Saturday, July 25, 2020

July 26, Americans with Disabilities Act Signed

National Disability Independence Day


President George Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act during a ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House on July 26, 1990.



President Donald J. Trump Proclaims July 26, 2017, as a Day in Celebration of the 27th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act.


For Americans with disabilities,
Trump’s policies are dangerous
.


Across the country, people with disabilities are continuing to lead the fight for inclusivity and recognition, with the support of their families, advocates, and human services professionals. What will happen under a Trump administration? The fight is going to get a lot harder.

Trump’s mocking of disabled New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski in 2016 has been widely recognized, but his actual policies for people with disabilities are just terrible. His plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), even without a replacement, is dangerous for the many people with disabilities who now worry about losing their health insurance. His promise to cut Medicaid is also disastrous for the more than 10 million people with disabilities who rely on it in order to receive services, like community-based care which promotes independent living opportunities and integrated work and community environments. And his record of haphazardly enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as the removal of the White House website’s pages on access and inclusion shortly after he came to office, indicate very clearly that people with disabilities are simply not a priority for a Trump administration.


Donald Trump Accused of Mocking Reporter with Disability




I don't understand how our President can make fun of a disabled person and numerous ethnic groups. 

Health Care

As our country decides on a new health care program, those of us with disabled and elderly family members - wait in fear. Though Trump promised he would not touch Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,



Resources
United States Department of Labor, Americans with Disabilities Act
ADA.gov, Home Page
Wikipedia, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
Huffpost, 3 Trump Properties Hit With New Disabilities Violations Complaints
Including his brand-new, “very special” hotel in Washington, D.C.
Daily Beast, 
Donald Trump’s War on People With Disabilities





Friday, July 24, 2020

July 24, National Drive-Thru Day
The Pros and Cons of
"Drive-Thru Restaurants”






Nutrition Entertainment

Taco Bell Drive-Thru Song
As a Registered Dietitian, I was curious about how many calories, fat, and sodium was in their order. Per person, if everything was consumed, the total intake would be:

Calories: 3,549; Fat: 179 g; Sodium: 7782 mg

The calorie intake is excessive (by about 1000-2000 calories); Fat about 3 times the normal range; and sodium is off the chart (recommendation - less than 1500 to 2300 mg/day). However, the song is funny and I look forward to hearing more from Rhett and Link.



Drive-Thru Rap: Healthy Version
Rhett and Link are concerned about people's health and created the
Healthy Version of the Drive-Thru Rap.

Rhett and Link are a North Carolina-based comedy duo consisting of life-long best friends, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal. They are best known for their Internet videos. In addition to their web presence, Rhett and Link are also musicians and filmmakers and have worked in network television as hosts. They own and operate a video production company, Rhett and Link, Inc. To learn more about the talented duo visit http://rhettandlink.com/.

Friday, June 26, 2020

June 25, National Strawberry Parfait Day

June 25 is designated as National Strawberry Parfait Day. Parfaits are associated with high calories, but with portion planning, you can turn a parfait into a healthy snack.

Strawberry Parfait with Granola



Ingredients.
1/4 cup Light Strawberry Ice Cream
1 Tablespoon Granola
1/4 cup Strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup Strawberries



Nutrition Information



Strawberry Parfait with
Frozen Strawberry Yogurt and Granola

Ingredients.
1/3 cup Light Frozen Strawberry Yogurt
2 Tablespoon Granola
1/4 cup Strawberries, chopped
1/2 cup Strawberries
1.5 teaspoons Strawberry Preserves


Nutrition Information. 165 Calories; 3 g Protein; 34 g Carbohydrates; 2 g Dietary Fiber; 3 g Fat (g); 7 mg Cholesterol; 49 mg Vitamin C; 120 mcg Folate; 48 mg Sodium

Wednesday, June 10, 2020

National Egg Roll Day


Egg rolls are a variety of deep-fried appetizers served in American Chinese restaurants. An egg roll is a cylindrical, savory roll with shredded cabbage, chopped pork, and other fillings inside a thickly-wrapped wheat flour skin, which is fried in hot oil. The dish is served warm, and is usually eaten with the fingers, dipped in duck sauce, soy sauce, plum sauce, or hot mustard, often from a cellophane packet. 

Egg rolls are a ubiquitous feature of American Chinese cuisine and are often served as free additions to American Chinese combination platters throughout the United States, along with fried rice and fortune cookies.


