Mesa County Healthy Families

TACKLING CHILDHOOD OBESITY make lifestyle changes

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Laugh more & yell less at your kids

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“We Can! Mesa County” program helps families

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APRIL - JUNE 2013 JANUARY - MARCH 2013

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We understand Colorado. We understand you.

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Being gluten-free is not just for celiac disease sufferers JA N UA RY - M A R CH 2 0 13 Vol. 1 No. 2

M A N AG I N G ED I TO R Tracy Dvorak

A DV ER T IS I N G S A L ES Linda Findley Tamara Morris

P U B L I C AT I O N D ES I G N ER Carly Hoover

P H OTO G R A P H Y thinkstockphotos.com

CO N T R I B U TO RS Krista Bush Angel Goodman Thomas Lynch Melode Mariner Dr. Scott Rollins Caitlin Row April Schulte-Barclay Paule Stief ler Dr. Barbara

P R I N T I N G & P R E- P R ES S Colorado Mountain News Media 200 Lindbergh Dr. Gypsum, CO 81637

P U B L IIS S H ED Q UA R T ER LY BY

Grand Junction Free Press 145 N. 4th St. Grand Junction, CO 81501 www.gjfreepress.com 970.243.2200 The content provided in Mesa County Healthy Families quarterly magazine is designed for informational purposes only.

It is not intended to be a substitute for personal medical advice or care. Always consult your family physician if you have any questions or concerns.

Whether you have celiac disease or gluten/wheat intolerance, more and more folks are hooking up with Gluten Free Grand Valley for support, resources and even recipes to help maintain a healthy lifestyle.

NUTRITION

FITNESS & EXERCISE

Living gluten-free ...... 4

Super-wellness ...... 10

Local support & resources for those living the gluten-free lifestyle.

Follow these steps to go beyond wellness and become “super-well.”

Buzzwords ...... 6 Just because something sounds good for you doesn’t mean it is.

BONUS FEATURE

FAMILY WELLNESS

HEALTHY PETS

Treating shingles ...... 8

Raw diet ...... 16

Acupuncture can be effective in treating complications of the ailment.

The best diet for your precious pooch or cat is a raw one.

Childhood obesity ...... 12

Unfriendly dogs ...... 17

Mesa County offers a program to work with affected families on this epidemic.

Tips on how to approach a surly dog and come out unscathed.

PARENTING

SKIN CARE

Make your kids laugh ...... 9

Unwanted belly overhang ... 18

Humor goes a long way in strengthening bonds between parent and child.

Non-invasive technique uses fat-freezing technology.

Unless otherwise noted, photos and illustrations are courtesy of thinkstock.com.

JANUARY - MARCH 2013

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Living NUTRITION

GLUTEN in the Grand Valley FREE

Local support group forms to help those with celiac disease and severe wheat allergies Caitlin Row crow@gjfreepress.com WHEN GRAND JUNCTION RESIDENT Angela Wetzel’s father was diagnosed with celiac disease more than three years ago, the doctor suggested his family members be tested for it, too.

Celiac disease is not a food allergy, and there’s a high instance of the disease occurring in those from the same bloodline. In those suffering from the disorder, celiac disease creates an overactive autoimmune response to the presence of gluten, causing a variety of health issues — from digestive discomfort to fibromyalgia and osteoporosis.

“I tested and came back positive,” said Wetzel of Grand Junction, and cutting gluten completely from her diet proved quite difficult at first. That’s because traces of gluten hide in a variety of food products you wouldn’t normally consider, like gum and even soy sauce.

So, not long after going gluten-free, Wetzel, 37, decided to form a support group for Grand Valley locals living with celiac disease. Members meet monthly to share recipes and restaurant recommendations, as well as other discuss other daily stresses from dealing with the disorder.

“We had our first meeting in November (2012),” Wetzel said, and the number of folks attending the group has grown each month. “Eight people met in December and 26 came to the meeting in January. That’s a significant jump. ...

Our last meeting had 36 members.”

Gluten Free Grand Valley also has a support

group on Facebook, and as of March 4 it had 115 members.

While many people without gluten issues do go on gluten-free diets because it’s seen as a healthy way to eat, the Gluten Free Grand Valley support group mainly focuses on the issues afflicting those with celiac disease and severe wheat allergies.

“We talk about our journeys, and the things we struggle with health-wise,” Wetzel said. “When we make a switch in diet like that, there’s emotional and mental impacts. It’s not an easy lifestyle change. So many people feel so alone.”

“We want to educate the public, as well as support each other,” she added.

HOW TO EAT GLUTEN-FREE Hot topics at Gluten Free Grand Valley meetings and on Facebook often surround specific brands of food and places to dine out.

Wetzel said it can be very difficult to eat at a restaurant or at a friend’s house when on a strict gluten-free diet. Crosscontamination — when a gluten-free food comes in contact with another food item containing gluten — may happen by simply putting food in the same fryer or on the same plate. A gluten-free pizza being cooked in the same oven as regular pizzas could also cause issues in someone with celiac. Plus, gluten can hide in the most obscure product.

