Celebrating National Nutrition Month ®

Back to Nutrition and Wellness

March is National Nutrition Month®, a nutrition education event sponsored annually by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 
This campaign was established to emphasize the importance of living a healthy lifestyle in regards to diet and exercise.

The 2015 theme, “Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle”, encourages people to revert to the basics of healthy eating. 
The primary messages this year are to eat fewer calories, make educated decisions about the food we eat, and to incorporate physical activity in our daily routine.

Use National Nutrition Month® as a spring board to adopt healthy habits throughout the year.  Follow these tips to help you get started:

Mindful Snacking - Avoid snacking when you are bored, angry or stressed. Plan snacks ahead of time and pre-portion the amount you will have to avoid overeating.
Increase fiber intake - Try eating a piece of fruit in the morning rather than drinking a glass of juice to increase your fiber and reduce your sugar intake.
Reducing saturated fat - Remove skin from poultry before cooking.  Try using lean cuts of beef such as round, top round, round tip, bottom round and top sirloin.
Cooking at home - When you prepare your meals, you can control how your food is cooked.  For vegetables, try steaming, boiling or baking.  When cooking meat, roasting, baking, broiling or grilling will remove some of the fat.
Get moving! -  Even small amounts of activity will add up over time.  If 30 minutes of walking seems overwhelming, start with 10 minutes and increase the duration as you feel more comfortable.

Sources:
National Nutrition Month®: Eat Right Pro. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Website.  
http://www.eatrightpro.org/resources/media/press-releases/national-nutrition-month 
Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle. Eat Right Pro. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Website.
http://www.eatrightpro.org/resource/media/press-releases/national-nutrition-month/during-nnm-make-sensible-snacks-part-of-your-healthy-eating-planpro-press-release 
Nutrition Health and Fitness: Fiber in Your Diet.  University of Florida IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/he697 
Nutrition Health and Fitness: Fat in Your Diet. University of Florida IFAS Extension.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/he695 
Healthy Living: Barriers to Physical Activity. University of Florida IFAS Extension. 
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fy883