National Egg Roll Day - Baked Egg Rolls
Low in fat and crispy; Taste of Home 




Resources.
1. 
Egg roll, Wikipedia 

Sunday, May 31, 2020

June News, Events and Resources in Nutrition, Food, and Health

Current News, Resources, and Events in Nutrition, Food, Health, Environment, Safety, and Disability Rights. Encourages awareness and inspires ideas for Journalists, Educators, Consumers, and Health Professionals. Wellness News is updated daily and includes weekly and daily events. To view the entire Newsletter online click here.





June Wellness News

June Highlights

     International Men's Month
 Men's Health Month
  Father's Day



     June Dairy Month


     Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf Hurricane Season  (6/1-11/30)

  
   National Aphasia Awareness Month 
Migraine Awareness Month
Home Safety Month
Caribbean-American Heritage Month
Effective Communications Month
Audiobook Appreciation Month
Sports America Kids Month
Potty Training Awareness Month
Great Outdoors Month
June is Perennial Gardening Month
National Aquarium and Zoo Month
National Camping Month
National Rivers Month

Wellness News employs young adults with "Special Needs" (Cerebral Palsy, Autism, Down Syndrome, Muscular Dystrophy). Please make a donation with the proceeds going to special need adults. Contact Dr. Sandra Frank for additional information (recipenews@gmail.com).
Prepared by 

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

May 20th- Today’s Events in Food, Nutrition, and Humanity

National Quiche Lorraine Day – Recipe: Mexican Vegetarian Quiche, #EatingWell  http://bit.ly/2IvOZFM



National Rescue Dog Day – Animal Rescue Team, #HumaneSociety  http://bit.ly/2KBQHSD  Every year they rescue thousands of animals from puppy mills, animal fighting’s, natural disasters, and other animals suffering from life-threatening cruelty and neglect #foreverhomes


National Take Your Parents to the Playground Day - 5 Simple, Fun Ideas for Family Fitness, #WebMD  https://wb.md/2ka9fhy  Family activities and fitness at an early age can help children form healthy habits for life and create fun memories for families.


Pick Strawberries Day
Strawberries are easy to grow indoors or outside. It's a fun family activity to plant, grow, harvest and eat. Virtually fat-free, no cholesterol & an excellent source of folic acid; good source of potassium. Eat them out-of-hand, on the run. Just wash and bite — anytime.  http://bit.ly/2IVeGig





Food History: 1810 On this day Dolly Madison, wife of President James Madison, supposedly served the first ice cream at the White House





Friday, May 8, 2020

Screen-Free Week - Check-out the Alternative Activities




Screen-Free Week (formerly TV-Turnoff, founded 1994) is an annual event in which parents, children, teachers and others across the country turn off screen media (TV, video games, computers, cell phones, etc.) and celebrate the magic of being unplugged. Screen-Free Week is a program of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood.

Screen-Free Week


The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no screen time for children under 2 and less than 2 hours per day for older children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that parents create an electronic-media-free environment in children’s bedrooms.
 

The Benefits of Reduced Screen Time


• Reducing screen time can help prevent childhood obesity.

• Children who spend less time watching television in the early years tend to do better in schoolhave a healthier diet, and are more physically active.


Hazards of Too Much Screen Time

•Adolescents with a television in their bedroom spend more time watching TV and report less physical activity, less healthy dietary habits, worse school performance, and fewer family meals.

• Children with a television in their bedroom are more likely to be overweight.

Alternative Activities During Screen-Free Week
  • Prepare a family meal together
  • Take a walk in the park or neighborhood
  • Start a family fitness program
  • Plant a vegetable garden or grow a fruit tree
  • Plan a picnic or barbecue
  • Take a nature hike around your neighborhood
  • Organize a scavenger hunt
  • Learn yoga
  • Dance
  • Volunteer 

Resources
1. American Heart Association, Limit Screen Time and Get Your Kids (and the WholeFamily) Moving 
2. Screen-Free Week: 50+ Fun Screen-Free Activities for Kids


Thursday, May 7, 2020

National Pet Week
Health Benefits






Health Benefits of a Pet



Studies have found that:
• Pet owners are less likely to suffer from depression than those without pets.
• People with pets have lower blood pressure in stressful situations than those without pets.
• Playing with a pet can elevate levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm and relax.
• Pet owners have lower triglyceride and cholesterol levels than those without pets.
• Heart attack patients with pets survive longer than those without.
• Pet owners over age 65 make 30 percent fewer visits to their doctors than those without pets.

