Parents want their children to grow up healthy, happy and ready to succeed in life. But, childhood obesity is undermining children’s health. According to Statistics Canada, almost one third of Canadians aged five to 17 are overweight or obese. 
 
Many of the physical problems associated with being overweight or obese as a child – such as heart disease, diabetes, or arthritis - may not appear until adulthood, but the social and emotional problems start early. Some overweight kids are bullied at school. They often have low self esteem and suffer socially resulting in a higher likelihood that they will experience depression.
 
TIPS FOR PACKING A HEALTHY LUNCH BOX
Get your kids to help you so that healthy lunches are a family affair.

• Get out the cookie cutters – not for cookies, but for sandwiches. Kids love food in shapes. 
• Serve sliced meat rolled up into tubes and offer the bread separate. Tuna salad can be offered with crackers.
• Use leftovers. If your child liked last night’s beef stew, serve it up for lunch in a thermos after heating it up in the morning.
• Breakfast for lunch? Pancakes or a sliced boiled egg can be a hit too (remember to put in an ice pack though).
• Fruits and veggies are always a part of a nutritious lunch. To make them more fun, include a dip.

 
TIPS FOR BEING PHYSICALLY ACTIVE
On average only 4% of Canadian children take part in enough physical activity.  Children need physical activity to build strength, coordination and confidence. All of these characteristics lay the groundwork for leading a healthy lifestyle in the future.

• Children should participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
• Limit the amount of screen time your children have. In fact, if they are younger than 2 years of age, the Canadian Paediatric Society does not recommend any screen time at all.  If they’re between two and five years of age, the recommendation is one hour per day – that’s right, just one hour!
• Be aware of the opportunities your community offers to help your family stay healthy.

 
Physical activity is more than just organized sports. It can include everyday activities like walking the dog, planting a garden, playing tag, building a snowman or tobogganing, and even household chores like sweeping or shoveling the driveway.  Be your child’s role model and set a positive example by being physically active as a family.
 
 
The Temagami Medical Centre and Family Health Team ...
committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!

Breast milk is the best food to help your baby to grow and develop. It is custom-made by each mother for her own baby, and contains the perfect amount of protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamins and minerals. Remarkably, as your baby grows, your milk will also change to keep up with your baby’s needs. Human milk is also easier than formula for your baby to digest, which means less mess and fuss!
 
Breast milk contains valuable antibodies that help prevent disease and may reduce the risk of your baby developing allergies. After birth, your first milk, called Colostrum, offers vital early protection and helps to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria by coating your baby’s digestive system. This early protection is even more important if your baby is born prematurely.
 
Benefits to Mom
Research suggests that breastfeeding provides a measure of protection against breast cancer, ovarian cancer and weak bones later in life.
Your body uses calories to produce milk, so breastfeeding can help you to gradually lose weight gained during pregnancy. Exclusive breastfeeding may also delay the return of menstruation for at least a little while.
Breast milk is always safe, fresh and exactly the right temperature. It’s ready for baby at a moment’s notice, and you don’t have to heat it, boil water, or sterilize bottles. This makes night time feedings a lot easier.
Since breast milk is always with you, travelling and shopping with your baby is simpler, with no equipment to carry or refrigeration needed.
Breastfeeding Support
Breastfeeding is natural, but it may take up to six weeks or longer to establish, so don’t give up!  Advice and support are available from your midwife/primary care provider and/or public health unit.  They have experience with the challenges you may be facing and will understand how you feel. 
Everyone can offer encouragement so mothers feel supported to breastfeed anytime, anywhere.  The Temagami Medical Centre and Family Health Team welcomes and encourages breastfeeding on our premises.  We have a designated breastfeeding area with a special comfy chair available for breastfeeding mothers (provided by the Timiskaming Health Unit).  Please feel free to enquire at the front desk.


The Temagami Medical Centre and Family Health Team…
committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!

