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HERE’S TO YOUR HEALTH JUST IN TIME FOR SPRING! Publication of the Braintree School Nurses Volume 3, Issue 3 March, 2013 March is National Nutrition Month! Dedicate yourself to a healthy lifestyle in 2013 with these food, nutrition and exercise tips. Eat Breakfast There’s no better way to start your morning than with a healthy breakfast. Include lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Try oatmeal cooked with low-fat milk, sliced almonds and berries, or top a toaster waffle with low-fat yogurt and fruit. Find more quick breakfast ideas at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets. Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables Fruits and veggies add color, flavor and texture plus vitamins, minerals and fiber to your plate. Make 2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables your daily goal. Don’t let winter stop you from enjoying produce. It may be harder to find fresh options, but frozen and canned are great alternatives. See “20 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables” at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets. Watch Portion Sizes Do you know if you’re eating the proper portion size? Get out the measuring cups and see how close your portions are to the recommended serving size. Using smaller plates, bowls and glasses can help you keep portions under control. Use half your plate for fruits and vegetables and the other half for grains and lean meat, poultry, seafood or beans. To complete the meal, add a glass of fat-free or low-fat milk or a serving of fatfree yogurt for dessert. Visit www.choosemyplate.gov. Be Active Regular physical activity lowers blood pressure and helps your body control stress and weight. Start by doing what exercise you can for at least 10 minutes at a time. Children and teens should get 60 or more minutes of physical activity per day, and adults should get two hours and 30 minutes per week. You don’t have to hit the gym—take a walk after dinner or play a game of catch or basketball. Fix Healthy Snacks Healthy snacks can sustain your energy levels between meals. Whenever possible, make your snacks combination snacks. Choose from the MyPlate food groups: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein or nuts. Try low-fat yogurt with fruit, whole-grain crackers with low-fat cheese, or a small portion of nuts with an apple or banana. For more snack ideas, see “25 Healthy Snacks for Kids” and “Smart Snacking for Adults and Teens” at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets. Get to Know Food Labels Ever wonder about what the numbers in the Nutrition Facts panel really mean? Or, the difference between “reduced fat” & “low fat”? The Food and Drug Administration has strict guidelines on how food label terms can be used. To learn more, see “Shop Smart–Get the Facts on Food Labels” at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets. Consult an RD Whether you want to lose weight, lower your cholesterol or simply eat better, consult the experts! Registered dietitians can help you by providing sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice and put you on the path to losing weight, eating well and reducing your risk of chronic disease. Learn more about RDs at www.eatright.org/RD Follow Food Safety Guidelines The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that roughly one in six Americans gets sick from food borne disease each year. Reduce your chances of getting sick by practicing proper hand washing. Separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from ready-to-eat foods like bread and vegetables. Use a food thermometer to make sure food is properly cooked. Refrigerate food quickly at a proper temperature to slow bacteria growth. Learn more about home food safety at http://homefoodsafety.org. Get Cooking Cooking at home can be healthy, rewarding and cost-effective. Resolve to learn some cooking and kitchen basics, like how to dice an onion or how to store herbs and spices. The collection of How do I… videos at www.eatright.org/howdoi will get you started. Dine Out without Ditching Your Goals You can dine at a restaurant and stick to your healthy eating plan! The key is to plan ahead, ask questions and choose foods carefully. Think about nutritious items you can add to your plate—fruits, veggies, lean meat, poultry or fish—and look for grilled, baked, broiled or steamed items. See “Healthy Eating on the Run” at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets. Enact Family Meal Time Research shows that family meals promote healthier eating. Plan to eat as a family at least a few times each week in 2013. Set a regular mealtime. Turn off the TV, phones and other electronic devices to encourage mealtime talk. Get kids involved in meal planning and cooking and use this time to teach them about good nutrition. For more family mealtime tips, visit www.kidseatright.org. Banish Brown Bag Boredom Whether it’s a brown bag lunch for work or school, make it a healthy lunch packed with nutrition. Prevent brown bag boredom with these healthy lunch ideas. They’re easy to fix the night before and ready to go in the morning. Try whole-wheat couscous with chick peas or black