Spring into the season with these healthy tips

Spring is a time of renewal, growth, and new beginnings. As the snow melts and flowers begin to bloom, many people strive to implement healthier lifestyle choices after the hibernation mode of winter. 

Lenora Vatamaniuck, Registered Dietitian with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA), provided some healthy tips to put a spring in your step this season. She shared that fruits and vegetables usually decrease in price a little bit as they become in season.

"That helps people a lot and helps to lighten up our diet a little bit, provide a lot of those micronutrients that maybe we haven't been getting as much of during the winter months."

She explained that it's important to get adequate, lean sources of protein.

"I always recommend people go as close to nature as possible. So if you have your canned salmon or your canned tuna, your beef and your pork, avoiding those more deli meats as much as you can because they have a lower quality of protein, as opposed to those more natural meats."

When it comes to snacking, Vatamaniuck commented that a lot of times we miss out on protein with snacking, possibly because it's not as convenient or we don't think of it right away.

"Protein is really going to help to keep you satisfied throughout that portion of the day, so whether that's mid-morning, mid-afternoon, or even evening. Some ideas are a few nuts and seeds, and the portion control is important with a lot of this. So, I often recommend people get out a little container or a little snack bag, pre-portion it so that you're not sitting there with a big bag of nuts that you're going to eat too many of."

"Hard boiled eggs are a great option. They're easy to prepare and relatively mess-free to eat if you're at a desk, so packing a couple of eggs is a good snack. There's always Greek yogurt, some cottage cheese, vegetables with a hummus dip, cream cheese, or guacamole dip. Again, that canned salmon or tuna, mix it with a little bit of mayonnaise or avocado and have it with some vegetables like cucumber slices."

Although not an exercise expert, Vatamaniuck said that doing any activity that you can and that you enjoy is important; anything that gets your heart pumping.

"Going out for a walk, sometimes people have a dance party in their kitchen, something that's going to get your blood pumping, your heart pumping, some muscle effort is the idea. You don't need to go and pump lots of iron to have that workout, although there's nothing wrong with that too if you enjoy that and will do it consistently, so that is typically the key."

She explained that getting other people involved helps as well. Going with someone for a walk, meeting friends for pickleball or tennis helps to keep us accountable and makes it social, which is nice too.

"When we talk about heart health, if there is a history of any kind of heart condition, I would really suggest consulting with a physio or an exercise therapist, somebody that has some expertise in that background so that you're not pushing yourself too hard and causing more damage."

Stress management and getting enough sleep are also important for heart health, Vatamaniuck noted.

Conversely, there are also conditions that can increase the chances of having a heart attack or stroke within 10 years.

She explained that there's a condition called metabolic syndrome, which is a combination of different conditions put together. "There's five different components that go into that: increased waste circumference, or obesity/overweight, hypertension or high blood pressure, type two or pre-diabetes, and then a couple of lipid or cholesterol numbers, so high triglycerides and low HDL, or what we sometimes call that good cholesterol."

"A doctor can diagnose metabolic syndrome if you meet three out of five of those criteria."

Statistically speaking, Vatamaniuck mentioned that as of the 2018 statistical analysis, 63% of Canadians have an increased waist circumference, or are obese/overweight, 25% of adults as of 2019 have high blood pressure, 30% as of 2022 have pre or type two diabetes according to Diabetes Canada, 30% have high triglyceride levels as of 2020, and about 18% have low HDL or good cholesterol, as of 2017.

Vatamaniuck summarized healthy tips for spring by reminding everyone that it's important to, "Get those fruits and vegetables in, and those lean proteins and get active out there, as we can get really sedentary over the winter. As the weather warms up, that supports all of us and gives us a little bit better of a mood and outlook on life, which helps too."

Those wishing to speak with a Registered Dietitian in the Weyburn, Fillmore, Lampman, Midale, or Stoughton area can call 306-842-8425.