How We Can ALL Teach Kids to be Healthy

I admit it. I’ve been a little distracted since arriving in New York a few weeks ago to teach for HealthCorps. Not only have I been busy teaching and developing curricula for my wonderful students, (HealthCorps Coordinators that will be teaching nutrition and health education to high school kids next year), I’ve also been enjoying New York City (FOOD) and seeing old friends. It hasn’t left me much time to write here or anywhere else!

But I’ve been inspired this week - I was lucky enough to hear both Dr. Oz and Dr. David Katz speak and I also brought in a wonderful presenter, both friend and brilliant pediatric neurologist, Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein. She uses nutrition and a holistic approach to improve behavioral and cognitive function in children based on medical studies - she is doing amazing work, as are Dr. Oz and Dr. Katz.

It was so encouraging to hear three medical doctors promote such cutting-edge nutrition information and theories. After years of studying at a naturopathic school (Bastyr University) and teaching about the healing power of food, it’s gratifying to see that alternative medicine is finally going mainstream. (I was so excited to see a recent article in TIME magazine promoting prevention of disease but upon reading it, I was dismayed to discover a continuous reference to vaccinations  - which is strange because vaccinations don’t prevent heart disease, cancer, and diabetes which is what’s causing most of our health problems…). Clearly, we still have a long way to go - all three doctors admit that it’s often hard for them to convince their colleagues that there is better path than drugs and surgeries - but, fortunately, that hasn’t stopped any of them from doing everything they can to improve the health of our children.

And these doctors aren’t just talking - they are taking action. Both Dr. Katz and Dr. Shetreat-Klein work on clinical studies to prove the connection between nutrition/nutrition education and health. And while Washington D.C. is scrambling to create policy and legislation to help staunch the worsening childhood obesity epidemic, Dr. Oz and Dr. Katz have been developing pragmatic programs within the school system to help hundreds of children and teens learn more about nutrition and fitness.

Dr. Oz has been focusing on educating high school students for the last 4 years through HealthCorps and is now in 50 schools throughout 9 states. Dr. Katz and his wife, Catherine have been working hard to bring nutrition education to elementary school kids by developing innovative and effective programs called Nutrition Detectives (the kids learn how to read food labels) and ABC Fitness (Activity Bursts in the Classroom). And the best part about these two programs? They generously offer the entire curriculum and DVD free of charge on Dr. Katz’s website!

Just like I wrote about in my You Have the Power to Change the Food System post, Dr. Katz and Catherine Katz believe that we all have an opportunity to make a difference - they refer to it as “sandbags” against a flood. If each of us picks up just one sandbag, we have a chance at improving the health of this generation of children. So, if you have children, know people with children or work in education, order these wonderful resources at Dr. Katz’s website and give them to parents you know and your local elementary school staff. And if you know any recent college grads looking for rewarding work, have them look into becoming a HealthCorps Coordinator.

This is also a great time of year to get involved in a School Wellness program at your local school - many educators feel overwhelmed with too much work, so people from the community who are willing to step in and help promote nutrition education and fitness to kids is very needed. Are you a yoga instructor? A personal trainer? A homecook? A gardener? Help pick up a sandbag by calling your local school and seeing how you can help teach kids a new skill that will keep them healthy and fit for life.

And for those of you who are interested in learning more about food labeling, Dr. Katz has created a new and inventive nutritional scoring system to be placed on food packages so that busy consumers can quickly figure out if it’s a healthful, nutrient-dense product that’s worth their hard-earned money. It’s called NuVal - it’s already in 18 states and expanding throughout the country. Check it out at www.nuval.com.

Have a fantastic weekend!

P.s. I promise recipes next post!