Picnic and BBQ season bring lots of opportunities for outdoor fun with family and friends, but with the warm weather also comes opportunities for foodborne bacteria to thrive.  As food heats up in the summer temperatures, bacteria can quickly multiply.
 
Pack and Transport Food Safely

• Keep cold food cold – place it in a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs.
• Organize cooler contents. Pack drinks separately, that way as you open and reopen the drink cooler, the perishable foods won’t be exposed to warm temperatures.
• Keep coolers closed.  Limit the number of times the cooler is opened.  This helps to keep the contents cold longer.
• Don’t cross contaminate.  Be sure to keep raw meat, poultry, and seafood securely wrapped.  This keeps their juices from contaminating prepared/cooked foods or foods that will be eaten raw, such as fruits and vegetables.
• Clean produce.  Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water before packing them in the cooler.  Dry them with a clean cloth towel or paper towel.

 
Safe Grilling Tips

• Marinate safely in the refrigerator – never on the kitchen counter or outdoors.  Don’t reuse marinade.
• Cook food thoroughly.  Have your food thermometer ready.  Always use it to be sure your food is cooked thoroughly.
• Don’t reuse platters or utensils. Using the same platter or utensils that you previously used for raw meat, poultry or seafood allows bacteria to spread to the cooked food.  Instead, have a clean platter and utensils ready to serve your food.
• Check for foreign objects in food.  If you clean your grill with a bristle brush, check to make sure that no detached bristles have made their way into your food.

 
Outdoor Hand Cleaning
If you don’t have access to running water, use a water jug, some soap, and paper towels or consider using moist disposable towelettes for cleaning your hands.
 
Protect yourself and your family and practice safe food handling!
 
 
The Temagami Medical Centre and Family Health Team ...
committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!

Experts estimate that up to 20% of people aged 50 and older may be low in vitamin B12, with this deficiency becoming more common as people get older. 
 
The Most Common Problems Related to Low Vitamin B12 levels include:

• Memory problems
• Heart disease
• Unhealthy blood cells
• Loss of feeling in the hands or feet

 
As a result, Vitamin B12 deficiency can impact the quality of life of older adults. 
 
Where Do We Get Our Vitamin B12?
We get it from eating meats, eggs, and dairy products.  Health Canada recommends that anyone over the age of 14 get 2.4 micrograms per day – a tiny but important amount.  Studies show that older adults are generally eating enough B12, yet about 1 in 4 have a vitamin B12 deficiency.  This could be because as we age, our bodies are less able to absorb the vitamin B12 we eat.  This is especially true when certain medications are taken, such as antacids and Metformin (used for diabetes). 
 
Why Vitamin B12 Deficiency is Often Missed in Seniors
Because the symptoms – fatigue, anemia, neuropathy, memory problems, and walking difficulties – are quite common in older adults and can easily be caused by something else.  Also, Vitamin B12 deficiency tends to come on very slowly, so people often go through a long period of being mildly deficient.
 
Vitamin B12 deficiency is quite treatable – you just need to make sure it’s detected and then make sure the treatment plan raises the Vitamin B12 levels and keeps them steady.
 
How Can we Make Sure we are Getting Enough B12?
The good news is that it is generally thought that you can’t eat too much Vitamin B12.  It’s safe to eat much more than the recommended daily allowance.  Besides meat, eggs and dairy products, Vitamin B12 fortified foods are also good sources – for example, cold breakfast cereals, soy milk or other non-dairy milks.  Vitamin B12 supplements are also available in drug stores – your health care provider or pharmacist can help you decide on the right dose for you.
 
If you have any of the problems noted above and you’re concerned you might not be getting enough Vitamin B12, ask your health care provider for a blood test to check your B12 level. 
 
Committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!

We know that Vitamin D builds stronger bones by helping our bodies absorb calcium.  But recent research suggests it may have other benefits too, such as protecting against colds and fighting depression.  Research is also suggesting that it may lower our risk of breast, prostate, colorectal and pancreatic cancer.
 