Caring for a pet can help with those healthy lifestyle changes by:

• Increasing exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to involve boring repetition at a gym. Taking a dog for a walk, riding a horse, or simply chasing a kitten around are fun ways to fit healthy daily exercise into your schedule.
• Providing companionship. Isolation and loneliness can make disorders such as depression even worse. Caring for a living animal can help make you feel needed and wanted, and take the focus away from your problems. Most pet owners talk to their pets, some even use them to work through their troubles.
• Helping meet new people. Pets can be a great social lubricant for their owners. Dog owners frequently stop and talk to each other on walks or in a dog park. Pet owners also meet new people in pet stores, clubs, and training classes.
• Reducing anxiety. The companionship of a dog can offer comfort, help ease anxiety, and build self-confidence for people anxious about going out into the world.
• Adding structure and routine to your day. Many pets, especially dogs, require a regular feeding and exercise schedule. No matter your mood—depressed, anxious, or stressed—you’ll always have to get out of bed to feed, exercise, and care for your pet.
• Providing sensory stress relief. Touch and movement are two healthy ways to quickly manage stress. This could involve petting a cat or taking a dog for a walk.

Pets and older adults
The key to aging well is to effectively handle life’s major changes, such as retirement, the loss of loved ones, and the physical changes of aging. Pets can play an important role in healthy aging by:
• Helping you find meaning and joy in life. As you age, you’ll lose things that previously occupied your time and gave your life purpose. You may retire from your career or your children may move far away. Caring for a pet can bring pleasure and help boost your morale and optimism. Taking care of an animal can also provide a sense of self-worth.
• Staying connected. Maintaining a social network isn’t always as easy as you grow older. Retirement, illness, death, and moves can take away close friends and family members. And making new friends can get harder. Dogs especially are a great way for seniors to spark up conversations and meet new people.
• Boosting vitality. You can overcome many of the physical challenges associated with aging by taking good care of yourself. Pets encourage playfulness, laughter, and exercise, which can help boost your immune system and increase your energy.

Resources and References

American Humane Association
5 Ways Pets Can Improve Your Health

Thursday, April 30, 2020

May News, Events and Resources in Nutrition, Food, and Health

Current News, Resources and Events in Nutrition, Food, Health, Environment, Safety, and Disability Rights. Encourages awareness and inspires ideas for Journalists, Educators, Consumers and Health Professionals. Wellness News is updated daily. To view the entire Newsletter online click here.









May Highlights
Women's Health Care Month 

Older Americans Month

Arthritis Awareness Month 
Better Hearing & Speech Month 
Lupus Awareness Month 
Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month 
National Allergy/Asthma Awareness Month 
National Celiac Disease Awareness Month 

National Stroke Awareness Month Prader-Willi Syndrome Awareness Month 
National Physical Fitness and Sports Month
National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month

National High Blood Pressure
Education Month


National Family Month 


May Food Events




Saturday, April 25, 2020

National Youth Sports Safety Month and Nutritional Needs

Written by Tracy S. Williams, BS, Nutrition Educator. 
Learn more about Tracy at Tracy's Plate


April is National Youth Sports Safety Month, created to focus attention on sports safety and injury prevention for children and teen athletes. Proper nutrition is also important for healthy youth athletics. Eating right will help children and teens to be healthier and stronger for competition and in their daily life.

National Playground Safety Week is a time to focus on children's outdoor play environments. A time to pledge to use good judgment when playing. A time for gratitude for all the adults who work tirelessly on maintaining our playgrounds.



Feeding Young Athletes

While feeding a child athlete may seem like a challenge, it only requires a little knowledge and extra planning. Children need optimal nutrition for fueling and recovery from training as well as meet the calorie demands of growth and maturation. It is important to help kids refuel with carbohydrates, focusing on family mealtime before and after practice or competition.

It is ideal for the family to sit down together for a pre-game breakfast. Three hours beforehand, an optimal pre-game breakfast could include sliced and slightly grilled potatoes, paired with scrambled eggs and nutrient-rich fruit such as berries and orange juice or fat-free or low-fat milk. Hydration is always important before, during and after practice and competitions. Dehydration occurs when your child fails to adequately replace fluid loss through sweating. Dehydration that exceeds 2% of body weight loss harms exercise performance, so make sure your child replace fluid loss after exercise performance, so make sure your child drinks small amounts of water throughout the game. Potassium and carbohydrates are important nutrients to replenish after exercise. Potassium and carbohydrates are found in bananas, potatoes, and fat-free or low-fat yogurt or milk. Chocolate milk is a particularly good post-competition recovery beverage.

