Experts say practicing healthy nutrition year-round is a must for your day-to-day health and to help prevent chronic diseases.
SAN ANTONIO — March is National Nutrition Month. A reminder that small, consistent changes can have a powerful impact. Experts say discovering how your daily choices can fuel your body and strengthen your health is something that needs to be done throughout the year.
Eating healthy year round is a must, according to experts. It not only gives the fuel you need for your day-to-day life, but also helps keep disease away. And like anything else regarding your health, if you don’t do it for yourself, do it for your family.
“When you’re healthier, you can take care of your family better, you can work better,” said Dr. Julius Hunter, \director of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Program with San Antonio Metro Health. “Obviously it makes even the fun times that you’re having, with your family, it makes those better and more enjoyable.”
Keeping up with your diet is especially important in the Lone Star State, with a higher than average incidence of chronic disease in our community.
“It’s very important for people to know how to eat better, because a lot of those chronic diseases can be prevented or delayed with healthy nutrition,” said Hunter.
Here are some simple steps to power your day:
Choose foods from all food groups for balanced nutrition. Avoid restrictive fad diets and seek advice backed by science.Plan meals ahead to reduce stress. Practice safe food handling at home. Incorporate physical activity in ways that fit your lifestyle.
Also, connect with community resources like SNAP, WIC and local food programs, and recognize the power of nutrition. It isn’t about what you can’t eat or drink, but what you can add to your diet to make it better.
“A lot of that negative stigma prevents people from even getting educated,” said Hunter. “I don’t even go to that class because they’re going to tell me all the things I need to give up,”
In South Texas, San Antonio’s Metro Health offers many free nutrition and chronic disease prevention programs, including their Diabetes Prevention and Control Program, and it isn’t just about diabetes.
“In those in those workshops, we discuss principles of eating better, of living healthier, increasing your physical activity as well as reducing stress,” said Hunter.
