Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 From Riverside Health System. This is the Healthy Youth Podcast where we talk about a range of health related topics focused on improving your physical and mental health. We chat with our providers, team members, patients and caregivers to learn more about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and improve overall physical and mental health. So let's dive in to learn more about becoming a healthier youth, I am really excited to be here today talking with Lanita Williams. Hello. Hello, Lanita. Hi. Lenita has a Master's of Science and is a registered dietician. Yes, ma'am. So really excited to have you. And she's a clinical dietician Yes. At Riverside Regional Medical Center. So how are you? I'm well today. Thank you Frankie. Appreciate you guys having me today on the Healthy Youth Podcast. So, um, yes, just real excited and nervous, but real excited. Yes, yes, yes. So our topic today is the nutrition and the immune system.
Speaker 0 00:00:58 Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, what is the link? So, um, nutrition definitely plays a role in our immune health. So for those that wanna know about, you know, a little bit more about the immune system, it's basically our immune system works to remove, um, foreign bacteria or materials, um, from our bodies. So bacteria, viruses, any blood tissues or um, blood or tissue cells from our body, anything foreign, our immune system, um, will work to remove it without any adverse reactions. And so the immune system is made up of special cells, tissues, and organs, like our lymphatic system and our spleen. And they work to basically protect us and keep us healthy. Okay. Um, there is a link, um, as far as nutrition in immune health. And so with nutrition, it affects inflammatory processes in our body. Um, so for example, someone consuming like a lot of added sugar, um, there's research that links, you know, a lot of added sugar intake to things like obesity and insulin resistance and also to inflammation.
Speaker 0 00:02:05 Nutrition affects our white blood cell functions. So, you know, we have to make sure we're eating enough vitamins and minerals to strengthen and build our white blood cells. Um, it affects our microbiome and our, our GI health, our GI barrier functions. So, um, all of those things affect immune health and nutrition has, uh, you know, relation a role in that. And so with that said, I think people listening will be happy to know that, um, as far as guidelines to dietary guidelines to prevent illness, they are very similar to nutrition guidelines for healthy eating in general. Yeah. You said so many things that resonate with me. Um, and as I think about that, you know, I grew up in the south and so I, I'm thinking through how do I go and explain that to my mother. And my mother's love language is food <laugh> and that's how she expresses love.
Speaker 0 00:02:54 So, you know, we grew up with a lot of carbs and the more you ate ate the better. So talk a little bit about that. And I know in my own family background mm-hmm. <affirmative> diabetes and high blood pressure Yeah. Is very prominent. And so even though I'm a nurse, um, for many years I didn't even read labels. Yeah. And so when I went on the journey to prevent, um, becoming a diabetic, I really learned how to eat better. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, how to go in the grocery store and actually read the labels and understand how much carbs are in certain things and how much sugar. And then I noticed that there was an association with what I ate as to how my joints felt. So, um, you just hit a lot of things that I dealt with in my past. So if you could just expand on that and how culturally you start having those conversations with your family members and loved ones.
Speaker 0 00:03:43 Yes, ma'am. So, um, I've, you know, looked at different types of diets and the most common one, of course in this country, the western diet of course, is what's called. And basically that diet is composed of foods that have a lot of saturated fat and processed foods that have a lot of added salt, sugar and calories. And research has, um, linked this western diet to inflammation and promoting the development of diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancers. Um, and so, and having that conversation, I guess with your family is just really talking about going to a diet that promotes, you know, intake of those foods, like the western diet. It includes those foods that we need for our health. I mean, it doesn't include as much of those foods that we need for our health, like fruits and vegetables, right. Whole grain foods, lagoons, which is our beans and peas and, um, lentils and, um, fish like our fatty fish.
