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Caitlin Whyte: Welcome to Hally HealthCast, the wellness podcast from Hally Health, your partner in helping you live your healthiest life. Every episode on our podcast addresses a new topic important to your health and wellbeing, bringing in expert doctors, therapists, and specialists who offer advice and answer your most pressing questions.

March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. So today, we're discussing healthful, mindful eating for people of all ages. Here with us are two experts. Kristina Adams-Smith is a registered dietician and licensed dietician nutritionist who works at Carle Health, headquartered in Urbana, Illinois. And Melissa Smith is a registered dietician, nutritionist and licensed dietician nutritionist. She's the Director of Milestones Nutrition and Behavioral Health, a service of the Stephens Family YMCA in Champaign, Illinois. Welcome to you both and thanks for being with us today.

Before we jump in, since this is National Nutrition Month after all, I'd like to remind listeners to check out hally.com for tasty recipes. That's H-A-L-L-Y, hally.com. And for all of you aspiring home chefs, visit facebook.com/hallyhealth for healthy cooking videos and more.

All right, let's begin. Ms. Adams-Smith, why is nutrition so important? And why should all of us, young, old and in-between, care about what we're eating and drinking?

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: Well, that's a very big question. Basically, it just boils down to taking care of our bodies so that we can, you know, get the most out of life while we're, you know, active in doing things. So I think it's just important to make sure that we're not only fueling our bodies properly, but also, you know, making sure that it's a good balance of activity and a good life just in general.

Caitlin Whyte: Absolutely. And Ms. Smith -- I hope that doesn't get confusing for our listeners, Ms. Adams-Smith and Ms. Smith -- but is there anything you'd like to add to that question?

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Yeah, I can totally add some. I mean, she hit it pretty much in line with how I would speak about it, but I truly believe that nutrition is necessary for health and growth and longevity, and many of you know, that some foods can aid in disease prevention and provide an increased protection against common illnesses, you know. And along with, you know, those types of foods that can do that, like I feel it's important to also recognize that the foods that we put into our body directly affect like the structure and function of our brains and ultimately our mood. It's like a whole body picture. It's including our general health, how we grow from children to adult as well as our longevity. And then we bring in that mental health perspective of it, is that foods that we put in our body and our fuel that we consume on a daily basis does impact our mood.

Caitlin Whyte: Thank you. Such great information from both of you. Now, Ms. Adams-Smith, back to you, this year's theme for National Nutrition Month is celebrate a world of flavors. Now, tell us, what does this theme mean to you?

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: To me, it means just making sure that we're open to trying different foods that are available to us. A lot of times, I think we get stuck in the same routine, which, you know, can maybe not open our doors to more nutrient-dense foods that we may be missing out on, trying to make sure that we're focusing on what other opportunities of different food availability there is to seek out different flavors. And there's lots of benefits to, you know, different cultural types of foods too. So not only, you know, just looking at the same, you know, dishes that we're always cooking, but even just like flavors, as far as different seasonings that we may be using or different ingredients that are being prepared. So trying to find ways to just incorporate some of those other flavors so that we're getting a good variety and good nutritional base.

Caitlin Whyte: Yes, I love that. And Ms. Smith, tell us what does Celebrate A World of Flavors mean to you.

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Well, so cooking is one of my most favorite things to do. In fact, I just spent like the last week and a half home with my family and my children making all types of new dishes and recipes. It's one of my favorite things that my daughter likes to do with me. So in speaking to that, like, I feel that food brings people together and it is celebratory. And the theme speaks to inclusivity and diversity. Celebrating A World of Flavors encourages people to come together and experience new flavors and traditions. Like in general, just very simply put, to learn about one another in our culture. And I totally agree with my colleague on the phone here that there's so many nutritional benefits in seasonings that may not be used in your home on a regular basis. So maybe getting out there and either seeing a dietician to expand what's coming onto the dinner table and learn how to do that in a way that your entire family will accept it rather than turn their nose up at a new spice or something like that, but there's definitely health benefits out there in our seasoning and in our fresh herbs and things like that.

Caitlin Whyte: You know, I often tell people, if I could have one super power, it would be to enjoy the act of cooking. And I'm so jealous that you just have that already. I've been working on it, you know, with the quarantine and stuff, but it's a hard one to get into.

