Q: Both my husband and I are working from home and the kids are home too, doing teleschool. I was wondering if you had any advice for making the most of our at-home time. - Bonita M., Atlanta
A. We sure do. The coronavirus situation won't last forever, but while it's around you can take advantage of the benefits that come from sharing family meals most days: better health and more happiness!
Researchers from the University of Delaware and the University of Bath, England, have published a systematic literature review and meta-analysis in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior that shows more frequent family meals are associated with both better dietary outcomes and enhanced family functioning.
It seems the more often a family eats together, the less junk and processed foods the parents and kids consume. Maybe no one is popping into a fast food place to grab a bite, or once parents know everyone will share a meal they upgrade the contents. But whatever the cause, the result is that everyone eats more fruit and veggies. Kids age 2-3 need about 1 cup of fruit daily; age 4-13, 1.5 cups. For veggies, make it 1 cup daily for 2- to 3-year-olds; ages 4-8, 1.5 cups; and 9-13, girls need 2 and boys need 2.5 cups.
Also, enhanced family functioning, defined in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior as "family connectedness, communication, expressiveness, and problem-solving," means you all talk to one another more, become better at working out conflicts and can answer all the questions kids have these days about what is going on in the world. Enjoy your opportunity to get closer and healthier!
One way to do that is to purchase a healthy eating cookbook and page through the recipes with your kids. Let them get involved with shopping and cooking, and together you can try out some new dishes.
Q: I'm 65, and my doc says I'm overdue for my shingles vaccine. I hear it's a tough one to tolerate, so I've been putting it off. Then she told me it also helps protect against stroke. How does that work? - Cam E., Memphis, Tennessee
A: First of all, the shingles vaccine is generally safe, even though some people get flulike symptoms (headache, fatigue), a skin rash and/or joint pain that can last a day or two. But the vaccine side effects are nothing compared with the notoriously painful short- and long-term consequences of a shingles attack (nerve pain that can last for months or years). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that one in three people in the U.S. will develop shingles in their lifetime and recommends that healthy adults 50 years and older get two doses of the shingles vaccine called Shingrix two to six months apart. It's most effective in folks 66 to 79. Some folks with a compromised immune system shouldn't get the vaccine.
Shingrix is preferred to the zoster vaccine live (Zostavax), in use since 2006. However, Zostavax can still be used by healthy adults 60 and older who are allergic to Shingrix or request immediate vaccination and Shingrix is unavailable. Vaccination is 90% effective at preventing shingles and even more effective at decreasing post-shingles nerve pain.
That should be reason enough for you to get the vaccination, but if you need more convincing, a CDC study found that it slashed the risk of stroke by 20% for folks under 80 and by 10% for those over 80. It does that by preventing you from getting shingles - which is highly inflammatory to your system and may cause disruptions in your veins and blood that promote clotting.
So if you're still concerned about your reaction to the shot, talk it over with your doctor again and then weigh the pros and cons. We think you'll agree that it is very beneficial in the long run.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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