That’s why reading food labels is always important, and traveling with one’s own

SIGNS & SYMPTOMS According to Dr. Dan Thompson from Community Hospital, celiac disease is hard to diagnose and has many nonspecific symptoms. Dr. Thompson was diagnosed with celiac in 1994.

It can cause constipation or diarrhea, dementia, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and joint pain, osteoporosis, neuropathy, excessive weight loss or weight gain, or no visible symptoms at all. In children, “failure to thrive” is also a big warning sign. There is additionally an association with small-bowel lymphoma.

There’s also a higher instance of celiac disease in those suffering from thyroid disease and Type 1 diabetes (other autoimmune disorders), Wetzel said.

Dr. Thompson also noted that there’s a difference between someone who has a gluten intolerance and someone with full-blown celiac disease. Someone who’s simply intolerant may have some discomfort and gas after eating a big bowl of pasta.

For more information about celiac disease, visit the Celiac Disease Foundation at www.celiac.org.

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healthy families

COURTESY PHOTO

Angela Wetzel, who must maintain a strict diet because of a celiac-disease diagnosis, has lots of tasty gluten-free food items in her pantry.

CAITLIN ROW | FREE PRESS

Angela Wetzel recently founded Gluten Free Grand Valley with the help of Christy Dimond, another celiac disease sufferer.

Meetings are held the first Wednesday of every month at Grand Junction’s Masonic Center.

DINING OUT GLUTEN FREE Here are some (not all) Grand Valley restaurants with gluten-free menu options.

(Remember: Just because it’s gluten free doesn’t mean it’s prepared separately from glutenladen products. Always check with the kitchen on how food is prepared if you have been diagnosed with celiac disease.)

• Main Street Bagels • Main Street Cafe • Laughing Dog Coffee House • Fisher’s Meat Market • Il Bistro Italiano • Nick N Willy’s Pizza • Hot Tomato Cafe & Pizzeria • No Coast Sushi • Pablo’s Pizza • Buffalo Wild Wings • Red Robin • Pantuso’s • Ale House • Fly’n Roosters • Hey Sweet Cakes (can special order gluten-free cakes)

Experience

OPTIMAL HEALTH for the New Year

Chronic digestive problems often require more than simply changing our diet. Chinese medicine can help.

15 years of experience practicing Chinese medicine

GERD • Celiac Sprue • Crohn’s • IBS gluten-free food may be the only option sometimes when keeping a strict diet.

“It’s not just an inconvenience with the wait staff at a restaurant,” Gluten Free Grand Valley member Jackie Aguilar said, who noted that living with celiac disease can be like dealing with a dangerous peanut allergy.

Even so, Dr. Dan Thompson, a Community Hospital physician who was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, said there are many more options for folks going gluten-free now as compared to 20 years ago.

Anita Alexandra, L.Ac., CH

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1 in 133 people in the U.S. is affected with celiac disease.

— Celiac Disease Foundation

“The (food) choices that we get are so much better,” he said. “I could give you a gluten-free brownie and you’d think it tasted better than a regular brownie.”

Plus, many restaurants are taking steps to ensure that food offered is truly gluten-free by being aware of cross-contamination risks during the preparation process.

Wetzel said communication with a restaurant’s staff, friends and family is key to keeping up the diet.

Terri Thompson, nutrition educator at Community Hospital, suggests cooking from scratch, as that makes it easier to have tasty food without gluten.

Learn which brands contain gluten, she added, and read labels every time you plan to eat something.

Shopping for gluten-free products is a cinch at Sprouts Farmers Market, where they have a whole aisle dedicated to gluten-free Gluten Free products, and gluten-free food items are clearly Grand Valley Meeting marked with tags all over the store. Wetzel Gluten Free Grand Valley now has a said she was like a kid permanent meeting spot; meetings will in a candy store with be held at the Masonic Center, 2400 all the gluten-free Consistory Court, the first Wednesday of items available.

each month at 7 p.m.

For more information, email glutenfreegrandvalley@gmail.com.

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5

Don’t fall for food industry

BUZZWORDS

NUTRITION

NOT LONG AGO I WAS shopping at a large chain grocery store here in town. While roaming the fruits and veggies section, I noticed each apple in one particular bin had a sticker on it that read “fat-free.”

When I recall that moment I vacillate between laughter and anger that the apple company actually stooped that low in order to sell more apples. The laughter comes from the viewpoint of being educated about nutrition and the basic building blocks of carbohydrates, proteins and fats in foods. I thought, of course it is fat-free, it’s an apple!

The anger comes from the underAPRIL SCHULTE-BARCLAY standing that not everyone has an interest in nutrition like I do, and those people often fall prey to food industry myths and selling points.