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: It is. You know, a lot of people will definitely say to me, "Well, that's your job, like your job is to love to cook." I'm like, "Well, not all RDs love cooking." You know, one thing I also wanted to add about Celebrating A World of flavors is that I feel like there's a way to speak to mindfulness when talking about flavors and foods. And being mindful is simply kind of a process of being present and in the moment. Often meal times, if you work long hours or have a family or a partner and they have different working hours, they're rushed and experiencing the flavors and the smell and the texture of the food isn't even noticed.

So I feel like being mindful can truly help you enjoy your meal, actually enjoy the conversation at the meal too, right, and being present. And that practice of mindfulness can leave a feeling satiated, not only physically satiated, but mentally. And one thing that I work on with my clients is that like mental satisfaction. You know, we live in a world where we should constantly take out food from our diet and our intake, and we shouldn't have this and that. And sometimes that leads a person searching and seeking for more, you know, and wanting, "Oh, we shouldn't eat carbohydrates," so to speak. And so when we go ahead and we allow ourselves to have that little bit of pasta at that meal, that's where we can taste it, smell it, enjoy it and then mentally be satisfied, rather than living in depravation.

Caitlin Whyte: I love that. You know, that's so true, even if we are cooking at home. I eat so many meals in front of the TV and totally forget what I'm eating. And it's so important to kind of zoom in on the food rather than the Netflix.

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Yeah. It's a way to engage in conversation too. And I often like to check in with my children, like, "What do you guys taste?" You know, "Can you name a spice?" I mean, my daughter's on it. My son's like, "Oh, come on, mom," you know.

Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Now, turning to some advice and tips. Ms. Adams-Smith, we'll start with you. I know that no two people should follow the exact same nutrition plan, but what are your top tips for people, just kind of in general in making healthy and nutritious food choices?

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: I think mainly keeping it simple. A lot of times I have clients that just seem like they overthink some of the steps or processes to eating healthy and making things nutritious. So just trying to keep things simple, you know, it could be as simple as, you know, a bag of frozen vegetables steamed with some grilled chicken, trying to realize that it doesn't have to be this five-step gourmet meal to make something nutritious and healthy. Also, just trying to focus on what the family is eating, I guess, like kind of getting everyone involved, so that way, you know, there's a say, I guess, so everyone has input to kind of working on incorporating foods that, you know, everyone likes or getting everyone involved to kind of help make it more of a dynamic, more kind of that mindfulness piece that we were just talking about, looking at ways to kind of incorporate that as well to keeping things, you know, in line with healthier, nutritious foods. Looking ways to just add nutrition to something you may be already cooking or making. It may just be, you know, taking out a third of the pasta and adding a third more vegetables to increase, you know, that nutritional content. So it doesn't have to be, I guess, too over-thought, so just keeping it simple and making those healthy nutritious meals.

Caitlin Whyte: Thank you. Some great tips there. And Ms. Smith, same question.

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Yeah, I'm totally in line with her on this. I love the point being made of like not overthinking things. Truly, I like to lead with the philosophy of like what can we add in in order to diversify and enhance a person's nutrition versus what can we take away. So I liked the idea of like, "Hey, why don't we swap out a little bit of this pasta for that broccoli," I think that that's a perfect way for a person to add increased nutrition into that meal.

I often ask a client, you know, I say, "Why don't you just take a look at 24 or 48 hours and think about various food groups and mono and saturated fats and different things," and just look where you might have some holes. And we don't have to worry about taking the other things away all of the time, but what can we add in? And often clients are like, "Oh, my gosh. I'm really struggling with my fruit consumption. You know, can you provide me some ideas and ways that I could get that in that's different than just eating an apple?" And so like maybe offering up like an overnight oats recipe that has apples in it. It's still simple, but yet works on enhancing and filling in the holes that's in their intake.

Caitlin Whyte: Yeah, those are great. And like you said, they're so simple to incorporate. Ms. Adams-Smith, back to you. I know we have a lot of parents and guardians listening to our podcasts. Do you have any tips for busy parents and guardians who want to make sure their kids get healthy and nutritious meals and snacks?

