What You Put On Your Plate Matters: Three Small Changes To Create Lifelong Habits

By Rhonda Watson, Roots for Life Executive Director, Amber Grant Winner for Female Entrepreneurs info@roots-for-life.org

Most people want to have better eating habits, but sometimes it’s difficult to know where to start. Change is hard but not impossible. Research tells us that it takes 66 days to create a habit on average. That means in a little more than two months, you can be on your way to a healthier, happier you. Starting small and making additional adjustments along the way can turn new behaviors into lifelong habits.

At Roots for Life, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit, our goal is to help you make incremental healthy changes by incorporating nutritious food into your day-to-day regimen. The more you know about nutrition, the better decisions you can make about your meals, the healthier you will be. On our website we share examples, instructions, and hands-on opportunities to make changes easier to implement.

What you put on your plate matters. Your food choices have long-term consequences on your health, and in fact eating more nutritiously can prevent many diet-related illnesses.

Choosing to be healthy is just that – a choice. While it’s not often viewed as the easiest, cheapest route, the fact is that eating better can be convenient and budget-friendly when you know what to look for and how to ease into it. Building balanced meals has ample benefits to your overall health. Not only does eating healthy keep you fuller longer, it also prevents spikes in your blood sugar and excessive weight gain.

Although changing the way you eat can sometimes feel intimidating, here are three ways to make it easier to get started:

1. Ask Yourself One Question During Each Meal

Roots for Life’s nutrition blogger, Kara Plyler, suggests you ask yourself one simple question at each meal:

How can I make this meal more balanced? What we know about diet and nutrition has evolved over the past 40 years. The good news is that the current rule of thumb for a balanced meal is as easy as it’s ever been: half of your plate should be filled with fruits or vegetables; proteins and whole grains should each take up a quarter of the remaining space. Try to add one or more healthy foods to each meal. Small adjustments at every meal can not only help your plate become more balanced, but it can also help turn these small changes into habitual practices. Plus, it’s delicious!

2. Focus On Your Macronutrients (Protein, Carbs, and Fat) Macronutrients are the cornerstone of your diet. In other words, these are the foods that comprise most of your daily nutrients and keep you healthy and fit. No healthy diet should exclude or seriously restrict any macronutrients. Instead, it’s important to choose the healthiest options for your wellbeing, many of which are easy on your bank account, including:

• Carbohydrates: Starches including brown rice, whole wheat pasta; Veggies/greens including broccoli, sweet potatoes, kale,

• Protein: Beans, tuna, salmon, chicken breast

• Fat: Nuts, seeds, avocado, yogurt (including plant-based options)

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Spice It Up!

One key thing to remember: you should always enjoy your food! Using spices and seasonings according to your culture and taste preferences are major factors in turning a bland meal into a feast for the senses. If you’re like me, you’ve watched countless cooking shows and noted that chefs use salt generously in meal preparation. It’s important to note, however, that flavor enhancement does not have to come from salt. Health coach Dr.

Kelly Morgan states that all spices fall in the superfood category. Ginger and turmeric, for example, are two anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich spices that add heaps of flavor.

Gone are the days when all fat was considered bad and calorie counting was the peak of healthy living. Today, it’s about being intentional about your choices in creating healthy, balanced meals. If you can incorporate these three steps, you will not only create healthier lifelong habits, but your meals will be more nutritious - and delicious!

Visit our Roots for Life blog, which is packed with helpful tips and resources for creating and supporting a healthy lifestyle. Soon we will debut our video library of instructional cooking and gardening videos and other nutritional information. Let us know what you think!

Rhonda L. Watson, MPS, is the executive director of Roots for Life, a grassroots volunteer organization founded in 2017, and campaign manager for a leading national nonprofit focused on workplace giving. Rhonda was awarded the 2022 Amber Grant for Women Entrepreneurs by WomensNet. Connect with her by visiting https://www.roots-for-life.org/staff.