Buzzwords aimed at luring buyers are plentiful in the food industry. While they may sound good and appealing, quite often the products themselves are actually quite unhealthy. Some that readily come to mind are: • GLUTEN-FREE — It’s true, many of us have gluten sensitivities that make us feel poorly when we eat gluten. However, just because a product is gluten-free doesn’t mean it is healthy. Often gluten-free products are jam-packed with simple carbohydrates that will surely make us feel yucky and help us pack on the pounds at the same time. For the record, most people who avoid gluten have a sensitivity to wheat flour more than gluten itself. These folks would do well eating things like oatmeal and spelt flour.

• ZERO CALORIES — Food is supposed to have calories. So are any drinks that taste sweet. More likely than not, food or drinks labeled as zero or reduced calories have artificial sweeteners that are dangerous to our health.

Speaking of artificial sweeteners, Splenda touts itself as being made from real sugar. They may start with a sugar molecule but it is then chemically altered into a substance that the human body recognizes as foreign. Now, Truvia, created from the plant-based sweetener stevia, is touted as a healthy alternative when it, too, is just chemically altered stevia.

• FAT-FREE — Just because something may be fat-free doesn’t mean it is good for us either. In fact, fat itself is good for us when it comes in a non-altered state. For example, fats are essential to keep our nervous systems healthy and to produce hormones in the body. Avoiding trans-fats (hydrogenated oils) is a good idea. Eat fats like nuts (unless allergic), avocados, seeds, and olive oil to stay healthy and emotionally level.

• ARTIFICIAL COLORS — Do you know why kids enjoy brightly colored snacks and cereals?

Because it is engrained in our biology to look for

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healthy families

colorful fruits and veggies to reap the benefit of their packed nutritional value. The food industry takes advantage of this fact and brightly colors the food to make it more attractive to the consumer.

Read labels! If you see Red #40, Yellow #6, or any other color/number combo, I encourage you to put it back on the shelf and try to find an alternative without artificial colors in them. You may have to look long and hard, but you will find an alternative.

Don’t give up!

There is a notion that healthy food is more expensive. That usually isn’t true when you compare nutritive value. Consider a box of Little Debbie snacks. It may be cheap but its shelf life may never end because of all the preservatives in it. There is no nutrition in that box. Compared to a box of anything else you’d find at a store like Vitamin Cottage, the box at Vitamin Cottage is a much better value.

There is no doubt finding healthy ways to feed yourself and your family has many facets and may be confusing. If you would like some direction, consider scheduling an appointment with Healing Horizon nutritionist, Jess Stieler, at 970-256-8449.

She provides individualized nutrition counseling catered to the individual needs of her clients.

April L. Schulte-Barclay is a doctor of acupuncture and Oriental medicine and is a licensed acupuncturist. She is licensed by the Colorado Board of Medical Examiners and is certified by the National Certification Commission of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. She is founder and clinic director of Healing Horizons Integrated Health Solutions, located at 2139 N. 12th St. #7. For more information, call 970-256-8449.

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We provide specialized physical, speech, and occupational therapy services in a warm, community-based setting to children from birth through age 21 who are experiencing diďŹƒculty successfully meeting the demands of development.

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JANUARY - MARCH 2013

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Treating ‘shingles’ with

ACUPUNCTURE

FAMILY WELLNESS

Complementary approach can alleviate nerve pain caused by varicella-zoster (shingles) EACH YEAR APPROXIMATELY one million Americans obtain medical care for shingles and its complication, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research.

Shingles is caused by the same virus that causes chicken pox. Its symptoms can involve red rash and welts, burning or shooting pain, tingling and itching.

After the original rash has resolved, a severe nerve pain (neuralgia) can remain. The affected area is usually limited to one area and one side of the patient’s body, but in THOMAS LYNCH rare cases both sides can be involved. Areas involving the face are particularly painful.

While many shingles patients suffer only the pain and discomfort of the initial rash and welts, which can last several days to several weeks, some

individuals experience a severe nerve pain that lasts long after the initial skin outbreak has ended.

In some cases this pain is so severe that even strong pain relievers cannot stop the pain. This is because the varicella-zoster virus of shingles can attack the nervous system directly, and it is this attack that is experienced as the severe nerve pain (post-herpetic neuralgia). Some individuals can suffer this pain for weeks, months and even years.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal formulas have proven to be very useful in reducing the severity and duration of the shingles nerve pain. There are formulas that are very effective against the varicella chicken pox virus. Acupuncture can also help direct the patient’s blood circulation and immune system to the affected area to help speed the recovery. Not so long ago it was assumed that nerve damage could not be repaired. Now we know that, indeed, nerves can regenerate, but at a very slow pace. Acupuncture is very effective in accelerating this healing.

