Manisha Vaidya, MS, RD, LD, a clinical dietitian with UAB Medicine Food and Nutrition Services, shares some suggestions below on how to have more meaningful conversations and positive experiences with your children about nutrition.
For children, you have to set an example and be a role model for them, Vaidya says. You need to really focus on what you are doing in front of them. Whether you are a parent, relative, coach, or caregiver, its important to remember that children look up to adults for words, actions, and choices.
I always focus on a reward of giving them something of substance Vaidya says. Food itself should not be a reward. Instead of rewarding a good report card or other achievement with the allure of a sweet treat, she recommends a few alternatives that have been fun and successful for her own children:
When grocery shopping, let your children become an active part of the trip. In most grocery stores, fresh produce, dairy, and meats are found around the perimeter of the stores, while the more processed and prepackaged foods tend to be in the center aisles. Make your children aware of this placement and encourage them to pick out their favorite fruit or vegetable, or even a new one.
Letting children have a bit of responsibility can build their self-confidence in their decision-making skills as they grow older. These grocery store outings may occur in childhood, but the lessons learned can be carried well into adulthood.
Vaidya believes that food shouldnt have a good or bad label associated with it. Its okay to have a dessert occasionally, but it isnt necessary after every meal. She suggests MyPlate.gov as an excellent resource to better visualize how different food groups can be represented on a plate.
It is important to educate children on different cultures and their common dietary preferences. These conversations may create opportunities to try new foods or build deeper connections with others in our community. Local markets are a great way to support small businesses while also learning about local farmers and how their produce gets to our tables.
Teaching children about food choices and the impact nutrition has on our bodies is not a one-and-done lesson. By encouraging balance and a curiosity to learn about nutrition, children can be better equipped to make healthy lifestyle choices as they grow.
For Heart Month,Irfan Asif, M.D., chair of theUniversity of Alabama at BirminghamDepartment of Family and Community Medicine, offers tips for maintaining cardiac health while exercising and playing sports.
Regular exercise has many benefits, including building muscle endurance and strength. Exercising can help people reach and maintain a healthy weight, while improving overall cardiovascular health. Exercise can help modify or control many cardiovascular risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes and unhealthy cholesterol levels.
There is an inverse relationship between regular exercise and heart disease, said Asif, associate dean for Primary Care and Rural Health at UAB. This includes a beneficial effect of lowering bad cholesterol and raising good cholesterol. Exercise also lowers inflammation in your body and reduces blood pressure, both of which have protective benefits for the heart.
For athletes younger than 35, the chance of having heart problems is much lower than for those over 35. However, about one in 300 individuals has an underlying heart condition and is unaware of it. Some of these underlying conditions include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which is an enlarged heart, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, an electrical problem within the heart, and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, where fat infiltrates the heart. Many of these conditions typically show up before the age of 35.
We dont know the exact mechanism that triggers problems with those conditions yet, Asif said. We are still trying to determine if exercising at high intensity causes a little problem to become a big problem, or if there is another factor, such as not getting enough oxygen. We still have a lot to learn about that.
Asif says individuals over 35, and especially those over age 50, are at higher risk of coronary artery disease. Blockages in the heart often occur due to buildup in the arteries that occurs over time. That buildup might get worse with diabetes, high blood pressure or smoking.
Asif reminds people that regular exercise is important. Getting 150 minutes per week is a good goal, balancing between endurance training, such as running, biking or walking, and strength training to build muscle.
Astudyin the Journal of theAmerican Medical Associationshowed that increasing moderate to vigorous physical activity by 10, 20 or 30 minutes per day was associated with a 6.9 percent, 13 percent or 16.9 percent decrease, respectively, in the number of adult deaths per year in the United States.
Shortness of breath can be tough to quantify; but if you are getting unexpectedly short of breath, are in more pain than usual or if you pass out, you should go straight to a medical provider to be checked out, he said.
Your health care provider might do certain tests to determine which exercises are safe for you or which heart rate zones you might need to stay within, but the specifics are dependent on the type of disease, Asif said.
Although Asif says that most people who had a mild case of COVID-19 usually do not face cardiac issues, he recommends that those who experienced a more moderate to severe case get their heart checked by a doctor before resuming athletic activities.
Most often with COVID-19, we have seen myocarditis, or inflammation of the heart, after infection, he said. In addition to COVID-19, it can occur after other viral infections, such as influenza, and can lead to heart trouble. The risk is highest in the short-term aftermath of an infection and diminishes over time.
According to thecardiopulmonary guidelines for high school student-athletes during the pandemic, published by theNational Federation of State High School Associations, after a moderate case of COVID-19, if athletes experience any initial cardiopulmonary symptoms such as chest pain or palpitations, they should be evaluated by a clinician.
Cardiac testing is recommended for any athletes with cardiopulmonary symptoms during the acute phase of infection, Asif said. Carefully screening for those symptoms and conducting tests as needed can help get athletes back into competition safely.
No one wants to think about potential health issues when traveling. Unfortunately, long car rides or flights raise your risk of getting a blood clot, spoiling your vacation, or worse. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) estimates that 900,000 people are affected by blood clots each year, and 100,000 die as a result. The most common type of blood clot is called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and it can lead to a life-threatening condition known as a pulmonary embolism.
March is national Deep Vein Thrombosis Awareness Month and a popular time for making a spring getaway, so its a good time to assess your risk and take these simple, preventive steps: Know your risk, know the symptoms, and move around.
What is a Deep Vein Thrombosis? Blood is supposed to flow easily throughout the body, and it should only clot when you have a cut. A blood clot is a mass of blood forming where it should not, within a vein or artery. A DVT is a blood clot in a vein, usually in the leg, thigh, or pelvis. If it breaks loose and travels toward the lungs, this can cause a life-threatening condition called a pulmonary embolism.
Know Your Risk No matter your risk for DVT, it can increase when you sit still for journeys of 4 hours or more. Why? Sitting for long periods slows blood flow in the veins of the legs. Most people who develop a DVT during travel have some of these risk factors:
If you have any of these risk factors, talk to your doctor about precautions you can take prior to long-distance travel, such as wearing compression stockings or taking medication to prevent blood clots.
Know the Symptoms If you have DVT symptoms, call your doctor as soon as possible. If you have symptoms indicating that your DVT may have become a pulmonary embolism, seek immediate care from a doctor or hospital. Doctors often can help your body dissolve blood clots with medicine or a device.
Move Around Any movement in your lower body helps increase blood flow. Whether you are in a car, plane, or train, make a point to move around at least every 2-3 hours preferably more often. Here are some tips:
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