“Put Your Best Fork Forward” - March is National Nutrition Month

Jefferson County Public Health and the JCPH WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program encourage everyone to “Put Your Best Fork Forward” for this year’s National Nutrition Month®.  

“Put Your Best Fork Forward” acts as a reminder that each bite counts. Making just small shifts in our food choices, can add up over time. More specifically this year’s theme focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. 

Making small changes during National Nutrition Month®, and over time, helps improve health now and into the future. 

The National Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests everyone try the following five ways to make eating healthier easier: 

1. Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods. 
2. Practice cooking more at home, and experiment with healthier ingredients.
3. How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you, as MyPlate, a healthy eating tool from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, encourages us to do.
4. Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
5. Manage your weight and lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist. Registered Dietitian Nutritonists (RDNs) can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.

Eating healthy also means paying close attention to what you and your family are drinking. Many parents and caregivers are not aware of the hidden sugar in many of the beverages that they give to their children. That’s why Jefferson County Public Health, in conjunction with the Healthy Beverage Partnership,  is promoting a new campaign aimed at educating parents and caregivers about the harmful effects of sugar, and informing them of the high sugar content in many of the beverages they may be giving to their kids. 

Parents are encouraged to visit www.hidden-sugar.org and take a pledge to reduce the amount of sugary drinks they provide to their children. Pledge to serve your family healthy beverages for 30 days and you’ll be automatically entered to win a family plus membership to the Denver Zoo, Children’s Museum, or the Museum of Nature and Science. 

JCPH also has more about this topic on display in the Jefferson County libraries throughout the months of March and April, with educational handouts available. 

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Day is celebrated March 8 and raises awareness of registered dietitian nutritionists as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services. JCPH recognizes RDNs for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives. Click here to download flyer and Meet the JCPH RDNs. You can also learn more about what they do for the JCPH WIC (Women, Infants and Children) Program by watching this video. 

For more information on National Nutrition Month, please visit Eat Right, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Visit http://jeffco.us/public-health for more information on Jefferson County Public Health and the WIC Program, one of the communituy nutrition resources JCPH offers.

The Jefferson County WIC Program is an active member of Healthy Jeffco, a network of over 300 community partners working collectively to make Jefferson County a healthier place to live, learn, work and play.

Celebrate Healthy Food Choices: National School Breakfast Week

Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) wants all Jefferson County children as healthy and strong as possible in order to make the grade this school year! National School Breakfast week from March 7-11, 2016 is right around the corner. The NSBW 2015 theme, “Wake Up to School Breakfast” is about making sure students, administrators, teachers and parents understand and encourage the importance of a nutritious breakfast. 

According to a report “Breakfast for Learning, 2014 by the Food Research and Action Council, students who participate in school breakfast show improved attendance, behavior, standardized achievement test scores, and decreased tardiness. Providing students with breakfast in the classroom setting is associated with lower tardy rates and fewer disciplinary office referrals.

JCPH understands the importance of fostering a healthy diet and making healthy food choices for children from day one. Our Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program can get answers to your health and nutrition questions. WIC helps mothers make infant feeding choices and provides breastfeeding support, children's growth checkups and referrals to other health services. Additionally, you can get one-on-one help to learn how to make healthy meals for your family to ensure everyone in your family is getting the proper nutrition and therefore achieving optimal health.

For toolkits, handouts, activity sheets and more information and fun activities, visit the School Nutrition Association’s National School Breakfast Week webpage.