Doing the Dew

Last week, as part of a jam session at the Nebraska Action for Healthy Kids Summit, dietitian and musician "Jump with Jill," poured large amounts of sugar out of sweetened drinks like Coca Cola and Mountain Dew to visually represent the cups and cups of sugar we ingest in any 12 oz. full-calorie soda. It was disgusting!

To tell the truth, Mt. Dew and I were close friends in college. Today, the thought of this sugary, super caffeine machine does not sound appealing. But, there I was at the UNO library, out of steam and a final round of paper editing to go with my school group.

I went for it. I did the Dew. It had been a long time since I had drank one of these guys and I finished it right before my night class. What unfolded was a series of uncomfortable and odd experiences.

Here's what happened:

•  Immediate taste was too much so I had to pair it with some unhealthy chips that I normally don't eat. (see that one bad choice on my part led to another)
• Two hours later, my stomach began to hurt and I had to step out of my night class to drink some water.
• At the end of class, I was jacked up.
• I couldn't keep my legs still and I was ready to meet my group and finish our paper.
• My eyebrows felt like the could not rest. They kept up, at attention, overly alert.
• During my workgroup, I began to have a visual migraine due to the caffeine overload and lack of sleep. I had a hard time focusing with all the floaters in the air.
• I was a little bossier than normal and my group and I had some loud discussions about our project. I think we were all a little on edge and over-caffeinated.
• After leaving the library I was even more pumped up. I'm one of those people that can't even drink Iced Tea after noon if I want to go to bed that night on time.
• I talked to my brother and he told me he could tell I had drank Mt. Dew. He said that my eyes were tired but weirdly-wide and my cheeks were kind of stuck in a permanent half smile.
• I felt like I could not slow down and could not stop thinking.
• I laid in bed for about 30 minutes and felt sick again. I couldn't shut my mind off.
• Finally I went to sleep.
• I woke up thirsty for water.

Why am I admitting all of this? Although we know what's good for us, we choose things that sacrifice our health. Why? We think improved performance on a project will help us in the short-term. I realized last night, that for me it's no longer worth it. Mountain Dew is not worth it. Being weirdo-turbo charged is not worth it and most of all the long-term health effects are not worth it.

It also leaves me thinking about the value of all the other stuff I eat and drink. What does it give back to my body? Cups of sugar and saturated fat or healthy fats and nutrients

Any scary food stories you want to share?

Today's Heroes

Today's public health heroes are a little different than what you might think. Many of them are not white-collar, Caucasian men in positions of power (although I'm not putting that group down). They're different. In fact, I met with two young, intelligent and committed young women in the first week of my job. Each meeting left me with so much hope for our future. These leaders are out there inspiring big change. The lesson here; do what you love and make a difference right where you are - right now.

What are they doing? Well, I'm glad you asked.

#1) YMCA Program Director of Teens and Corporate Membership Tera Henrich is an expert in collaborating with and mentoring teens. On top of her full-time job with the Y, she volunteered her time to help Alegent Health with the Youth Advisory Council (YAC). This is a group of high-achieving, high school students who want to promote Live Well Omaha Kids. Recently, she led a group of 15 of the YAC teens to develop this Mission statement for their work ahead:
"...we are committed to promoting advocacy of a healthy lifestyle in the areas of nutrition, physical activity and positive perception of health in the youth of Omaha. We aim to be a legacy of role models who promote a standard of healthy lifestyles for generations to come." (pretty awesome, huh)

I have the honor of working with Tera and learning her strategies to effectively facilitate this cool group. Also, we will help the YAC identify and tackle a project related to their Mission.

#2) Jodi Fritz is the brains and heart behind the evolving Tomato Tomäto. It's a family business that offers year round farmers markets and weekly food bags for subscribers. For Jodi and her in laws this is a labor of love. After chatted with folks at the farmer's markets and  forming relationships with Nebraska and Iowa farmers, she became outraged. Why can't people get fruits and vegetables? Why are people going hungry with all this food right here in NE and IA?

Now, she's taking action by expanding her business model for "Community Supported Agriculture" to low-income families. First, what is a CSA? It's the idea that a community pays some money to support a farmer's crop. Then, when the crops are harvested everyone gets a share. In Tomato Tomäto's case, they partner with 52 local farmers to bring crops, cheese, bread and milk to consumers. Consumers can join the CSA for $20 per week. Last year 100 customers participated and 80 are coming back this year. Also this year, Tomato Tomäto would like to make 1/3 of their bags for low-income families. Jodi is only charging $10 per week and they accept SNAP cards. Alegent Health is looking at helping sponsor the cloth bags and we are trying to add more drop-off points to help reach more families.

These were only a couple of my first meetings in this role. This is the coolest job ever!

This Wednesday, April 13, I will be at the Action for Healthy Kids Summit in Lincoln. I'm looking forward to meeting policy, nutrition, exercise science and other experts who are fighting childhood obesity.

I am so thankful to be able to serve these causes and see that heroes like Jodi and Tera are making a difference today, right here in their own communities.

Anyone have an inspirational person to highlight? Post it in the comments below.

Thanks for reading,

Sarah

Getting Started

I walked in with matching stationary and notepads, picture of June and Shan and my favorite pens; I was ready to jump into my new job with precision and enthusiasm. I sat at my new desk and gleefully put out all my supplies, aligned my stapler parallel to my tape and picked up a new light bulb for my desk lamp. Two hours later, I was told that I had sat at the wrong desk. I was very embarrassed. So, the rest of the day was spent moving, hooking up a computer and phone and getting everything settled back into my proper spot.


I knew that Tuesday would be a much better day, and it was. I attended my first staff meeting where I learned more about what we do. In a nutshell, the team creates coalitions and leads programming  to improve documented health needs. The biggest documented health need in Nebraska and Iowa right now is childhood obesity. So, Alegent Health and other community partners have created Live Well Omaha and Live Well Omaha Kids among other initiatitives to tackle this issue. Although Alegent Health is a key funder and collaborator, it's not all about us. We work with the YMCA, HY-Vee, the Health Departments and others to make the magic happen.


The collaborative has received a big federal stimulus grant for $5.7 million called "Communities Putting Prevention to Work." The grant helps 19 different partners focus on key health issues in our own communities.

The thing that kills me is that I have worked for Alegent for six years AND even in Internal Communications. I am a big fan of this type of work and I had no idea that we were helping to make all of this happen. It's for this reason that I am starting this blog. People have to know what our community is doing and how they can help.

Quick Tip from famous runner Jeff Galloway:
When you don't want to work out, put on your workout clothes and tell yourself that you will just walk across the street. Once you are there, ask yourself if it is really worth giving up and going back home or could you keep going. I have personally tried this and it works!

Until next time,

Sarah the hopeful