I have successfully treated a number of patients

with shingles and shingles pain, including one whose face was affected. A course of treatment involving a combination of herbs and acupuncture can often resolve the problem. Finally, acupuncture can help restore the affected individual’s immune system. It is believed that shingles attacks most frequently occur following periods of severe stress, illness, chemotherapy or anything that weakens the immune system. The varicella virus takes advantage of this weakness and launches its attack. In addition, it has been found that a person who has suffered an attack of shingles is at increased risk of another attack. All the more reason to work on strengthening one’s immune system.

If you, or someone you know, suffers from shingles or shingles pain, consider acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine as a treatment option. It can be useful even in cases where Western medicine fails to deliver a satisfactory result.

Thomas Lynch is a licensed acupuncturist who graduated summa cum laude from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in San Diego. He is also a graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law. He maintains a practice, Acupuncture for Accelerated Healing, 2472 Patterson Road #7. Contact him at 971-263-4000 or at coloacudoc@gmail.com.

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MESA COUNTY

healthy families

Western Colorado Physicians Group

241-6011 1120 Wellington Ave.

LYNN HOLLIDAY MD GLENN MADRID MD PATRICK PAGE MD

MINDFUL PARENTING SERIES The Mindful Parenting Series is a lineup of informative and thought-provoking programs exploring important issues facing today’s parents. Free sessions take place at 6:30 p.m. at the Central Library branch, First Street and Gunnison Avenue. Dates are as followed: • Thursday, April 4 - Monitoring Behavior: Who, What, When and Where • Thursday, April 18 - Encouraging Children’s Mastery and Perseverance • Thursday, May 2 - Summertime: Making it Great!

All programs are open to the public at no charge. The programs are facilitated

by Elizabeth Clark, LPC, a mental health therapist who works with adolescents and writes on the topic of teen sexuality; Nancy Tanner, MSW, a mental health therapist who works mainly with younger children; and Dr. Matthew Burson, a child psychiatrist who works for Colorado West Mental Health.

The Mindful Parenting Series aims to provide information, tips, and discussion about how to help kids navigate the cyberworld, how to keep relationships with kids warm, how to best monitor kids’ activities, and how influential parents’ values are on teens’ decisions.

Make ’em laugh HUMOR GOES ALONG WAY IN EFFECTIVE PARENTING Melode Mariner Healthy Families Contributor THERE IS POTENTIAL for a tremendous amount of tension in family life. Raising future citizens of our country, AND the future parents of our grandchildren is a heavy responsibility. One can never be too creative when it comes to guidance. Humor of the ridiculous kind cannot be overrated as a great sanity saver for the whole family.

If you start early with family looniness, you can deeply impress your toddler and/or preschooler. Young children’s humor is pretty bizarre any way. Look at the crazed smile on a 2-year-old’s face as he runs away from you in a game of chase. Ask your 4-year-old to tell you a joke! The concept of “funny” is important to kids.

Even teenagers can be swayed with humor. Effectiveness is increased if parent humor embarrasses them a little. Not REALLY embarrassing, just enough to make them raise their eyebrows a little bit.

In a recent Facebook posting, my co-worker was pleased to announce that singing to her pre-teen and teenager to gain their cooperation not only worked, but it was a showstopper: “How to get your 11- and 14-year-old to finally obey and go to bed: Start singing the duet ‘Let’s Make Love’ by Faith and

PARENTING

Tim to each other... After covering their ears and hiding their eyes, they ran to bed. LOL!” The “like” response was huge.

With my young teens, I found myself frustrated that they were not coming to dinner when called. They were busy in their rooms, each with a different rock ‘n roll CD on top volume. I called up the stairs once.

“Coming, Mom,” I heard.

I called twice.

“I’ll be right down, Mom.” Dinner was getting cold. I called the third time in my best, loudest, pretend-opera voice (the one I practice most proficiently in the shower.) Melodically, I make my request: “Adam and Jessica, your mother is waiting anxiously to feast with you my darlings. Please come hither whence we shall eat, drink and be merry, one and all….”

As I was catching my breath for a second verse, both bedroom doors swung wide, and they came thundering down the stairs with grins on their faces.

“Geez, OK, OK Mom! We’re coming! We’re coming!”

I continued singing, top volume, and as one covered my mouth, the other tickled me as we tumbled into the kitchen.

I understand digestion is aided when there is merriment at the family table.

Melode Mariner, M.A., is program coordinator at The Parenting Place of Western Colorado, located at 1505 Chipeta Ave. For more information, call 970-241-7312.

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JANUARY - MARCH 2013

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STEPS TO BECOMING A SUPERHERO OF FITNESS & EXERCISE

SUPER-WELLNESS WELLNESS IS QUITE MORE than simply the absence of disease. Similarly, to be “well” does not automatically mean one is fit. Rather, there is a spectrum that improves from sickness, to wellness, to fitness. Fitness can be thought of as “super-wellness.” Fitness keeps us at the top of our game whether in sport or in health. But what does fitness mean? What traits make one fit?