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: Absolutely. I think that's one of the hardest things I find as a parent myself is to work those in. But I feel like it's a balance of, you know, not trying to be too strict in one direction or another, to let them have free range of kind of picking the foods that they like, but obviously making sure you have the healthy food choices at home at the same time. So there's got to be a compromise there. I think a little bit, just to make sure that the parents aren't bringing a bunch of unhealthy foods in the house where the kids don't really have choices for some of those healthy options. So trying to make sure that that balance is there and getting the kids involved too, maybe either taking them to the store or getting some, you know, items that you maybe aren't aware that they like. They may have tried things at school that you don't know that they like or a friend's house. So just trying to make more awareness of what their food choices are available and keeping those, you know, nutritious meals or snacks and things healthy and just kind of minimizing, you know, eating out, fast food, the kind of things that just fall into line with our lifestyle these days that we really can't expect everyone to not do one thing or the other, but trying to find what that balance is for that family.

Caitlin Whyte: Great ideas. Thank you so much. And Ms. Smith, turning to a different topic now, but a very important one. In 21st Century America, a lot of advice about what to eat, mainly from people who are not healthcare experts is based on an unhealthy diet culture that can lead to eating disorders and unhealthy relationships with our food. Now, I understand that you've worked a lot in your current and past jobs, helping people who struggle with eating disorders. So please tell us what we should know about this very important topic.

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Yeah. No problem. And thank you for giving me the time and space to speak a little bit about this very important topic in eating disorders. One thing that I do want to point out in regards to eating disorders is that there is a very common misconception that eating disorders are a lifestyle choice. And actually eating disorders are a very serious illness that are often fatal and associated with severe disturbance in a person's eating behaviors. So what I mean by that is either a person who's struggling with an eating disorder could struggle with restriction of food or bingeing with food or bulemia with food. And all of these types of behaviors are associated with maybe disturbances in thoughts and emotions, that that person is utilizing those behaviors to cope with those specific thoughts and emotions.

And, you know, whether a person is struggling with bingeing, anorexia or bulimia, I often feel it's important to note that, in general, society assumes that these disorders primarily exist among Caucasian, young, middle to upper class individuals and really, that's far from the truth. And, you know, you were speaking of social media and different pieces that kind of really put out there a very diet-specific culture. And, you know, part of those messages that go out there or part of the messages that are delivered that do support that eating disorders are among that sort of Caucasian, young, middle, upper class, really negates individuals. It's the number one reason why non-white like Hispanic, African-American and other individuals do not seek care because of that stereotyping that is out there.

And so I feel it's very important for us to create awareness that an eating disorder, it doesn't select one culture, one race, anything. It can affect us all. I have worked with individuals that are as young as eight years old, and that are as old as 83 years old that struggle with disordered eating and have a poor relationship with food.

And I just feel like creating awareness and us, as healthcare providers in general, like looking at how we're wording foods and how we're speaking to our children or how teachers are educating children within public school systems on nutrition and making sure that we aren't labeling things as good and bad, and really trying to like neutralize food and putting foods on an even playing ground so that when children, they're proposed like to have a snack, that yes, sometimes they'll choose snack A, which could be Skittles, and sometimes they'll choose snack B, which could be an apple, and that there isn't really a congratulations when it's the apple, that it's just like, "Hey, it's food in general. And it's fuel no matter what." We understand that it would be great that if 80% of our intake was fruits, vegetables, fiber, protein, and all of that is fantastic, but there's still room for 20% of those playful foods that taste good and that we all can't live without and mine is simply dark chocolate and probably popcorn, like movie theater popcorn every once in a while, really trying to like neutralize food and put it on an even playing ground.

I also, to kind of get back on track with that, feel that it's important to understand that a person who may be struggling with an eating disorder may appear healthy. They may appear of normal body weight, yet that person still could be extremely ill. So it's kind of one of those things where we just don't judge a book by its cover. And as healthcare professionals, trying not to always congratulate a significant weight loss, because I think that often happens where a person of larger body size could come in and they could have a significant weight loss and there's a lot of, "Well, congratulations, you've lost X amount of pounds." And without asking, you know, how did they do this and is everything okay, it could have came from the result of behaviors of an eating disorder, and so looking to explore a little bit more.

Just to put a little info out on where individuals can find help, I think is important. If they suspect themselves or a loved one may be struggling with an eating disorder, nationaleatingdisorders.org is a great place for people to go to find out information on how to help themselves or how to help a loved one. There is a screening tool that is located under the kind of Find Help section that can be used for individuals that are 13 years of age or older. And it's very short. It's like 10 to 12 questions, very easy. And it kind of can help determine if it's time for a person to seek help. So I find it very useful in situations like that if somebody is just in general wondering like, "Huh, should I try to help this person" or "Do I myself need to reach out for help?"

