“Beef. It’s What’s for Dinner.” is arguably one of the most successful food-specific advertising slogans and campaigns to launch in the 1990s and, perhaps, ever. Odds are, this slogan still pops up in your mind from time-to-time.
The existence of one of beef’s most famous slogans in your brain almost 30 years after its launch is powerful, and it’s what the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics hopes happens with their decision to designate March as National Nutrition Month. The Academy pinpoints March as the perfect time to encourage informed food choices and healthy eating and physical activity habits.
National Nutrition Month Sets the Stage for a Healthy Life
This conversation about eating healthy and engaging in physical activity isn’t new. You can travel down the Google rabbit hole, reading and consuming health and nutrition information until your head swims from the number of facts and advice thrown your way. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics makes it easy for you by breaking down each week of March into the following action items:
WEEK ONE: Eat a variety of nutritious foods every day!
- Include healthful foods from all food groups.
- Hydrate healthfully.
- Learn how to read Nutrition Facts Panels.
- Avoid distractions while eating.
- Take time to enjoy your food.
WEEK TWO: Plan your meals each week!
- Use a grocery list to shop for healthful foods.
- Be menu-savvy when dining out.
- Choose healthful recipes to make during the week.
- Enjoy healthful eating at school and at work.
- Plan healthful eating while traveling.
WEEK THREE: Learn skills to create tasty meals!
- Keep healthful ingredients on hand.
- Practice proper home food safety.
- Share meals together as a family when possible.
- Reduce food waste.
- Try new flavors and foods.
WEEK FOUR: Consult a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN)!
- Ask your doctor for a referral to an RDN.
- Receive personalized nutrition advice to meet your goals.
- Meet RDNs in a variety of settings throughout the community.
- Find an RDN who is specialized to serve your unique needs.
- Thrive through the transformative power of food and nutrition.
Week one encourages you to be present when eating and selecting food and drink choices. Week two challenges you to plan for your health, just like you plan for the time it takes to apply makeup or mow the lawn. Week three encourages you to be adventurous and learn, and week four reminds you that you don’t have to transform your health and life alone. Just like you call a plumber to help you with the sink, contact a nutrition expert to transform your health.
And while you’re on your path to better health, consider adding a supplement– such as the most studied micronutrient in the world, EMPowerplus Advanced— to set your body up for success. The inclusion of a supplement like EMPowerplus Advanced in your daily routine can lead to positive results physically, emotionally, and mentally.
The Time is Always Right for a Health Transformation
You may be reading this halfway through March, or perhaps your eyes didn’t settle on this piece until summer, fall, or winter. When you read this piece doesn’t matter; what you do with the piece’s information once you absorb it matters.
Your body doesn’t know when March is or when any month is, for that matter. When you treat every month as National Nutrition Month, that’s when you’ll be well on your way to transforming your health and your life. The moment you realize your health and your life can improve, you should work on doing just that. Don’t wait on a specific day of the week to roll around, like Monday, or a particular month of the year for something you can and should be doing right now.
Food: The Longest Relationship of Your Life
Just like you’d never say, “My children have heard me say I love you so many times, so I don’t think I need to say it anymore,” never stop working on your relationship with food. Like the relationship with your children, at no point can you stop nurturing and working on your relationship with food without significant consequences.
Remember, your relationship with food is the longest relationship you’ve ever had. It existed before your children, and it continued with you long after you left your parents’ house. Food is the only relationship you can never walk away from and survive. You must consume food to live, so it makes sense that you need to give your relationship with food the effort and attention it deserves.
Author: Evelyn Lindell
Certified Health & Wellness Coach