment with foods from different cultures and take the time to learn about them.  Learn about sustainability to help preserve natural resources that connects us to future generations. There are many resources online to learn about sustainable food- https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/sustainability/

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment

There are benefits to sharing a meal beyond the socialization factor. Some studies have shown that more frequent meals shared by families with their adolescent children helps to improve their intakes of fruits and/or vegetables and of food sources of calcium. (Source: Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. 2015.Scientic Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Committee: Advisory Report to the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture. U.S. Department of Agriculture, at https://ods.od.nih.gov/about/2015_dgac_report.apx.)  Some studies have also shown that we tend to eat more when eating with others vs. eating alone. We encourage people living in skilled nursing facilities to come to communal dining areas to help improve their appetites as this is often a population that may not take in adequate nutrients.

Another way food connects us is through the stages of life. Nutrients taken in from birth, and even possibly prior to birth, can have an impact long into our life span. Deficiency of calcium foods at a young age can increase the risk of osteoporosis and possibly then fractures with aging. There is growing research showing that omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acid intakes during pregnancy and in children and teens have an impact on brain development and function. (Always talk to your pediatrician before giving supplements to children). Good sources of omega 3 fatty acids are fatty fish-salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, trout and anchovies.

Learn how to build the connection with healthy food choices through all stages of life by learning how our nutrition needs change with age. MyPlate.gov has some good resources. Also our current 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines-Dietary Guidelines.gov, and the American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations on the American Heart Association website and Eatright.org. You can also seek advice from a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist. Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) are food and nutrition experts with a minimum of a graduate degree from an accredited dietetics program who also have completed a supervised practice requirement, have passed a national exam and who participate in continuing educational opportunities throughout their professional careers. Cornwall Manor employs one full-time RDN. My name is Terri Long. My office is in the Cornwall Manor Health Center.

Food connects us with many chronic illnesses that we may develop later in life. We know that many of our chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers are impacted by what we eat. Healthy eating patterns to help prevent these diseases include higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean protein sources and dairy or fortified soy versions while also limiting saturated fats, sodium and added sugars.  The American Heart Association, The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Association’s website Eatrigh.org, the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society Guidelines for Diet and Physical Activity are all good resources for information on nutrition and chronic diseases.

Always be careful when seeking information online. There are a lot of websites that may not give you evidence-based information. You are safest with websites that end with .edu or .gov or are from the afore-mentioned professional organizations or other professional medical organizations.

It is never too late to connect with healthy eating in your older years. As we age, our food and activity choices are as important as ever towards maintaining our health. With nutrient rich foods, you can still have a significant impact on your health. As we age, we need less calories and higher amounts of certain nutrients, particularly calcium, Vitamin D and protein. We need to eat nutrient rich foods to make every calorie count. This is often a time when we tend to gain weight.  This is not the time for fad diets or drastic weight loss. Rapid, drastic weight loss results in loss of muscle mass—not what older adults need for good health at this stage of life.

Some tips for healthy eating in the later years of life:

Protein is needed to help maintain muscle mass, to maintain our immune systems to help fight infections and to promote quicker recoveries from surgeries. Some tips to boost your protein intake:

• Eat more beans- a great source of fiber, nutrients and protein. Add to salads, soups, casseroles and rice dishes.
• If you like to snack on crackers, choose whole grain crackers and add peanut butter. Eat peanut butter on celery or apple slices.
• Add extra cheese or egg whites to scrambled eggs.
• Use milk-skim or low fat — to make hot chocolate, oatmeal or cream soups rather than water.
• You can add non-fat dried milk powder to increase protein in cream soups and mashed potatoes. You can even make a fortified milk to drink-add ¼ cup of non-fat dried milk to one cup of milk to double the protein. Also increases the calcium and Vitamin D.
• Meats and fish of course are a good source of protein; choose lean cuts of meat to keep saturated fats low.

Fruits and Vegetables offer an abundance of healthy nutrients–cancer-fighting antioxidants, fiber which can help lower cholesterol and blood glucose levels and aide digestion, helping to maintain health bowels, and antioxidants that also reduce inflammation. Research is showing that many of our chronic diseases have an inflammatory component.  Ways to add more vegetables and fruits to our diet include:

• Plan your meals ahead for grocery shopping to include fruits and vegetables at every meal. If you aren’t eating many fruits and vegetables, just start with small increases-add one a day; later add two, then three . . .

Include a vegetable at every meal-you can add veggies-peppers, tomatoes, onions to omelets; add veggies to your smoothie. Add veggies to casseroles. If the recipe calls for vegetables, increase the amount.

• Make extra vegetables to have at another meal.
• Keep vegetable and fruit snacks on hand so that you can quickly grab them–pre-cut carrots, celery, cucumber slices, bell pepper strips. If you don’t like them plain, dip in some hummus or other bean dip or a little reduced fat Ranch dressing.

Also grapes, cherries, oranges, bananas that you can grab on the go. Choose whole fruits rather than juices. If you do drink juice, make sure it is 100% juice and not fruit punch or fruit drinks that have a lot of added sugar, and limit your serving to 4 to 6 oz.

• Add berries or dried fruits to oatmeal or cold cereal or low-fat Greek yogurt.
• Experiment with/eat more vegetable-based dishes-salads, vegetarian burritos, Buddha bowls, entrees made with veggie “noodles” made from zucchini or sweet potatoes. You can find many recipes online for vegetarian dishes.
• Stock up on canned or frozen vegetables when fresh are expensive or not available or just to have on hand–choose low sodium or salt free vegetables or rinse canned vegetables before use. Buy frozen vegetables that do not have sauces or seasonings. Add your own salt-free seasonings if desired. Use frozen fruits in smoothies when berries are too expensive or not in season.
• Enjoy a frozen pizza? Add some sauteed veggies.
• Swap out refined carbohydrates with vegetables -lettuce wraps for tortillas, cauliflower rice for white rice or zucchini noodles for pasta.
• For a sweet treat, dip fruits in melted dark chocolate.

National Nutrition Month is a great time to learn more about our connections to food and the many benefits of how our body connects to a healthy diet. Enjoy learning and eating!

Terri Long is a native of Perry County. She grew up on a farm and grew most of the food they ate including vegetables, berries, beef, pork, chicken and eggs. Her mother made everything from scratch and canned many fruits and vegetables that they ate all winter. This is where Terris love for food began and her interest in how what we eat nourishes our body.

Terri has a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Penn State and did her internship at York Hospital. She has over 40 years of experience in nursing homes and retirement communities – the last 23 years have been dedicated to Cornwall Manor. She loves music and reading and is a life-long learner.