In March, Let’s Talk Nutrition!
Adapted in English by Valérie Harnois
The month of March is the perfect opportunity to learn about the benefits of healthy eating. In fact, dieticians of Canada are the true nutrition specialists. They have created many tools and initiatives to support and promote the importance and benefits of healthy eating and they are sharing a few with us.
This year, dieticians have decided to go beyond food and are looking at the way we eat. Eating well is not just eating, it includes the social context, the feeling of food in your mouth, the preparation of the food, etc. Not only should we eat well, but nutritional specialists recommend that we cook more, that we savour and enjoy the food we eat, and that we share our food with good company. This dietary insight is intended to maintain and improve our health and wellbeing.
«The Nutrition Month 2020 campaign is dedicated to helping Canadians Unlock the Potential of Food to improve health, fuel activities, and bring people together. Food is nourishment, but it’s so much more. Food unites us at the kitchen table and is the center of celebrations. Food can improve health, prevent disease and keep us well for longer. »
Source: NWT Government, March 3, 2020
But how can we get accurate information about what the food we should eat and the choices we should make? Are there fats we should avoid? How much water should we drink every day? Are all types of sugar’s bad for us? Many of these questions have their answers in Canada’s new food guide. Last year, in 2019, the Canadian government launched the new food guide which is the new standard in healthy nutrition. In this guide, there are no more recommended number of portions as was the case in the 2007 version. There is now a variety of choices and strategies to, for instance, eat more fruit and vegetables, share a meal with family and steer away from processed food and sweet drinks. You can now go through it and get information on many aspects of healthy eating. For example, you will find here a section on the benefits of proteins for your body.
« [T]he new Food Guide urges Canadians to think not just about what they eat, but how they eat. Among its recommendations are for people to take the time to eat and notice when they are hungry and when they are full. They should cook more often — and teach kids to cook — as opposed to eating processed foods high in sodium and sugar, and they should eat with others, sharing food traditions across generations and cultures. »
Source: The Gazette, January 22, 2019
Ton défi
Canadian dieticians made available 31 publications to use on social networks. Using those posts as an inspiration, write your own message about Nutrition Month to create awareness in your network. If you have Twitter, an interesting challenge is to write a message that is 280 characters or less. You may also use your Instagram or Facebook account to publish a short text or story. Do not forget to use the click-words #NutritionMonth and #MoreThanFood. You will even find official stickers to use on your Instagram story by using the search word « Nutrition Month ».
Pour obtenir les suggestions d’activités destinées aux enseignants, vous devez vous abonner aux guides en version Enseignant ou École! Cliquez ici pour en savoir plus!