beans; whole-wheat tortilla filled with chicken, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes; baked potato topped with broccoli, low-fat cheddar cheese and salsa; or spinach salad with sliced pear, red onion and low-fat feta cheese. Keep lunches safe with tips from http://homefoodsafety.org. Drink More Water Our bodies depend on water to regulate temperature, transport nutrients and oxygen to cells, carry away waste products and more. For generally healthy people who live in temperate climates, the Dietary Reference Intakes from the Institute of Medicine recommend a total daily beverage intake of 13 cups for men and 9 cups for women. This tip sheet is provided by: Adapted from the article “13 Health Tips for 2013” (www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6442474069) by Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics staff registered dietitians. © 2013 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Reproduction of this tip sheet is permitted for educational purposes. Submitted by Melonie Bennett, MS, Dir. of Physical Education & Health What can I do as a parent/guardian to help prevent childhood obesity? To help your child maintain a healthy weight, balance the calories your child consumes from foods and beverages with the calories your child uses through physical activity and normal growth. Remember that the goal for overweight and obese children and teens is to reduce the rate of weight gain while allowing normal growth and development. Children and teens should NOT be placed on a weight reduction diet without the consultation of a health care provider. Balancing Calories - Help Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits! One part of balancing calories is to eat foods that provide adequate nutrition and an appropriate number of calories. You can help children learn to be aware of what they eat by developing healthy eating habits, looking for ways to make favorite dishes healthier, and reducing calorie-rich temptations. Look for ways to make favorite dishes healthier! The recipes that you may prepare regularly, and that your family enjoys, with just a few changes can be healthier and just as satisfying. Remove calorie-rich temptations! Although everything can be enjoyed in moderation, reducing the calorie-rich temptations of high-fat and high-sugar, or salty snacks can also help your children develop healthy eating habits. Instead only allow your children to eat them sometimes, so that they truly will be treats! Help Kids Stay Active! - Another part of balancing calories is to engage in an appropriate amount of physical activity and avoid too much sedentary time. In addition to being fun for children and teens, regular physical activity has many health benefits, including: **Strengthening bones **Decreasing blood pressure **Reducing stress and anxiety Increasing self-esteem **Helping with weight management Reduce sedentary time! In addition to encouraging physical activity, help children avoid too much sedentary time. Although quiet time for reading and homework is fine, limit the time your children watch television, play video games, or surf the web to no more than 2 hours per day. Additionally, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not recommend television viewing for children age 2 or younger.12 Instead, encourage your children to find fun activities to do with family members or on their own that simply involve more activity. Submitted by Heidi Olsen, RN, BSN, Ross FOOD ALLERGIES A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to a certain food that the body reacts to as harmful. An estimated 4% to 6% of U.S. children of children under age 18 have food allergies. Although reasons for this are poorly understood, the prevalence of food allergies and associated anaphylaxis appears to be on the rise. Although any child can be at risk for food allergies, children are at greater risk if they are younger than age 3 or have a family history of asthma and allergies, or a genetic predisposition to allergic disease. Eight types of foods account for 90% of all food-allergy reactions: cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (such as walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, and macadamia nuts), fish, shellfish, soybeans, and wheat. Symptoms of an allergic reaction to food can range from mild to sudden and severe and commonly include one or more of the following: Hives Tingling in the mouth Swelling in the tongue and throat Difficulty breathing Abdominal cramps Vomiting or diarrhea Eczema or rash Coughing or wheezing Loss of consciousness Dizziness Anaphylaxis is a sudden, severe allergic reaction that involves various areas of the body simultaneously or causes difficulty breathing and swelling of the throat and tongue. Anaphylaxis can result in death. Some types of mild food allergies are treatable with an antihistamine or bronchodilator. Severe, or anaphylactic reactions, require epinephrine. At present, there is no cure for food allergies. The best method for managing food allergies is prevention by way of strict avoidance of any food that triggers a reaction. Adapted from www.cdc.gov Submitted by Joanne Kelly, RN, BSN, NSNC, Liberty The Braintree Public Schools Life Threatening Food