Healthy Eating for an Active Life

Spring is here along with longer days and plenty of sunshine!  It is a great time of year to get outside and get moving with activities you enjoy, especially with your family. For youth and adults participating in physical activity like hiking, swimming, or various sports, healthy eating is essential for optimizing performance. Combining good nutrition and physical activity can lead to a healthier lifestyle. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate website (www.choosemyplyate.gov) has great recipes and tips to combine good nutrition and physical activity to make the most of your summer.

First, maximize with nutrient-packed foods. Give your body the nutrients it needs by eating a variety of nutrient-packed food, including whole grains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat or fat-free dairy. Eat fewer foods high in solid fats, added sugars, and sodium (salt).

Next, energize with grains. Your body’s quickest energy source comes from grain foods such as bread, pasta, oatmeal, cereals, and tortillas. Be sure to make at least half of your grain food choices whole-grain foods like whole-wheat bread, tortillas, pasta, and brown rice.

You do not want to forget to power up with protein. Protein is essential for building and repairing muscle.  Choose lean or low-fat cuts of beef and pork, and skinless chicken or turkey. Change things up a bit and choose seafood as your protein sources once or twice a week. Quality protein choices may come from plant-based foods, too. Beans and peas (kidney, pinto, black or white, beans, chickpeas, hummus), soy products (tofu, veggie burgers, tempeh), and unsalted nuts and seeds are great sources of protein and help variety in your diet.

We all know eating fruits and vegetables is an important part of a healthy diet. You can get the nutrients your body needs by eating a variety of colors; try blue, red, or black berries; red, green, or yellow peppers; and dark greens like spinach and kale. You do not have to limit yourself to fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen, low sodium canned, dried, and 100% juice are easy options, and they keep longer!

Dairy foods, such as fat-free and low-fat milk, cheese, yogurt, and fortified soy beverages (soymilk), help build and maintain strong bones needed for everyday activities. As we age, we often drink less milk or avoid cheese product, but remember to include dairy in your diet to achieve a balanced diet.

One of my favorite things to mention is hydration. Hydration is critical to our health and especially in the hot Texas summers. Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water and avoiding sugary drinks. Try adding a lemon or orange slice for a change of flavor.

Remember, physical activity is essential for good health. Aim for at least 2 ½ hours of physical activity each week that requires moderate effort. A few examples include brisk walking, biking, swimming, and skating. Spread activities over the week but do that at least 10 minutes at a time.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me, you may call (903) 473-4580 or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu. To view additional information or upcoming events please visit https://rains.agrilife.org/ and follow Rains County AgriLife on Facebook.

Your Skin and Healthy Aging

Our skin is the largest and fasting growing organ in our body. It is imperative that we focus on taking care of our skin just like we focus on our overall health. As we age, our skin becomes drier and we lose elasticity in our skin, which may cause sagging and fine lines to appear.  The most helpful tips to keep in mind when preventing skin damage are:

• Limit direct sun exposure for longer periods of time and use at least a SPF30 sunscreen.
• Wash and moisturize your skin regularly.
• Sleep for 7-8 hours daily to boost a clear complexion. 
• Stop tobacco use and limit alcohol consumption.
• Drink plenty of water to keep hydrated. 
• Eat a healthy diet with a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans.

“A healthy diet shows with healthy skin”, says Elaine Montemayor-Gonzalez, Extension Program Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension.  Montemayor- Gonzalez continues, “What we put in our bodies greatly affects the aging of our skin, so foods with antioxidants and essential fatty acids are the most important foods to consider for keeping your skin healthy”. Antioxidants help prevent free radical damage, which can lead to skin problems such as sagging, wrinkled, or blemished skin. Some of the best antioxidant rich foods are berries, beets, spinach, kale, and 70% cocoa dark chocolate.

Other antioxidant rich foods that are also beneficial for healthy skin are loaded with fatty acids and vitamins A, C, and E. 

These essential nutrients all work together to help support, protect, and produce new skin cells for your body.

• Omega 3 Fatty Acids are healthy fats that naturally help moisturize your skin, keep skin flexible and protect from sun damage.  Try foods such as salmon, walnuts, and flaxseeds.
• Vitamin A can be sourced from food we eat through beta carotene.  Vitamin A helps with new cell production, growth, and helps prevent wrinkled skin. Excellent sources to include in your diet are sweet potatoes, broccoli, carrots, and mango. 
• Vitamin C is an antioxidant that protects your skin from oxidative damage caused by the sun, which can lead to visual signs of aging.  It also helps support collagen formation to keep skin strong and firm.  Vitamin C is added to many topical serums and creams due to its superpower to help reduce the appearance of brown spots, red marks, and skin irritations.  Top foods high in vitamin C include chili peppers, yellow bell peppers, tomato, lemons, oranges, and strawberries.
• Vitamin E is an essential nutrient with anti-inflammatory properties that aids in supporting cell function and skin health. Vitamin E is beneficial at reducing UV damage to skin and with the help of nutritious foods, can be absorbed better when combined with vitamin C. Vitamin E is also available for topical use in anti-aging creams, eye serum, sunscreens, and makeup. Sunflower seeds, avocado, salmon, trout, nuts, and olive oils are some of the foods with vitamin E.

Keep your skin and body healthy by adding a variety of foods to get the best all-around nutrition.  Your skin will age with time but preventing skin damage is key to a longer radiant glow. 

Try new recipes that incorporate more antioxidants and fatty acids, visit dinnertonight.org to help you plan your meals.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact me, (903) 473-4580 or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu. Follow Rains County AgriLife onFacebook for additional information and upcoming events.

