By Julie Russel, RDN, LD, CDCES
Outpatient Dietitian/Diabetes Educator, Endocrinology & Diabetes Specialists of Northwest Ohio

March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is ‘Discover the Power of Nutrition.' Nutrition provides us with ‘power’ through energy. Food provides the fuel our bodies need to perform essential functions. Learning how to properly fuel yourself can help you level up your health and feel better throughout the day. 

Our bodies require “clean fuel” from the foods we consume. Many foods and drinks contain added sugars, sodium and saturated fats, which can displace essential nutrients our bodies need. Emphasizing whole foods and reducing processed food intake is crucial. The food groups can serve as helpful guides to ensure our bodies receive the nutrients they need. A healthy eating pattern includes whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and protein. Along with balancing your diet, eating a variety of foods each day helps prevent diet fatigue and provides essential vitamins and minerals for health.

It's also important to feed our bodies throughout the day rather than just once. Our metabolism functions more efficiently with smaller, frequent meals. Additionally, eating several small meals throughout the day helps us avoid becoming excessively hungry, as this can make portion control and healthy decision-making more difficult.

Many people feel that healthy eating is too costly. While it can be more expensive, there are strategies to stay nourished on a limited budget. Creating a grocery list and sticking to it helps ensure you only buy what you need and don’t spend excessively. Checking store sales when planning meals is another useful tip for creating balanced meals without breaking the bank. 

Developing cooking skills suited to the tools you have is a crucial first step. Most foods can be prepared without special equipment and learning how to cook a variety of dishes enables you to make the most of budget-friendly ingredients. Many recipes can be adapted to incorporate cheaper ingredients or substitutes to match your budget. For instance, replacing some or all of the meat in soups or casseroles with beans, or opting for frozen or canned vegetables instead of fresh ones.

When you're looking to make changes in your eating habits, start small. If you try to change everything at once, it can become overwhelming. Begin by assessing your daily drinks and aim to reduce or replace sugary beverages with sugar-free alternatives, ideally with more water. Then consider making healthier substitutions, such as choosing brown rice over white rice or whole-grain bread over white bread. Instead of concentrating on all the foods to eliminate, focus on adding healthy options, such as fruit with yogurt or vegetables with a sandwich. Small changes can lead to big changes over time. In March, let’s focus on powering up your nutrition!