Allergy Policies & Procedures and Action Plan can be found at http://www.braintreeschools.org/health/index.htm. We May Love Rock ‘n Roll…But Our Ears Don’t! How to Prevent Hearing Loss in a Noisy World Did you know that one song at a rock concert can permanently your hearing? Everyday sounds – like the whir of a blender, the sound of a snow blower or lawn mower, and the bells and whistles of children’s toys – can result in permanent hearing or tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing in the ears). damage loss Hearing plays an essential role in communication, speech and language development, and learning. Even a small amount of hearing loss can have profound, negative effects on speech, language comprehension, communication, classroom learning, social development and work performance. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) 5.2 million children aged 6 to 19 and 26 million adults aged 20 to 69 have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise. Hearing loss can result from damage to structures and/or nerve fibers in the inner ear that respond to sound. This type of hearing loss, termed “noise-induced hearing loss”, is usually caused by exposure to excessively loud sounds and cannot be medically or surgically corrected. Noise-induced hearing loss can result from a one-time exposure to a very loud sound, blast, or impulse, or from listening to loud sounds over an extended period of time. How loud is too loud? If while in a noisy environment you have to shout in order for someone near you to hear what you are saying, the noise level is dangerously loud. It is not only the sound level, but also the length of time you are exposed to noise that determines the extent of resulting hearing damage. The louder the sound, the less time it takes to damage your hearing. For example you could sit in heavy traffic noise for up to eight hours, but you can only safely use a snow blower or mow your lawn for seven minutes without ear protection. How will you know if noise is damaging your hearing? Noise-induced hearing loss is progressive and painless, so it can sneak up on you. If after being exposed to loud noise, sounds seem muffled or you hear ringing in your ears, you have likely been exposed to noise at a dangerous level. How can you protect your hearing? Cover Up: Foam earplugs (available at pharmacies), earmuffs (available at sporting goods or safety equipment stores), and custom earplugs all provide protection. For musicians or music enthusiasts, custom earplugs with special filters will reduce overall sound level while providing high fidelity sound. These kinds of earplugs are also helpful for hearing speech in noisy work environments. Turn Down the Volume: Move away from the source of loud sounds when possible. You can also buy quieter products (compare dB ratings and ask for low-noise products). If you listen to music through headphone for extended periods of time, turn down the volume to 50 %. If you find that you turn the headset volume up to drown out background noise, you should consider custom ear buds. Custom ear buds can significantly lower the background noise so that you can listen to music without having to crank up the volume. Watch the Time: Limit exposure to noisy activities at home and at work. Monitor your listening level and how long you are listening to devices like MP3 players/iPods. Encourage your children to use their headphones conservatively. An Ounce of Prevention: While you may not be able to control the noise around you, you can take protective measures into your own hands. One-third of permanent hearing loss is preventable with proper hearing loss prevention strategies. Submitted by Ginny Palmieri, RN, M.SN, East & Mary Ann O’Rourke, RN, BS, East April 2nd is National Autism Day Physical Fitness and Health Benefits May is National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and will be here before we know it. Being physically active increases your chances of living longer and can reduce the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and some types of cancer. Regular exercise helps to build and maintain healthy bones and muscles. Physical activity also affects the brain. Research has shown that physical movement can affect the brain by increasing blood flow, oxygenation, development of nerve connections, and growth of nerve cells in the hippocampus, which is the center of learning and memory. These changes may be associated with improved attention, enhanced coping, and improved processing, storage and retrieval of information. Exercise gives you more energy during the day and can help you sleep better at night. Consistent physical activity can reduce the feelings of depression and anxiety. Tips to help you get active: Find an activity that is fun, and something you enjoy. Start slow and warm up by stretching your muscles first. Aim for 20 to 30 minutes each day of moderate activity, such as walking, running, dancing, raking leaves, and bike riding. Do muscle strengthening exercises at least two times a week. Exercises such as sit-ups and push-ups help to strengthen the stomach, chest, back, shoulders and arms. Some physical activity is better than none. Submitted by Rosemary Donoghue R.N., BSN, M.Ed.