Three Ways to Get Your Vitamin D

• Sunshine
• Diet
• Supplements

 
The sun is less likely to provide your daily needs at higher latitudes, in the winter, or if you're older or dark skinned (skin pigment blocks light and the process is less efficient with age).  
 
During the winter months, when natural sunlight is reduced, light therapy has been proven to improve mood from the ‘winter blues’ and boost Vitamin D.
 
Getting Vitamin D Through Food and Supplements
Food sources of vitamin D include fortified foods such as cow’s milk, some orange juices, and soy or rice beverages.  Margarine and fish, such as salmon and tuna, are also good sources of vitamin D.
 
It’s very hard to get enough vitamin D simply from what we eat.  With supplements, you ensure that you get what you need without short-changing your other nutritional requirements or exceeding your caloric intake.  Adults can safely take between 1,000 and 2,000 IUs a day (from food and supplements combined). 
 
If you are a patient of the Temagami Family Health Team, call us at (705) 569-3244 to schedule an appointment with your primary care provider or with our registered dietitian to see if you could benefit from a daily vitamin D supplement.  We also have a light therapy box that our patients are welcome to come in and use free of charge (call the office to reserve your time).
 
Committed to keeping you as healthy as possible!

The Temagami Family Health Team is launching a 3-week campaign for employees called Paint Your Plate, a workplace project aimed at increased vegetable and fruit consumption. This campaign fits in well with this year’s Nutrition Month theme of Eating Well 9 to 5 – encouraging Canadians to make healthy choices throughout the workday. Paint Your Plate provides employees with strategies and tips to increase their daily vegetable and fruit consumption, and encourages them to be adventurous by introducing new foods into meals.  The goal is to raise employees’ awareness of their vegetables and fruit intake, and inspire them to make improvements by providing resources and support. The Family Health Team is coordinating the campaign with support from the Timiskaming Health Unit (THU).

Staff at the Family Health Team hope to inspire members of the community to make healthy changes to their lifestyle as well. To help encourage our patients to increase the amount of fruit and vegetables they eat, we are opening the contest up to members of the community. Drop in to the clinic the week of March 30th to pick up your scorecard and great resources. Once you return your fruit and vegetable scorecard, your name will be entered for a chance to win a great prize!   

Only 33% of Timiskaming residents eat at least 7 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit a day as recommended by Canada’s Food Guide. Research has shown that eating seven or more servings of vegetables and fruit a day could reduce cancer rates by 20%, decrease the risk of developing heart disease and stroke, and help people achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

The Temagami Medical Centre and Family Health Team...
working together to keep you as healthy as possible!

A lot of people struggle with making healthy food choices outside of the home. That’s why Nutrition Month 2015 is dedicated to helping Canadians learn how to eat well all day long – whether at work, at school or at play.

With the right recipes, tips and a little planning, anyone can prepare nutritious meals and snacks for anytime and anywhere. Make it and take it, wherever the day takes you.

Stock Up for Success

Top three suggestions for stocking in cupboard, fridge and freezer:

Cupboard

• Canned salmon, tuna and legumes such as black beans and chickpeas to protein-boost a lunchtime salad.
• Whole grains like quinoa, barley, brown rice and small whole grain pasta shapes for soups and salads.
• Flavoured vinegars and oils for quick salad dressings and flavour boosts.

Fridge

• Fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts and nut butters for smoothies. Just top it with some fresh fruit – yum!
• Washed leafy greens and ready-to-go veggies, cooked and raw, for salads and snacks and soups.
• Roasted meats, cooked poultry, cheeses and hard-boiled eggs for sandwiches.

Freezer

• Whole grain pita and tortillas for pockets and wraps.
• Frozen veggies for quick soups and stir-fries, and frozen berries for super smoothies and parfaits.
• Leftover chillies, soups, stews and casseroles portioned out in ready-to-go containers.

Nutrition Month is presented by Dietitians of Canada, as well as thousands of dietitians across the country.  For some great recipes, visit their website at http://www.nutritionmonth.ca/recipes