Channel: Lee Health

Category: Education

Tags: eat a varietyessential nutrientsvitamin dwhole grainsvariety of key nutrientslean meatsvegetablesfoodnutrition educationnutritional educationnutritioncelebrating a world of flavorsnational nutrition monthcultural foodsfruitsacademy of nutrition and dieteticsdietdifferent nutrientshealthy lifestyledairylee health clinical dietitian

Description: It's a month dedicated to nutritional education. "National nutrition month is an annual campaign that's celebrated every year in the month of March and it is created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. This year's theme is celebrating a world of flavors, so cultural foods are great to be incorporated into our diet and they should be celebrated," explained Lee Health clinical dietitian Noel Konken. Konken says adopting a healthier lifestyle starts with nutrition. "Our body requires a variety of different essential nutrients. We can't get that from eating the same thing every single day. Things like vitamin D that give us our energy every morning. Our body needs a wide variety of different nutrients." Nutrients that can be found in different fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, even dairy. "Fruits and vegetables are a good example because you can think about all the different colors, and different colors are typically associated with different types of vitamins or nutrients in that food," she said. This month, she recommends trying different cultural foods to incorporate more variety into your diet. "When we look at Asian, chicken stir fry loaded with some vegetables over rice or even choosing to do a ceviche salad with some corn tortilla chips," said Konken. A fun and creative way to ensure your body gets the variety and key nutrients it needs. View More Health Matters video segments at LeeHealth.org/Healthmatters Lee Health in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of health care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For more than 100 years, we’ve been providing our community with personalized preventative health services and primary care to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries. Lee Health - Caring People. Inspiring Care. Visit LeeHealth.org