Many things can be correlated to determine fitness. For example, a body fat of 40% is unhealthy, while 20% is healthy, and 10% is fit. Blood pressure of 160/90 is unhealthy, 120/70 is healthy, and 110/60 found in the fit athlete.

DR. SCOTT ROLLINS Similar comparisons can be made with many traits such as cholesterol, heart rate and so on.

When I speak of fitness I’m referring to a collection of attributes that confer the ultimate service to healthy “fit” human living. There are three main areas of focus in determining overall fitness — cardiovascular, strength and flexibility. Furthermore, there are three metabolic pathways that humans use for athletic motion.

The truly fit use each metabolic pathway to achieve the three elements of overall fitness.

The metabolic “engines” for movement are the phosphagen, glycolytic and oxidative pathways.

The phosphagen pathway is used in high-powered explosive activities lasting from 10 to 30 seconds, the glycolytic pathway in moderate-powered activities lasting a few minutes, and the oxidative pathway takes over for low-powered activities that last beyond several minutes. The phosphagen and glycolytic pathways don’t require oxygen and are “anaerobic” while the oxidative pathway relies on oxygen and is “aerobic.”

TYPES OF FITNESS Think of the marathon runner, thin and lean, and you have the extreme example of the cardiovascular, oxidative fitness. The price of oxidative-only training is loss of muscle mass, strength, speed and power (strength times speed). Activities such as crosscountry skiing, long distance running or swimming exemplify oxidative pathway activities of lower power but longer duration. Aerobic fitness alone is not total fitness.

Weightlifting is the basis of strength-train-

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GJ

ing.

Particularly using the core muscles involved in the deadlift, clean, squat and jerk, building strength, speed and power along with flexibility. These fundamental movements involving multiple joints simulate real-life demands on the human body and produce hormonal and neurological changes that encourage strength fitness far more than isolated single joint weight routines involving curls, leg raises, etc.

Gymnastics, including the familiar Olympic routines, and activities such as yoga, dance and rock climbing, is especially geared toward developing flexibility, balance and coordination of movement.

These activities also encourage agile transition from one movement to another and the ability to control the speed and direction of movement, or accuracy.

SPORTS AND WORKOUTS All sports use varying degrees of the different metabolic pathways, but most of them will hit one pathway to the exclusion of the other two.

It is important to mix up the activities to keep a well-rounded fitness program. Two great workout

For the entire family programs that exemplify the varied approach to fitness training are P90X and CrossFit. My wife and I have done the P90X routines for years and especially enjoy that we can do them together, quickly, with a little inexpensive equipment, in the comfort of our home.

The most aerobic sports include long-distance running (over 2 miles) or swimming and cross-country skiing. The strength and speed-building anaerobic sports include shorter-distance sprints (100-880 yards) in running or swimming, baseball, basketball, volleyball, and wrestling. Some of the best all-around activities that incorporate all three metabolic pathways are intermediatelength running (1-2 miles) and swimming sets, downhill skiing and rowing.

Whether a young athlete in training, a middle-aged doctor trying to stay fit, or a senior citizen hoping to hang on to mobility and function, the concept of total fitness applies. The only change that

Aerobic fitness alone is not total fitness.

Western Valley Family Practice REDLANDS AFTER HOURS

needs to be made is that of intensity. Adjust the degree of difficulty but still follow the interval training and variation in workouts or activities.

If you are just starting out with fitness training or wanting to increase your fitness, keep in mind that it may be best to work through a progression starting with sound nutrition, then moving first through stages of cardiovascular conditioning, flexibility and strength, then finally sports. While sports encourage building all of the fitness attributes, the targeted workouts will more quickly and completely develop total fitness.

Done properly, total fitness will support overall health and is a critical part of aging well. It provides a reserve of protection against illness and frailty of aging. Work to develop the fitness of an 800-meter track athlete, weight lifter and gymnast and you’ll be more than fit — you’ll be super fit!

Scott Rollins, M.D., is board certified with the American Board of Family Practice and the American Board of Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. He specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement, thyroid and adrenal disorders, fibromyalgia and other complex medical conditions. He is founder and medical director of the Integrative Medicine Center of Western Colorado (www.imcwc.com) and Bellezza Laser Aesthetics (www. bellezzalaser.com). Call 970-245-6911 for appointments or more information.

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JANUARY - MARCH 2013

11

COUNTY PROGRAM TACKLES

childhood obesity

FAMILY WELLNESS

“We Can! Mesa County” is a fun way for families to make healthy lifestyle changes MANY OF US STILL THINK of Colorado as the leanest state in the country but that has changed. The childhood obesity rate in our state increased 23% between 2004 and 2007, a higher rate increase than the national average. Overweight children are at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and later, heart disease.

With the persistent temptation of video games, television, sugary drinks and fast food can we ever hope to change this trend? Now there is a local program to help families reverse that trend.

