Family Health Guide 2020-2021 • RMPARENT.COM
ANNUAL HEALTH SCREENS PAGE 4
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Time for an annual exam? General tips for good health through the years LY N N U . N I C H O L S
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s a mom, there’s a good chance you are so preoccupied with keeping your kids healthy that you sometimes neglect yourself. Much of good health can be chalked up to a healthy diet, regular exercise and good sleep—but health screens are also important to keep you humming along. If you are due for an annual exam, set an appointment today and plan to go in with a thoughtful list of questions. Here are the screening tests you should consider, according to your age. 20S AND 30S Stop and appreciate these years of good health. For the most part, you are too young to have age-related diseases or genetic conditions knocking on your door, as you will in later years. Outside of getting your annual exam and having your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose tested (especially if you are overweight or prone to diabetes) every two to five years, you don’t need to do much else. Every three years, get a Pap smear to check for cervical cancer. At age 30, guidelines say you can switch to every five years for a Pap, but consider what you are comfortable with and have a conversation with your doctor. Every five years is a relatively new recommendation, (remember, not too long ago women got them annually) and regular pap smears can prevent most cases of cervical cancer. It’s a slow growing cancer but a deadly one and five years might feel too risky for you. Consider also getting an STD panel every year, especially if you are sexually active with more than one partner. Gonorrhea has been on the rise in recent years, as has chlamydia, and getting the HIV test at least once in your lifetime is recommended. 40S AND 50S When you turn 40, it’s time to add mammograms to the above list, if you haven’t already opted to do so. The
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American College of Gynecology and Obstetrics recommends having a mammogram every year or every two years from ages 40 to 49, then yearly after you turn 50. If you are higher risk, have one annually. For Pap smears, guidelines recommend getting one every five years from age 30 to 65, if you are tested for Human Papilloma Virus (HPV ) at the same time. HPV is a big player in cervical cancer. If you don’t get an HPV test, have a Pap every three years. STAYING HEALTHY AT ANY AGE As a rule of thumb, if you live healthy now you will be healthy later. Eating well, exercising daily, limiting alcohol use, and forming good sleep habits truly do add up day by day. Do your meal planning around vegetables, lean meats and healthy grains. Try to move every day, even if it’s just walking the dog around the neighborhood. Getting in bursts—two-minute increases in activity like running in the middle of your walk—is good for both blood flow
and brain health. Speaking of brains, don’t forget to attend to your mental health. As a mom, you might feel like you run from the second you wake to the moment your head hits the pillow at night. Stress plays a big role in some of the top health concerns for moms, which include back pain for those with desk jobs, anxiety and overwhelm, fatigue from low iron or B12 levels and headaches. Build in mini-breaks to unwind and unplug. Instead of checking your social media accounts while waiting for soccer practice to wrap up, walk around the park. Instead of grabbing fast food on busy days, run by a natural grocer and pick up a healthy ready-made meal. Instead of spending all your energy planning your kid’s outings, take time to plan your own, making weekly playdates with friends and your significant other a reliable habit. If you fill yourself back up, you will be less stressed when crisis hits, and days will go more smoothly all around.
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Tips on eating right to keep kids upright Lynn U Nichols 6 | RMPARENT
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he phrase ‘you are what you eat’ has been said so many times it has lost its meaning, so stop for a second and really let it soak in. You. Are. What. You. Eat. What you ingest becomes a part of you. It gets built into your bones, organs and blood. Cell by cell, bite by bite, it becomes you. That can be daunting or inspiring. Either way, it’s a good reminder to feed your kids nutritious foods that grow healthy bodies and strong immunities. So, what is healthy eating? It’s eating whole foods that are close to their natural form. It’s avoiding processed foods. It’s limiting sugary snacks and sodas. It’s eating clean foods without pesticides, fertilizers, colorings, antibiotics, growth hormones or genetically modified ingredients. It takes mindfulness to eat well, and sometimes a shift in thinking. The payoff is strong kids. Kids who can thrive. Kids who can fight off sicknesses that come their way this winter. “My philosophy is that food is medicine,” says Dr. Shannon Evans, Functional Medicine Physician with New Beginnings Functional Medicine Clinic in Fort Collins. START WITH VEGGIES A great place to start when you are grocery shopping is with the produce aisle. Instead of building your meal list around
3 fresh ways to get over a sickness fast
1. If your child succumbs to an illness that demands an antibiotic, like strep throat, Dr. Evans recommends giving your child a kid-friendly probiotic at twice the recommended dose, for a full month. It takes that much and that long to restore healthy gut bacteria. 2. Did you know elderberry extract has been shown in studies to reduce the length of a cold or flu if taken right from the start? Continue it for seven days for your kids who are 6 months and older. 3. Coming down with a cold? Help it move through your kid’s system faster by going to the chiropractor or getting an osteopathic manipulation to promote lymphatic drainage. It may help shorten a cold’s duration.
