March 10, 2006

The Michigan Department of Community Health is recognizing March as National Nutrition Month, a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association.

“Making healthier lifestyle choices now will improve your life for years to come,” said Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan’s Surgeon General. “Small steps equal big rewards.”

Through Michigan Surgeon General’s Step Up initiative, citizens are given guidance on how to lead healthier lifestyles. The following are some of the recommendations:

· Make smart choices. Give your body the balanced nutrition it needs by eating a variety of nutrient-packed foods every day while remembering to stay within your daily calorie recommendations.

· Get fit. Maintain a daily physical fitness regime that focuses on cardiovascular health. Physical activity can also be used to help sustain a healthy body weight.

· Stay hydrated. Ideally, the average person should consume 64 ounces of water per day.

· Play it safe with foods. Prepare, handle, and store food properly to keep you and your family safe.

Individuals are strongly encouraged to evaluate their current eating habits and devise a plan to add more nutrients into their diet. Ceasing bad habits like smoking and excessive drinking will also help as their negative affects veto the positive changes made in other areas.

For those having trouble making adjustments on their own, Registered Dieticians (R.D.) are available and can be located in your area at http://www.eatrightmich.org.

For more information on the Michigan Steps Up program, please visit www.michiganstepsup.org. To obtain information on the government’s dietary guidelines and to view the food pyramid, please visit http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines and http://mypyramid.gov/.