National Nutrition Month: Puts Best Fork Forward

National Nutrition Month is an educational campaign organized every March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which is designed to emphasize the importance of developing and maintaining healthy eating choices and physical activity habits.

This year’s theme for the campaign is ‘Put Your Best Fork Forward,’ which acts as a reminder that each bite counts and how simple changes in food choices can have positive effect over time. The theme is geared toward encouraging individuals to start with small changes in eating habits, such as preparing meals at home or making healthy selections while out.

Members of the Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, community can meet with dietitians at both Langley Air Force Base and Fort Eustis regarding feedback on eating patterns, weight management issues and the fundamentals of nutrition.

“With a little bit of knowledge every person has the power to start making changes towards a healthy lifestyle,” said Mary Jane Rewinski, MacDonald Army Health Center health management clinic registered clinical dietitian. “Also, realizing that no one can just change the way they eat overnight, it takes time for people to really make adjustments and not only incorporate the changes, but keep them in place.”

According to Rewinski, the foundation for healthy body function and structure is proper nutrition. To perform at an optimal level, every day the body and brain must receive the six essential nutrients, carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, minerals and water.

“You really have to think about food as fueling your body,” said Monica Richardson, 633rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron health promotion coordinator. “You want to fuel your body properly for activity and that’s how you maximize energize levels, maintain healthy body weight and get all the vitamins and mineral you need when you are mindful of what you are eating.”

Richardson and Rewinski suggest incorporating a variety of nutritious foods into your diet to find what you enjoy the most, then you may be more likely to adhere to the healthy eating lifestyle.

JBLE members can join nutrition and physical fitness classes offered by the nutritionists and health promotion offices, to learn about healthy body function, healthy-eating and weight management. The JBLE Health Promotion office offers a 10-session weight management program called MOVE!, which stresses health and wellness through proper nutrition and physical activity.