Forgive me, but today we’re talking about healthy eating and I’m going straight for the “ewww!” factor.
Did you know that the average American downs the equivalent of 22 teaspoons of sugar a day? Or consumes more than 63 pounds of fat a year?
Did you know that constipation, acne and bloating are all possible side effects of a fast-food diet – not to mention long-term health effects like fat buildup in your arteries that make it more difficult for blood to pump through your veins, leading to heart disease and stroke?
I really don’t mean to ruin that next order of nuggets, but it’s important to know the health impacts of the food we eat. Poor diet leads to more deaths annually than tobacco use, some studies show.
Unfortunately, eating healthy isn’t as easy as it should be. There are some pockets of New Jersey that lack access to supermarkets that provide fresh produce and other healthy foods. We call these areas “food deserts,” and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 134 such areas in New Jersey – which is sadly ironic for a state nicknamed the Garden State.
New Jersey’s healthcare community is committed to promoting good nutrition across the state. From cooking classes to community gardens, mobile farmers’ markets to mealtime makeovers, the nutritionists and dietitians at New Jersey hospitals and other healthcare facilities are experts in making healthy, great-tasting foods more accessible to the people of New Jersey.
This summer, the New Jersey Hospital Association is bringing some of those efforts to you through the #HealthyEatsNJ Roadshow. We’re traveling to healthcare organizations across the state to feature healthy eating advice from these nutrition experts. They will share tips such as the power of honey as an all-natural sweetener, how to make nutritious food swaps in your diet and even how to make pork roll – or Taylor ham if that’s your style – a more healthy option. You can find it all at www.njha.com/HealthyEatsNJ and on NJHA’s social media feeds – including several Facebook Live food demonstrations – using the hashtag #HealthyEatsNJ.
As someone who wears many hats, including nurse and working mom, this issue is very important to me. The U.S. obesity rate has increased steadily the past two decades, but the problem is especially great for our kids. In the last 20 years, the obesity rate has tripled in children and quadrupled in adolescents. At those ages, they’re not thinking about what their food choices today will mean for their health status tomorrow. But we know that diets high in calories, saturated fats, sodium and added sugar are linked to higher rates of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and several types of cancer including cervical, colon, kidney, liver and ovarian.
Convincing a generation to cut the fat and up the fiber won’t be easy. But by doing our small part to raise awareness, we aim to make New Jersey a healthier place, one bite at a time.
Shannon Davila, RN, is director of the Institute for Quality and Patient Safety at the New Jersey Hospital Association.