We Can! Mesa County is an active and fun program for BARBARA ZIND, M.D. children and their families to learn how to achieve a healthy weight. However, short-term weight loss is not the goal in children. Rather, they need to develop healthy habits and maintain them throughout their lifetimes. The emphasis of We Can! Mesa County is to help motivated families turn off the TV, have fun exercising, and enjoy healthy meals together.

Families attend a weekly class which starts with an individual visit with a pediatrician or nutritionist. They discuss individual plans for small, healthy lifestyle changes for the coming week.

This appointment is followed by an educational session for the entire family which can be a hands-on cooking demonstration or an interactive educational time. After that, it is time for fun.

The whole family joins in for some yoga, Zumba, martial arts, kickboxing, line dancing, or other

movement activity guaranteed to raise a sweat!

Families are asked to attend at least six sessions and then come back every one to two months to check in.

The sessions follow the national We Can! curriculum which emphasizes healthy meals, increased activity and decreased screen time.

The program is funded through a grant from the Colorado State Department of Public Health and Environment to Rocky Mountain Health Foundation and Western Colorado Pediatric Associates. It is maintained by insurance billing and by community volunteers from Colorado Mesa University, District 51 students and others.

Since the program began last October, more than 50 children and their families have been involved. Thirteen have completed the six-session course, and over half of these children have maintained or decreased their body mass index; a measure of weight to height compared with other children of the same age.

The program is open to all overweight children ages 6-18 in Mesa County. The child’s insurance will be billed for the physician visit, but a scholarship program is available if cost prevents a family from attending. The classes are from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday nights in the Primary Care Partners building. They will continue throughout the summer and into the next school year.

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road, mountain, cruiser, commuter…we have it all! sales · service · rentals full service repair

Serving the Grand Valley Since

12

1971

MESA COUNTY

healthy families

WHAT: Any overweight/obese child 6-18 years in Mesa County and their family WHEN: 5-7 p.m. every Wednesday WHERE: Western Colorado Pediatrics, 3150 N. 12th St. HOW MUCH? Insurance is billed for the visit; scholarships are available for the uninsured REGISTER: 970-243-5437

“WE CAN!” CURRICULUM Emphasis on: • Healthy meals • Increased activity • Decreased screen time

Barbara Zind, M.D., has practiced as a pediatrician at Western Colorado Pediatric Associates for the past 16 years. She has a special interest in the prevention and treatment of pediatric obesity and is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Provisional Section on Obesity.

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970.242.9285

2822 North Avenue www.boardandbuckle.com

Open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat. 9-5

WE CAN! MESA COUNTY

Hope’s Promise Redeeming Lives Through Adoption Hope’s Promise is a licensed, nonprofit Christian Adoption Agency committed to providing children with safe, loving permanent families.

Infant Domestic Adoption • Inter-Country Adoption Embryo Adoption • World-wide Orphan Care program

1235 Bookcliff Ave. Grand Junction 81501

If you are interested in knowing more about our three adoption programs, or are interested in learning more about our orphan care program and how you can help, please call Bobbi at (970) 263-7771

! " #$ % TEACH ME...

Honesty - & '

Kindness # ( & % ' '

& ' The Golden Rule #

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& Self-Discipline # ) ' # # ' *

& '+ Responsibility # & ' &

& , & ( & Healthy Lifestyle #

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+ Love of Learning # /

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' / ' + Gratitude # % '

" ( & '' Self-Reliance # / ' - ' ' # 1 &

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Environmental Awareness # / 2 3 # 3 # 3 # 3 + (

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“To teach is to touch someone forever. The example we set is the most powerful teaching tool we have.� Š 5665 7 & / 4

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“Teach Me I’m Yours...for only a little while� was created in response to the overwhelmingly busy schedules of today’s parents. It contains a checklist of the values (that the author feels are most important) that we, as parents,teachers and mentors, should be instilling into our children from the time they are born.

Most importantly, however, we must be modeling these values to them on an hourly basis - every day. It’s what we do, that speaks most clearly to them!

JANUARY - MARCH 2013

13

HEALTH BULLETIN MESA COUNTY HEALTH RANKINGS Out of 59 counties, Mesa County ranks 33 in overall health.

SCARY! If you’re like the average American, you consume 132 pounds of sugar every year.

Compare that to folks in the 1700s, who consumed only about 4 pounds of sugar per year.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture

Did you know …

POOR HEALTH BEHAVIORS Rank: 46 Based on behaviors such as adult smoking, obesity, physical inactivity, excessive drinking, STDs, teen birth rate and more.

MORTALITY Rank: 36 Based on premature death due to suicide, motor vehicle deaths, and others.

CLINICAL CARE Rank: 8 Based on access to clinical care and health screenings for both insured and uninsured.

Source: countyhealthrankings.org; study performed by the Univ. of Wisconsin Population Health Institute and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The average human produces about two quarts of saliva every day.

RECOMMENDED APP

Source: medicalfaq.net

STOP dangerous texting while driving!

Let’s be glad we live where we live — in beautiful Mesa County — where the opportunities to be healthy are boundless!