Spinach

Spinach is a popular vegetable that can be enjoyed raw in salads and sandwiches, cooked in soups, or sautéed as a side.  Spinach, best grown in mild climates with an abundance of fertile, high quality soil and water, put Crystal City, Texas on the map in 1917. This southern area of Texas is best known as the Wintergarden region and is recognized by farmers for its long growing seasons. From 1930-1950, the Wintergarden region experienced a “spinach boom,” making Texas the top spinach producing state in the US. Over time, consumer demands influenced production in Texas, leading to varieties such as “baby” and “teen” flat-leaf spinach, according to Larry Stein, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Horticulturist. From 2006-2016, Texas experienced a 29% increase in spinach production, jumping from 32,025 tons of spinach produced to 41,215.

Other than being a popular commodity in Texas, spinach has many nutritional benefits, including its

high vitamin and mineral counts, caloric density, and its contributions to heart health. Nutritional facts for 100g (or 3 ⅓ cups) of spinach:

• 2.86g of protein
• 3.63g of carbs
• 0.39g of fat
• 28.1mg of Vitamin C
• 469μg of Vitamin A
• 482.9μg of Vitamin K
• 194μg of Folate 

Spinach is also very low in calories; one cup of raw greens contains roughly 7 calories (USDA).

While spinach is often found in salads and soups, it can also be enjoyed in pastas and dips. AgriLife Extension’s Dinner Tonight has developed a plethora of recipes to incorporate spinach into your meals as a main ingredient, including Chicken and Spinach Lasagna, Spinach Quiche, Black bean and Spinach Quesadillas, and Spinach Pasta Toss. To find more nutritious spinach recipes, visit dinnertonight.tamu.edu/.

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to call (903) 455-9885, email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu, or come by the Hunt County Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401. You can also read more about this and many more topics on my blog,  http://agentsarah.blogspot.com/

References:

USDA. (2019). Spinach.  SNAP-Ed Connection. https://snaped.fns.usda.gov/seasonal-produce-guide/spinach.

Improving My Diet - Part 2 (Eating A Rainbow)

As much as I would like to say that this article is about eating a big bag of Skittles, I am sorry, I am actually referring to another rainbow.   Last post I wrote the first part of a series on ways to improve my diet.  I began by addressing meal planning.  In this post I will address eating a rainbow of healthy foods. The more colors you add into your diet, the more vitamins and minerals you are getting form a natural source. 

Even though it is a fun and catchy thing to say, advice that you should eat a rainbow is really based in science.  Yellow and orange items are packed full of vitamins A and C, both of which are beneficial antioxidants.  Vitamin A is beneficial for many organs, including eyes, heart, lungs and kidneys.  Vitamin C helps block damage from free radicals (which play a role in aging) and it is needed to help with the growth and repair of our tissues.   Green foods provide an excellent source of vitamins K, B, and E.  Vitamin K helps us make proteins that support healthy bones and help with proper blood clotting.  The B vitamins include several names you’ve probably heard of (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, and folic acid to name a few). The B family of vitamins aid in energy production by transforming the food you consume while vitamin E is vital to our immune system.  Purple foods are a great source of vitamins C and K, already discussed.  Fruits and vegetables get their color from different phytochemicals (a fancy word basically meaning the characteristics of the plant, such as color and smell) that are found within them.

Knowing the vitamins that each color group is made up of can help ensure you get a variety of nutrients in each meal.  So as you are planning your weekly meals try to include a variety of different colors, both fruit and vegetable.  Remember to eat a rainbow, you’ll be glad you did!

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.  

Local Farmers Markets

Just a quick note, as I was working on a program promoting purchasing in season produce (inspired my previous article), I decided it would be helpful to know information about the local farmers markets. I have complied a short list that some might enjoy reviewing.

Click here for a direct link to the list.

Enjoy shopping!!

Purchasing In Season Produce

Most everyone would agree that they need to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in their diet.  One of the best ways to actually do that is to have fruits and vegetables readily available at home.  It’s easier to eat healthy when you have healthy options to choose from throughout the day.  So this brings up the question of when to buy to get the most for your money and the best tasting produce.  Purchasing produce in season has many benefits but most importantly are the cost savings and the fresh flavors.  

It makes sense that buying in season would be most cost effective but that’s not always something everyone knows.  As we approach spring, many local farmers markets will be opening back up.  Utilizing local markets is an excellent way to purchase in season produce and help out a local grower.  Purchasing produce when it is in season and in high abundance is a cost savings you can enjoy.  

Not only can you find a wide variety to choose from when you purchase in season, you can also expect to truly enjoy the fresh flavors.  Purchasing local and in season ensures your produce was harvested on time and not early.  Often times when you purchase produce that must be transported long distances to get to you, they must harvest early and refrigerate to avoid rot.  Although they are available, they will not have the same full flavor as something allowed to ripen naturally and harvested on time.  

So not only is it important to have fruits and vegetables readily available at home to eat, it’s also important to purchase them when they have their fullest flavor.  Who wants to increase their amount of fruits and vegetables if they all taste dull?  If you would like more information about what is in season at different times of the year, I have uploaded a helpful chart to http://hunt.agrilife.org/publications/ or you can stop by the Hunt County AgriLife Extension office and pick up a copy.  

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or just want to chat, please feel free to come by the Hunt County AgriLife  Extension office, 2217 Washington Street, Greenville, Texas, 75401, call (903) 455-9885, or email Sarah.Latham@ag.tamu.edu.  

(Click here for a direct link to the In Season Produce Guide.)