Another thing is that on nationaleatingdisorders.org, there's an online chat, so you can chat with an expert and there's a texting option as well. So if you just have in general questions about a person's specific eating behaviors that you're worried about or your own, I feel like NEDA is a great website to reach out and to get some information on.

And then lastly, I mean, I'm here in our community in Champaign-Urbana. And people can reach out to me if they have questions about themselves or a loved one and are seeking support or help or guidance. And I can connect them to individuals such as mental health therapists and psychiatry, and just in general work together to help heal a person.

Caitlin Whyte: Wonderful. Thank you, Ms. Smith, for sharing and thank you for doing that work. Now, Ms. Adams-Smith, is there anything else you'd like to add to this important topic?

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: I just think it's definitely important topic to be aware of and just looking for seeking out resources that can definitely be helpful in dealing with this definitely important topic. I see it sometimes come through from providers with referrals, you know, that, you know, it's either a parent has brought a child in or an adult themselves seeking assistance with this. And it can definitely be a multifactor approach too with different providers. So I think it's important to maybe don't feel like as a provider, as a dietician, it's all like one sided, so there's other providers that can be a good resource to these patients and making sure to seek out other assistance for them.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, thank you both for such helpful and important information. This topic is often lost in our culture's overall discussion of food and healthy eating. And your advice is going to help so many people.

Now, as we're finishing up this episode today, I'd like to kind of tie everything together. Ms. Smith, we'll turn to you first. Food is a beautiful thing. It nourishes us. It keeps us healthy and strong, brings us together over shared meals with the people we love and it tastes good. So how can all of us truly celebrate healthful, nutritious, mindful, intuitive, and nonjudgmental eating this month and beyond? What would you like your overall takeaway message for our listeners to be this episode?

Melissa Smith, RDN, LDN: Oh, wow. That's a great question. Yeah. I love your summary. It just makes me excited about my job. I guess what I want to say is with the pressure to look a certain way and to be a certain body shape or weight is out there nonstop and really to adapt a healthy relationship with not only food, but exercise because I feel like that's so, so important. And what that looks like is just being able to explore and go out and have a pizza night. And then the following day, serving up a meal of a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, you know, things like that. And looking at celebrating food through your family and finding new recipes and exploring your own culture and kind of where you came from and digging into the roots of that and maybe even asking for family recipes and, you know, comparing them like my spaghetti to my nonna's spaghetti or whatever it might be, and like noting the different flavors and being mindful and present and just having conversation surrounded around mealtime. If we could all just take a couple of maybe one meal during a workweek and one on the weekend where we work together to prepare the food and we sit and we talk about the flavors or we try new recipes as a family or a partner. Just doing that together can, I feel, create a different relationship with food rather than always being on the go.

Caitlin Whyte: Yes. Thank you for that. I agree. And Ms. Adams-Smith, same question to you.

Kristina Adams-Smith, RD: Yeah, I definitely kind of mirror what Ms. Smith said, definitely looking at a way to bring the family together and more dynamics. I just see it happen with my family and my children when, you know, we're cooking together and eating at home, they just seem to thrive so much more than if we're rushed going through a drive-through or we have to go eat out somewhere. There's just, you know, the constant like, "Oh, do we have to? Can we just go home?" And so I see that connection that they like to have or, you know, just that dynamic to bring everybody together." It doesn't always happen because I know we all have things going on. So I think it's just a matter of keeping in mind that food is medicine. And so we feel better when we're eating better. And to keep that perspective, you know, when we are feeding ourselves and feeding others around us or caring for others around us, to make sure that we're continuing to be mindful of those food choices we're making, the things we're cooking. Definitely, with the theme with the National Nutrition Month of Celebrate A World of Flavors, there's so many opportunities to incorporate that and many different avenues and venues of how we're incorporating foods through our life.

Caitlin Whyte: Well, you both have truly been some wonderful guests. Thank you so much, Ms. Adams-Smith and Ms. Smith for joining us today and for all you do every day at Carle and the Stephens Family YMCA to help so many individuals and families throughout our communities. That concludes today's Hally HealthCast. Tune in next time as we tackle yet another topic important for your health and wellbeing.

And remember, Hally Health is your partner in helping you live your healthiest life. Visit hally.com for resources, information, tips, and much more. Help us help keep you and your family healthy and well. Thanks for listening. We hope you tune in again.