By: Angie Moreno
Hooray! It’s every Registered Dietitian Nutritionist’s favorite month! A month where they literally get to talk about Nutrition the entire month (as if they don’t already!). For those of us who are unfamiliar with the purpose of National Nutrition Month, here’s the scoop…
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND)—the most credible source of scientifically-based food and nutrition information—created this annual nutrition education campaign to inform the public of the importance of good nutrition and healthful eating. The campaign focuses on the significance of making informed food choices and developing healthy eating and exercise habits. This includes the benefits of a balanced diet, how to read nutrition facts labels, and understanding Dietary Guidelines and MyPlate—the current nutrition guide, which replaced the USDA’s MyPyramid guide, is a food circle resembling a pie chart divided into five food groups.
Additionally, National Nutrition Month promotes AND and its registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) members to the public. RDN’s are even separately recognized with their own day and are celebrated on the second Wednesday in March—this year, it’s on March 13th. This occasion increases awareness of registered dietitian nutritionists as the indispensable providers of food and nutrition services, while also recognizing registered nutrition and dietetic technicians for their commitment to helping people enjoy healthy lives.
What’s more, the theme for 2019, Bite into a Healthier Lifestyle, promotes goal setting to help manage weight successfully, reduce risk of chronic diseases, and promote general health. These goals include: eat a balanced diet, read nutrition facts labels, consume fewer calories, get daily exercise, and make informed food choices. It may sound simple enough, but these “simple” goals are easier to follow with a strong base of nutrition knowledge. And that is the purpose of National Nutrition Month.
So, let me ask you this—What does proper nutrition mean to you? Don’t worry, it’s not a test. We can all benefit from nutrition education to have a better understanding of the foods we eat. The great thing about National Nutrition Month is that nutrition education comes in all forms to help people of varying levels of food and dietary knowledge in a community. Yes, it would be wonderful if everyone’s main dietary concern was eating organic, non-GMO, grass-fed, free-range, no preservatives added foods. But, this isn’t the case. What is important to some may not be the focus of others. Some may be extremely food label and ingredient list savvy and want to know how to better prepare healthy, home cooked meals for their family, whereas others are interested in shopping on a budget. Even further, some in our very own community deal with food insecurity and are simply concerned with putting food on the table. Being food insecure means not having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of nutritious food within one’s means. A food-insecure household may be faced with the difficult choice of paying for basic necessities, like housing or paying bills, or buying nutritionally suitable foods.
School programs providing breakfast and lunch for children who are food insecure are a huge benefit in affording them proper nutrition for a good portion of the day. And, community food banks, such as our local Second Harvest Food Bank, collect and provide food to 60,000 members in 6 different counties. Second Harvest offers further programs like Back Pack Buddies which gives 800+ kids a weekend’s worth of food until they return back to school for free breakfasts and lunches, and the SUNshine box program which allows seniors to receive groceries once a month.
If this gets you rethinking the question, What is proper nutrition? Good. If it sparks a desire to help, even better. If you want to learn more about Second Harvest Food Bank and their programs, make a donation, or get involved, check out their website at http://shfblv.org.
If you want to attend an event which supports local wellness-based small businesses and try a variety of group fitness classes and ALL proceeds and food contributions will be donated to Second Harvest, check out the Second Annual Workout and Wellness Expo on Saturday, March 23, 2019 from 9:00am-1:00pm at Macungie Memorial Park (50 N. Poplar St., Macungie, PA 18062). Health, fitness, and wellness-based companies will offer stop-by booths while group exercise classes are held throughout the event. Bring canned, boxed, or non-perishable food, or personal hygiene items to trade in for raffle tickets for great prizes. Entry is $5 or $10 to attend the classes. Children under 18 are free! Click on the flyer link for full event details–> Workout Wellness Expo flyer 2019
To find out more about National Nutrition Month and all things nutrition, visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics website. And, don’t forget to hug your favorite Registered Dietitian Nutritionist this Wednesday, March 13th—or, at least thank them for helping to make the world a healthier place. Contact your trusted RDN’s at Advantage Nutrition & Wellness for any of your nutrition questions. Unbiasedly speaking, with over 19 years in business, the dietitians of ANW have rooted themselves in improving the health and well-being of the clients they serve through expert nutritional guidance. That is definitely an achievement worth celebrating (and deserving of a giant hug).
Interested in making a donation to Second Harvest? Click here to check out their current list of most needed food and personal hygiene items.
Angie Moreno is a contributing writer with a BS in Nutrition. She has worked in corporate wellness for 18 years and written for several fitness magazines. She is also an avid supporter of Second Harvest Food Bank.
*A personal shout out and big THANK YOU to ANW for supporting the Second Annual Workout and Wellness Expo and for being a sponsor! Your support is greatly appreciated!