The app is called Textecution, and is only available for Android phones at this time. The app disables texting functions while driving so your child, loved one, or employee doesn’t endanger themselves and those on the road.

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2.

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WORST CITIES FOR LOSING WEIGHT

Las Vegas, Nev. Fort Worth, Texas Bakersfield, Calif.

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MESA COUNTY

Textecution uses your phone’s GPS to determine rate of speed and kills texting ability when it detects movement at 10 mph or faster.

Cost is $29.99; no recurring fees.

Visit textecution.com!

Source: Jed Kolko, huffingtonpost.com Based on availability of healthy foods, walking/cycling commutes, access to gyms and weight loss clinics and centers, and outdoor recreation.

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A survey found that one in five drivers text while driving. That figure rises to one in three for people aged 18-34.

healthy families

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Replace One or More Missing Teeth for a Healthy Smile Do you suffer from constant pain due to missing teeth? Do you have trouble eating foods you enjoy? We want to help. Call Grand Dental today for a FREE consultation.

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JANUARY - MARCH 2013

15

BONUS FEATURE

TAKE THE KIBBLE OFF THE MENU ...

HEALTHY PETS

Make it a RAW DIET

for your pooches & cats

Krista Bush Healthy Families Contributor Q: Should I feed my dog raw meat? I’ve heard it’s dangerous for them.

A: This is a great question and one that is garnering more and more attention.

The raw diet for dogs (and cats) is one that has been around for years but just now becoming more mainstream. More and more people, myself included, are starting to feed raw diets to their pets. My dogs gladly welcome dinners of raw lamb, venison, beef, chicken and more!

Why feed a raw diet? Many people think that the idea of feeding raw to our pets is dangerous — won’t they get sick? What about the bacteria? The fact is that although our pooches have evolved some from their ancestor, the wolf, their digestive tracts are still built to digest raw meat and bones.

In fact, a raw diet can be digested in as little as four hours whereas a dry diet can take up to 12 hours or longer to completely digest.

A raw diet is one of the easiest for a dog or cat to digest. I can attest to this with the example of my 2-year-old Great Dane, Murphy. Murphy was given to us at 3 months of age. He was skinny, stinky, lethargic and suffered from chronic diarrhea. After trying several grain-free, dry diets, he still couldn’t gain weight or have a solid stool — he was not properly digesting anything. We decided to try Murphy out on a raw diet. The changes were remarkable.

Within days he was pooping solid and had more energy to behave like a puppy. Soon more changes came — the yeast in his ears disappeared. The rash on his belly went away. He started growing and gaining weight. And his coat had the most amazing shine to it!

There is a long list of benefits that are provided to our pets by feeding a raw diet, some of which include: • Naturally clean teeth • Smaller stools

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healthy families

• Decreased odor • Slower more natural growth rate in puppies • Better weight control • Disappearance of allergies

BACTERIA OR E-COLI ISSUES So what about the bacteria? E-Coli? Salmonella? If we looked hard enough we would find bacteria everywhere — in our fridge, sink, car, and on our doorknobs — our pet’s digestive systems are designed to manage these bacteria without a problem. The most important thing in preparing raw meals and cleaning up after our raw eaters is to wash your hands and prep area thoroughly after preparing meals.

A common misconception is that bones are dangerous for our dogs. Raw meaty bones are like a trip to the dentist for our pets. My dogs frequently enjoy a nice, meaty, beef or bison marrow bone. Or even a chicken neck or turkey back.

SPECIFIC RAW FOODS So, what do we feed our dogs on the raw diet?

A common misconception is that we can just go to the grocery store, buy some ground beef or chicken breasts and feed it to our pets. As much as your pup is enjoying this, it is not a complete diet.

Our pets need organ meat and bone meal.

They are not getting all of the vitamins and minerals that they need. There are dog owners that will prepare raw diets on their own, adding the organ meat, bone meal, vitamins and minerals which is great, but to make it easier, several commercial companies (Primal, A+ Answers, Stella & Chewy’s, to name a few) have started to create raw diets for our dogs and cats.

All we have to do is thaw and serve!

So what are you waiting for? Give your dog a bone — a raw bone, that is!

Krista Bush is co-owner of Chow Down Pet Supplies in Montrose.

VET CLINIC LAUNCHES NEW BEHAVIORIAL PROGRAM When blending a newly adopted dog into a home, the transition is always crucial.

Tiara Rado Animal Hospital, 2245-3/4 Broadway, has developed an early adoption training assistance program to help make the transition a smooth one.

New puppies and older dogs are welcome in the program. Here’s how it works: Just after adoption, dog owners should contact Tiara Rado to set up a free initial exam to check health status. The veterinarian will make any necessary recommendations in regards to vaccines or other diagnostics that may be needed.

Tiara Rado technicians will then follow up with two behavioral consults. These are designed to help answer questions regarding house-training, puppy teething, basic commands and the plethora of other issues that arise with pet ownership. Each consult will last 30 minutes and carries a nominal fee of $35.

