St. Joseph Health, St. Mary driving Healthy High Desert program
BY L.J. GAMBONE
APPLE VALLEY REVIEW
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
It’s been nearly 2,500 years since Greek physician Hippocrates shared this advice with the world, but it has perhaps become more important than ever to take it seriously. Over the past 50 years, experts say America truly has become a grab-and-go nation, choosing to consume unhealthy convenience foods over fresh fruits and vegetables.
Through its Healthy High Desert program, St. Joseph Health, St. Mary has set out to help area residents get back on track with their eating habits. Each month, registered dieticians at St. Mary's conduct about 200 counseling sessions, which include tips for maintaining a healthy diet as well as how to inspire children to favor good foods over poor ones.
“Eating healthy has really become a challenge for people in this country,” said Kevin Mahany, director of advocacy and healthy communities at St. Mary's. “And it’s even more challenging here in the High Desert where it can be difficult to find affordable fresh fruits and vegetables. “We try to point families to places to shop and also dispel the idea that eating healthy costs a lot of money. For instance, the 99 Cents Only stores have a wonderful selection of produce that’s very inexpensive.”
The diabetes rate in the High Desert is alarmingly high due to the amount of sugar and processed foods that are consumed by residents, Mahany said. He believes those numbers can be dramatically reduced if residents will eat healthy foods and forgo sodas, sweetened fruit juices and sugary snacks.
“The thing about diabetes that is so scary is that if it gets out of control, it can lead to serious circulation problems,” said Mahany. “But a simple thing like eating right can go along way at preventing and also curtailing the symptoms of the disease. The best medicine in the world is fruits and vegetables.”
Mahany said that along with private counseling sessions, St. Mary's also partners with area schools to bring nutrition-related information into the classroom. The effects have been far-reaching, as institutions like the county’s Pre-School Department (Head Start) and Hesperia Unified School District have adopted healthy food policies in their cafeterias.
In 2014, 244 overweight and obese children lost a significant amount of weight through the improvement of their diets, he said.
“It’s been great to see that parents really do care about what their families are eating,” said Mahany. “They are starting to understand there are so many simple changes they can make that will go a long way in helping themselves and their children to be healthy.”
Healthy High Desert is part of the Healthy San Bernardino County program, which was put in place to promote physical, mental, emotional and financial health through informative resources. Its website, www.healthysanbernardinocounty.org, offers everything from articles and statistics to a listing of health-related events and classes.
Mahany said the county’s program has changed the lives of more people in the High Desert than he ever could have imagined.
“The Healthy High Desert program teaches the 5-2-1-0 method,” said Mahany. “That means eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, limiting computer and TV time to two hours or less, engaging in one hour of physical activity daily and cutting out sodas and sweetened juices altogether.
“Ultimately, it’s about taking our power back and not allowing junk foods to crowd out all of the healthy ones. We’re not saying you have to make big changes all at once but we encourage people to start small because even tiny adjustments can make a whole lot of difference.
“I’m optimistic because more and more families are getting on board with getting back to basics.”
Visit www.healthyhighdesert.com for more information about Health High Desert