Healthy eating, healthy you is the key message for March, which is National Nutrition Month. The American Dietetic Association's campaign reinforces the importance of healthy eating along with physical activity.

Good health begins with healthy eating and proper nutrition to get the most out of life. A health lifestyle can help us feel great and be our best at work and play. Matching food choices with lifestyle and individual health requirements helps maintain a healthy weight. Individual needs and preferences should always be taken into consideration when determining an eating plan. Having a variety of food choices and exploring new tastes not only promotes nutrition, it also increases the pleasurable aspects or eating. Make moderation the goal with you deciding how much and how often. Being deprived or feeling guilty does not make for healthy eating. Look at what you eat over several days, not just one meal or one day.

Developing a personal fitness plan is essential to maintaining or losing weight and developing a healthier lifestyle. Expensive equipment and a complicated fitness plan are not necessary. The key is to find activities you enjoy and will continue.

For more information on developing a healthy lifestyle, contact us at 728-9400. Happy eating!

Maintaining Your Good Health
By Bonita Jewell, RN HSS

• Be an informed consumer. Read as much as you can about health and wellness and about any specific health condition you may have. If you have access to the Internet, searching the web can prove very productive. Look for .org, .gov, and .edu addresses to help gauge their reliability and accuracy.
• Be aware of disease symptoms. Know when to seek medical care.
• When visiting your physician, prepare ahead. Make a list of questions you may have. If you have more than a few items to discuss, put them in order so you can ask the most important questions first. It may be helpful to take a friend or family member with you to the appointment. This person can be an objective listener and help you remember what the physician said.
• Make sure that your physician has the full picture of what is going on, including:
  • What the symptoms are, when they started, and when and if they go away
  • Is there any pain associated with the symptoms?
  • Did anything change in your lifestyle before the symptoms started?
  • Does anything relieve the symptoms or make them worse?
  • Has anyone in your family had similar symptoms?
• Speak up. Share your point of view with your health care professional. No one knows your body better than you. He/She needs to know what is working for you and what is not.
• Know your family medical history. Knowing your family medical history can make and keep you aware of any diseases you may be predisposed to through genetics. For example, breast cancer and colon cancer have been proven to be familial.
• Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy, nutritious diet, exercising regularly, managing stress, consuming alcohol only in moderation, and not smoking can help keep you healthy.
• Always ask your health care professional for a full explanation. If medications, tests, or treatments are ordered, ask for a full explanation, including side effects you may experience.
• Schedule regular medical checkups and screenings. This is to monitor your current health and identify problems early.
• Seek a second opinion if you feel you need more information. This may be especially important if you ever face surgery or treatment for a chronic or life-threatening illness.

Source: The National Women's Health Resource Center, http://www.healthywomen.org