Upon completion of the behavioral consults, the dog is then eligible to receive its spay/neuter for free, or if it is already altered, a one-year supply of Heartgard Plus along with a $25 gift certificate to the practice.

“This is the first program of its kind in the Grand Valley,” said Susan Kingsbury, clinic administrator. “We feel it’s so important as the training dogs receive early will influence the pet/owner relationship for the rest of their lives.”

Appointments may be scheduled by calling Tiara Rado Animal Hospital at 970243-4007.

How to approach a potentially

PE T

B E HAVI OR C OR N E R

UNFRIENDLY DOG 1. Ask yourself if this is a good idea.

2. Then understand that dogs with vision or hearing problems or older dogs can be startled easily, and often react instinctively with a warning growl and even a nip.

3. Always greet the owner first, keeping your hands in a relaxed position by your side.

4. If you want to pet the dog, ask the owner if it’s OK to do so. Ask for the dog’s name.

5. Call the dog’s name first to get its attention, then slowly present the back of your hand and let the dog sniff it.

6. Gently scratch along its jawline and behind the ears. Never pat the dog on the top off the head, which can be seen as threatening.

to a dog’s leash to indicate to others that a dog needs space.

YellowDog, which started in Sweden, now has a U.S. branch. You can find YellowDogUSA on Facebook.

Another good resource is DINOS (Dogs In Need of Space), which gives more details on what kinds of dogs need a wide berth, how to approach dogs and so on.

If you have a dog that’s unpredictable, there’s a growing movement to attach yellow ribbons

Source: Paw’s Corner - Sam Mazzotta

COMING ITA TO FRU SOON!

Bringing health & wellness to your pets for over 20 years

2518 Broadway Grand Junction, CO 81507 970.243.6200

202 W. Main St. Montrose, CO 81401 970.249.5052

3719 N. Evergreen Pkwy.

Evergreen, CO 80439 303.674.8711

503 US Hwy. 285 Fairplay, CO 80440 719.836.4909

ChowDownPetSupplies.com or visit us on Facebook

JANUARY - MARCH 2013

17

You don’t have to live with SKIN CARE

BELLY FAT Paule Stiefler & Angel Goodman Healthy Families Contributors

NO MATTER HOW WELL you eat and exercise, it’s virtually impossible to lose that annoying muffin top, love handles, and belly pooch.

It seems you only have two options: Live with them or think surgery. But you don’t.

Surgery has its own risks, so consider non-invasive options such as Radio Frequency or fat-freezing technology. Those approaches target fat cells in a non-intrusive fashion that a healthy lifestyle, healthy diet, and exercise alone cannot achieve. Only fat cells are treated and eliminated. Your healthy skin cells remain, well … healthy. No knives. No suction hoses. No needles. No scars. The fat cells die and are naturally eliminated from your body. In a few months, boom: Say hello to a new you.

MINIMAL DOWNTIME & LASTING RESULTS Unlike a lot of other procedures, these new non-invasive approaches to fat reduction are simple to fit into your daily life. After your treatments you can typically get right back to your busy day. Treatment lasts between 20 minutes to 1

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MESA COUNTY

healthy families

hour per area and often needs to be repeated for optimum results. Visible results may take a few weeks to become noticeable.

So after a few months, your clothes will fit better and you will look better. What’s more, there are no pills or supplements. And as long as you maintain your healthy diet and exercise, your long-term results should remain stable.

Hello, how wonderful is that?

Furthermore, many people find that after getting a boost with fat reduction, fitting better in their jeans and enjoying their slimmer bodies, they are motivated and encouraged to adopt an even healthier lifestyle of lean diets and exercise.

For many people these options may be the solutions to finally reduce stubborn fat for a healthier and trimmer body.

Paule Stiefler is the spa director at Le MedSpa, an antiaging skin care and laser center located at 2530 N. Eighth St. #205. For more information, call 970-256-7546. Angel Goodman is an aesthetician at Le MedSpa.

I have BIG plans Life’s too short and I’ve still got a hundred things left on my wish list.... That’s why I have a colon screening every time my doctor recommends it.

KNOW THE RISK FACTORS:

Family History of colon cancer or polyps • African-American, • Low-fiber, high-fat diet, • Sedentary lifestyle, • Diabetes • Obesity increases your risk of getting the diseases •

KNOW THE SYMPTOMS:

Frequent constipation or diarrhea • Stomach pain, cramping • Frequent abdominal or rectal bleeding and bloody stool •

If you have any of these risk factors call your primary care physician or call Gastroenterology Associates help care line for more information

970-245-0990 Endoscopy Center & Gastroenterology Associates Of Western Colorado

Masi Khaja, M.D. 2460 Patterson Rd., Unit 4 Grand Junction | 970-245-0990 www.mesagastro.com JANUARY - MARCH 2013

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