October is Family Health Month and a great time to think about your family’s health! Have you ever wondered how to get your whole family involved in physical fitness and nutrition? The following tips are easy ways busy families can incorporate healthy choices into their daily routines.
Tip #1: Lead by example when it comes to your family’s health and nutrition habits. Your kids will watch your healthy practices and aspire to do as you do. One way to start is by keeping your fridge stocked with fresh fruits and veggies, and limiting junk food that’s available in the house. That’s an easy way to ensure the whole family stays on track for good nutrition.
Tip #2: Introduce physical activity to your children early to ensure it becomes a lifetime habit. For example, rather than push your infant in a stroller, walk together. Make activities fun and participate as a role model – it’s a great way to motivate your kids and improve your own health in the process.
Tip #3: Start small with healthy nutrition if it’s not already part of your family’s regular routine. You can begin by including a bag of baby carrots in the lunchbox, or adding sliced bananas to your child’s pancakes in the morning. Gradually increase fruit and vegetable servings until you have reached 4-5 servings per day.
Tip #4: Just 10-20 minutes three times a day of uninterrupted exercise is a great way to keep kids fit. Taking a walk and dancing to a few music videos are great options. You may also consider starting the morning with a quick exercise routine for your kids, which could be easy as 10 jumping jacks, 10 sit-ups, 10 push-ups, and 10 squat thrusts. Activity in the morning will energize kids throughout the day. It’s also important to limit sedentary activities like watching TV and playing computer and video games. If your children know they are limited to one hour of TV or video games each day, they are more likely to become interested in outdoor physical activities.
Tip #5: The color of the foods you eat makes a difference when it comes to your health. Phytonutrients (plant nutrients) that make up the different colors of fruits and vegetables are natural defenses produced by the plants. These nutrients help protect plants, and when we eat them, they can maintain our health as well. The wider the variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, the wider the range of plant protective nutrients your body will have. Here’s what you can find in some popular fruits/vegetables:
· Green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, collard greens or Brussels sprouts, are high in vitamins and minerals.
· Orange vegetables contain high levels of alpha carotene, a powerful antioxidant that helps maintain healthy skin.
· Red fruits & vegetables contain the most amount of lycopene, a phytonutrient found to help maintain healthy eyes & digestive systems.
· Blue fruits contain anthocyanins, which contain some of the most potent antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Tip #6: If your child’s school lunches aren’t nutritionally balanced, help advocate for change. Just one parent can make a big difference for students. By talking to other parents and attending school board meetings, you can initiate change for healthier menu choices.
Tip #7: Have the whole family lend a hand during mealtime. It can be an important bonding time, and also a great way to reinforce the importance of making healthy choices. If you have a picky eater, have him or her choose one vegetable from 4-5 choices that you provide to incorporate into the meal. This gives the child a sense of control as you gradually change their old habits. Provide this vegetable every day or so for 2 weeks, which will eventually enable your child’s taste buds to get used to this new food.
Tip #8: Plan family vacations centered on activity, such as skiing or skating in the winter months, and swimming, hiking or bike riding during the warmer months.
Tip #9: Make sure to apply sunscreen prior to any outdoor activity…not just in the summer. The sun’s rays can be more direct in the winter, so have your kids use sunscreen whenever they go outside. If your child is not eating fortified dairy products or fatty fish or not taking a vitamin supplement that contains vitamin D, try to allow 10 minutes outside without sunscreen to help the body make vitamin D. Remember that sunscreen should be re-applied every few hours.
Tip #10: It’s critical to stay hydrated during exercise. Drink plenty of water – before, during and after exercise – to prevent dehydration. It’s best to drink 1-2 cups of water a half hour before exercise and one cup of water every half hour during exercise. Also, remember to drink 1-2 cups of water after exercise is completed. If kids get bored of water, try serving a mix of water and 100 percent juice to add some flavor to the water.