If you have more than one child in sports, the hours after practice or a weekday competition may require snacking before dinner. Have pre-prepared snacks ready when kids arrive home hungry after a hard after-school practice or game. These snacks can be cut-up fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt and smoothies. For a tasty and filling post-game family dinner, serve baked or broiled lean cuts of meat such as lean beef or pork, chicken breast, salmon or tuna. Add whole grains, like whole-wheat pasta with a low-fat tomato or cheese sauce. Toss in vegetables or include a side salad. Parents and kids should complete their meal with fruit for dessert, such as baked apples or pears along with a glass of low-fat or fat-free milk. Or create an instant yogurt parfait with layers of low-fat vanilla yogurt, fresh, frozen or canned fruit, and crunchy whole grain cereal. Be sure to consume all five food groups throughout the day, protein, grains, vegetables, fruits and dairy to give your family and young athletes the nutrients and calories they need.

Eating Adequate Calories and Nutrients

Young athletes often push themselves harder than usual, training intensely to gain a competitive edge. This increased activity requires eating more calories to meet the demands of training and recovery in addition to calories needed for growth and development. Children and teens may not understand how their calorie need translate into daily food choices. Bone health is a major concern as girls and boys build 60 to 80 percent of their lifetime bone mass by age 18. If young athletes restrict their eating to keep weight down for sports like gymnastics, skating or wrestling, bone growth may be diminished. Restricted diets can also be low in calcium, vitamin D, which contributes to poor bone formation.

Other potential effects of eating too few calories are increased the risk of injury, and lowered endurance and decreased muscle strength. It can also reduce response to training, decrease coordination, and impair judgment and increase irritability and depression. The good news is correcting low-calorie intake can get athletic performance back to optimum levels.

It is important for parents to teach their children about the calorie demands of their training and the relationship proper nutrition, to good bone health and injury prevention and optimal training. Keep an eye out for weight loss and changes in mood as well as create a supportive environment in which girls and boys can consume three meals and one to three snacks per day. Missing one meal on a regular basis can result in an inadequate calorie intake.

School Nutrition for Athletes

A well-balanced diet provides children and teen athletes with the calories and nutrients they need to power their workouts and support their rapid growth. According to a study in the 2006 Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, children and teens who play team sports have slightly better eating habits and higher intakes of key nutrients than kids who do not, but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Today breakfast is often available at school, so if students are late risers or are not ready to eat when they get up in the morning, they can still grab breakfast before class. When kids do not eat breakfast, they miss out on a big chunk of their day’s nutrition. That can rob them of important nutrients and also take its toll on their energy levels at practice later in the day.

Active kids need protein to support growth and build and repair hardworking muscles. Today protein is leaner than ever because of USDA guidelines encouraging schools to limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of overall calories. That means leaner meats, skinless chicken and low-fat dairy in yogurt parfaits, bean and cheese burritos, and egg and cheese wraps for breakfast. Turkey burgers and southwestern chef salads and rice and bean bowls at lunch.

Carbohydrates are the optimal fuel for sports and exercise because they are naturally used for proper energy. The best place to get them is from slowly digested, nutrient-rich whole grains. At breakfast, kids will now start their day with whole grain versions of cereal, mini pancakes, and zucchini or banana bread. For lunch, they will dig into whole wheat spaghetti with meat sauce, chicken sandwiches on whole grain buns and baked chicken tenders with brown rice.

Good hydration should begin early in the day before kids even set foot on the playing field. While sports drinks might be a smart move, water is better for hydration for training that only lasts an hour. Sports drinks are best when used for a two-hour training session or during games.

Parents can provide nutritious meals after a game or training session. Hard training could contribute to an eating disorder if athletes do not have proper nutrition. School cafeterias can contribute to proper nutrition for student-athletes. Nutrition will always be a key component for the safety and strength for all athletes.
           


Tuesday, April 21, 2020

April is Global Child Nutrition Month






Global Child Nutrition Month and the Global Child Nutrition Foundation is running a month-long campaign to help raise funds and awareness for school feeding programs in developing nations.

The Global Child Nutrition Foundation was created in 2006 with the mission of expanding opportunities for the world’s children to receive adequate nutrition for learning and achieving their potential. It continues and expands upon the work of the Global Child Nutrition Forum, formerly conducted by the School Nutrition Association (SNA). Created in 1946, SNA advocates healthy nutrition for every child in the United States.

GCNF is dedicated to helping countries develop and operate successful, sustainable, school feeding programs. GCNF provides training and education to support the development of community-based school feeding programs that respond to the nutritional needs of children while considering local cultural and community values.





To learn more about the work of Global Child Nutrition Foundation, please visit their website.

Your support of GCNF and commitment to ending childhood hunger makes a difference in the lives of the world’s children.

Investing in world's poorest children
can save millions of lives, UN study finds



Children of the World

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