By Stacy Brown WI Senior Staff Writer

Each year in the United States, about 700 people die during pregnancy or the year after.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), another 50,000 people each year have spontaneous labor and delivery outcomes with serious shortor long-term health consequences.

“Every pregnancy-related death is tragic, especially because two in three of them are preventable,” the CDC said.

In 2020, the CDC reported African American women are disproportionately affected by maternal mortality with 55.3 deaths per 100,000 live births, 2.9 times the rate for non-Hispanic white women and higher than the rate for Hispanic women. The 2020 report also showed the increase from 2019 to 2020 for non-Hispanic Black women was significant.

During Black Maternal Health Week (BHMW) in 2021, President Joseph Biden (D) acknowledged the issues affecting Black mothers.

“Vice President Harris and I are committed to pursuing systemic policies that provide comprehensive, holistic maternal healthcare that is free from bias and discrimination. The morbidity and mortality disparities that Black mothers face are not the results of isolated incidents,” Biden wrote in a proclamation on April 13, 2021. Our Nation must root out systemic racism everywhere it exists.”

Even tennis superstar Serena Williams described the undermining attitude of medical professionals when giving birth.

“I’ve suffered every injury imaginable, and I know my body,” Williams wrote in an essay for Elle Magazine. “Giving birth to my baby, it turned out, was a test for how loud and how often I would have to call out before I was finally heard.”

Williams recalled enjoying a “wonderful pregnancy” with her first child, Alexis Olympia, and even her epidural-free delivery had gone well – until it didn’t.

“By the next morning, the contractions were coming harder and faster. With each one, my baby’s heart rate plummeted. I was scared,” the 23-time Grand Slam winner wrote.

“Every time the baby’s heart rate dropped, the nurses would come in and tell me to turn onto my side. The baby’s heart rate would go back up, and everything seemed fine. Then, I’d have another contraction, and baby’s heart rate would drop again, but I’d turn over, and the rate would go back up, and so on and so forth.”

In an earlier report, the CDC noted significant disparities in the birthing experiences of Black women. The agency noted that Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

The agency said that several things, such as differences in the quality of health care, long-term health problems, structural racism, and implicit bias causes these differences.

After an emergency cesarean, Williams gave birth to her daughter, Alexis.

Afterward, she said she had to fight for her life.

Already classified as a high risk for blood clots, Williams inquired whether she should receive heparin, a blood thinner.

“The response was, ‘Well, we don’t really know if that’s what you need to be on right now,’” Williams wrote.

“No one was really listening to what I was saying.”

Despite excruciating pain, Williams continued to speak out to her healthcare providers. At one point, she felt paralyzed.

“I couldn’t move at all,” she re- counted.

Aching and coughing to the point where her C-section stitches burst, Williams complained that she couldn’t breathe.

After four surgeries, doctors found a blood clot in one of her arteries, a hematoma in her abdomen, and other clots.

She said the nurse she had previously spoken with told her that the medicine was making her crazy. Had she gone along with the nurse’s assertions, Williams could have died.

“Being heard and appropriately treated was the difference between life or death for me,” Williams asserted.

Black Mamas Matter Alliance, based in Atlanta, hosts Black Maternal Health Week (BMHW) to combat challenges like Williams and others have faced. The weeklong campaign is intentionally held during National Minority Health Month and begins on April 11, which the United Nations recognizes as the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights. As part of BMHW, the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, which draws influence from the reproductive and birth justice movements, conducts activities to elevate the voices of “Black Mamas.” This year’s theme is “Our Bodies Belong to Us: Restoring Autonomy and Joy!”

WI

@StacyBrownMedia

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Submitted by DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH)

Opioid-related overdose deaths in the District have risen steadily in recent years and the pandemic exacerbated the problem, with lockdowns initially making it harder to access addiction services. In addition, a large portion of drugs — including heroin, cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine — are now being laced with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

Last year, there were 427 opioid-related overdose deaths in the District. According to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 95% of those deaths included the presence of fentanyl.

DC’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) and its community partners have announced the continued expansion of its naloxone distribution program and the launch of a new campaign to encourage treatment for those suffering from