How to Participate in Nutrition Month to Take the Fight out of Food

Every March the Dietitians of Canada celebrate Nutrition Month to promote and educate Canadians about the importance of healthy eating and how they can change their behaviours to be healthier. This year, the campaign is called ‘Take the Fight out of Food: Spot the Problem, Get the Facts and Seek Support’. Sheri Maltais is registered dietitian with the Stroke Program at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and outlines everything you need to know about the Take the Fight out of Food campaign, and how you can get involved within our community.

Many Canadians struggle with the topic of nutrition. “Food and nutrition can be confusing and sometimes it’s a struggle to know what to eat and which nutrition advice to trust. Studies have shown that almost half of Canadians get their food and nutrition information from the internet, social media or blogs and unfortunately not all advice online is accurate,” explains Maltais. This is why a theme dedicated to eliminating the struggle, or fight, between you and food is so important. “By using a three-step approach, registered dietitians are hoping to help people improve their relationship with food, no matter what their struggle is.”

The three-step approach includes:

1. Spotting the problem. Define what’s causing your fight with food first.
2. Getting the facts. Use facts from credible sources to decide what needs to be done to solve the problem.
3. Seeking support. Put the plan into action with support from a registered dietitian, family and friends.

There are many resources to help you get involved in the month’s campaign. Two fun, easy and free apps have been developed by dietitians: The Cookspiration app has over 300 delicious recipes that are aimed to encourage you to get creative with healthy cooking. Twelve of these great recipes are featured on www.nutritionmonth2017.ca to make them even more accessible to you. The second app is called ‘eaTracker’, and it provides you with a free user friendly food tracking tool.

“If you have food and nutrition concerns, do not rely exclusively on online resources when making decisions about your health,” states Maltais. Dietitians are an excellent resource when it comes to questions about nutrition and healthy eating. The Take the Fight out of Food campaign offers a ‘find a dietitian’ tool to help you find a local dietitian or contact a dietitian for free through www.EatRightOntario.ca.

Our local dietitians are also making it very easy for you to get involved this year. On March 21st, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, you can join a number of local dietitians at Sir Winston Churchill C&VI for a community speaker series. The topics that will be covered include: food fads, digestive woes, picky eating, healthy eating for disease prevention, and mindful eating.

“The Thunder Bay District Public Health Unit has also organized a photo challenge. During March, take a photo of you, your family, friends and/or colleagues getting into good food. Post your picture to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hash tag #NutritionMonthTBay.  There are great prizes to be won including cookbooks and food-filled baskets,” explains Maltais.

“Eating should be joyful and pleasurable. That is why we want to teach you how to identify the food, nutrition or health issue that’s causing concern, gather credible and evidence-based facts, and seek support from family, friends and regulated health care professionals,” says Maltais. We, and the Take the Fight out of Food campaign, encourage you to take part in this year’s Nutrition Month to overcome your fight with food.

For more information on Nutrition Month 2017: Take the Fight out of Food, visit: nutritionmonth2017.ca

For more information and to register for community activities, please visit www.tbdhu.com/nutritionmonth or follow @TBDHealthUnit on Facebook.

Adapted from the Dietitians of Canada’s Nutrition Month campaign materials. Find more information about Nutrition Month at www.NutritionMonth2017.ca