quick foods or meat, build it around vegetables. Do your best to make half of your plate—or half of the food on the table—vegetables. Vegetables have important antioxidants and phytonutrients that increase our immunity. When shopping, select a rainbow of colors to ensure you are tapping into these powerful nutrients. Dr. Evans asks parents to think outside the box when it comes to getting kids to eat vegetables. “Be creative. For instance, substitute mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes or zucchini for noodles. Sneak in some kale or spinach in their morning smoothies,” she says. AVOID FOODS THAT CAUSE INFLAMMATION Did you know that your food choices can create inflammation? Inflammation
is a big enemy of good health. According to Johns Hopkins, low-level chronic inflammation can develop into diseases. Some of these diseases include type 2 diabetes, cancer, depression, asthma and autoimmune diseases such as colitis and arthritis. “If you are eating things your body doesn’t recognize—like pesticides, dyes, and chemicals—it launches an inflammatory reaction. Inflammation throws off your gut. When your gut isn’t healthy, it isn’t as able to absorb minerals and nutrients,” Dr. Evans says. “A huge part of your immune system is in your gut.” Inflammation is also caused by eating unhealthy foods, including artificial trans fats (found in processed foods like donuts, fast food and frozen pizza), sugar and high fructose corn syrup, vegetable oil (versus healthy olive oil and avocado oil), refined carbohydrates (sugary breakfast cereals, sweets) and processed meat. “Read labels and be mindful about what you are feeding your kids. If you can’t pronounce something, your body doesn’t know how to process it,” she says. EAT ORGANIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE “A good place to start is by looking at the ‘dirty dozen’ list of fruits and vegetables and buying those items organic. Buying organic animal products is also important. If you have a big freezer, buy a quarter beef with a friend from a local grower. Local growers tend to use less hormones and antibiotics,” Dr. Evans says. Look for meats, eggs and dairy products that say free range, cage free, hormone free, antibiotic free and organic. ASSOCIATE EATING WITH GOOD FEELINGS Create positive feelings around food,
and help your kids use food for the right reasons. Avoid equating food with love, reward or punishment. Making food about health versus emotions means your kids won’t grow into emotional eaters who eat to feel better or snack because they are bored. Create a peaceful dinner table that is stress free and fosters connection to help kids associate eating with true warmth and love. Don’t punish picky eaters or try to force feed them. It’s not your job to make your kids eat something. Your job is simply to make sure healthy foods are available at each meal. Eat well and have a healthy winter.
Healthy snacks to pack
Pack these immune-boosting foods in your child’s lunch or provide them for an afternoon snack throughout the winter to promote wellness. • Broccoli and cauliflower florets Cruciferous vegetables boost immunity and ward off cancer and other unwanted diseases by turning on antioxidants that combat free radicals, or cell-damaging agents. • Greek yogurt topped with blueberries Choose Greek yogurt for a low sugar/high protein punch. Its probiotics will help with good gut bacteria, which in turn strengthens your child’s immune system. Add blueberries to the top to immediately boost immunity. According to a study by the University of Auckland, adults who ate blueberries regularly were 33 percent less likely to get a cold, thanks to flavonoids in the berries. • Hard-boiled eggs Eggs are a heavy hitter for immunity, because they are packed with vitamin D. In winter, our vitamin D levels drop because we are not out in the sun. It’s a good idea for kids, and adults, to take a supplement of vitamin D. • Apples The “apple a day…” saying didn’t come out of nowhere. Studies show the phytochemical antioxidants in apples boost immunity. Oranges, grapefruit, pineapple and other citrus fruits are great, too, since they are loaded with vitamin C.
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