Speaker 0 00:04:42 So really, um, it's just about working to making sure that we're including more of those things on our plates, those whole foods that are nutrient dense and not calorie dense, and really limiting the things that are like really processed and heavy and saturated fats and trans fats. Okay. So there is truth to some of the things you used to hear growing up, like an apple a day keeps the doctor away, <laugh>, eat your vegetables. Yes. All of those things and drink plenty of water. Yeah, for sure. And that's, that's something that I really have to plan out. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, I know that we get busy, but, um, you know, eight cups of water a day. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, you know, what, what is your as, what is your thought process around getting in hydration and making sure you get in enough fluids each day and the impact that it has on the body mm-hmm. <affirmative>
Speaker 0 00:05:27 And on your immune system? Definitely hydration is important. Um, and then as far as like how much water, I get that question a lot sometimes, how much should I drink? And sometimes that can vary. It, it can depend on a lot of things. It can depend on like your, your activity level for sure. Or you know, whatever illness, if you're taking certain medications or anything like that. Um, if you have an illness that you might need to restrict and not drink as much fluid. But something, a good rule of thumb is I, I usually tell people to kind of just pay attention to their body and, um, you know, know like paying attention to like, um, signs for dehydration, like checking your urine if you're, you know, making sure that you're not noticing like a dark color should be like a pale yellow and making sure you're not feeling like, you know, um, tired or, you know, just, um, feeling like your mouth is really dry and you're just having a hard time concentrating.
Speaker 0 00:06:17 So just paying attention for signs of dehydration, but just really drinking plenty of water with your, you know, your meals. Of course, drinking when you're thirsty, taking sips throughout the day, just kind of paying attention to how you feel. Okay. Great information. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, talk a little bit about sodium intake and conge. You hear a lot about congestive heart failure. Yeah. Um, and so how do you begin to, um, monitor mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, and really look at what you're taking in as far as your sodium and the impact that it has on your heart? Long term for sure. Yes. Um, sodium, definitely a link there with heart disease. Um, then, you know, especially people with, um, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure, when we take in a lot of sodium that can cause our body to hold on to, you know, fluid and that makes our heart to have to work harder.
Speaker 0 00:07:03 And so there's certain things that we can do to limit the sodium in our diet. Um, one of those would be, um, you know, not adding any additional salt onto our food, of course. Um, at home limiting our intake of processed foods. Um, so because a lot of those like drive through and restaurant foods, they have a lot of added salt in them. So, um, we talk a lot about this at cardiac rehab. Yes. I think I told you earlier. Yes. Yes. I actually teach, um, heart healthy diet education for the phase two cardiac rehab program at regional. We talk a lot about salt intake and so I tell people, you know, you know who still has the salt shake on the, the table <laugh>. Yeah. And they're like, I do, but it's just for decoration. I'm like, okay, good <laugh>. Right. But, um, so we, you know, talk about a lot about cooking from home, um, with fresh ingredients.
Speaker 0 00:07:47 So, you know, going to the store and getting fresh proteins, fresh fruits and vegetables or frozen, and then they prepare it with herbs and spices to add that flavor using substitutes to, you know, to add the flavor like lemon juice or vinegar. Okay. Um, those things that don't, you know, have any salt in them to bring out the flavor and um, you know, when they prepared at home they can control what goes into it. Right. Um, that and you know, just, again, moderation I preach a lot about. So enjoying your food is, you know, it's important for sure. Um, but just making sure not to enjoy too much of it. Right. I'm glad you talked about substitutes because I'm a, I'm a cook and so, uh, the litmus test that it's really good is that they don't have to add anything after you prepare it.
Speaker 0 00:08:32 So I do put a lot of things in my food and I had to really learn how to use garlic and onions and not so much of all of the different seasonals and accents and different things that may have, uh, increased sodium. So that's really good. Um, feedback as it relates to that. Um, what factors can depress the immune system, um mm-hmm. <affirmative> and, you know, we're coming out of a, a pandemic and are now in what would we would term an endemic mm-hmm. <affirmative>. So as it relates to that, what are some things that would depress the immune system or, and or boost the immune system as we wanna just really be focused on immune health and, um, staying safe during, um, the, these times? Yeah, definitely. Um, so there's, when the immune system's not functioning properly, there can be several reasons for that. So with immune system, sometimes a person might be born with a primary immune deficiency, so that just means they're born with a weak immune system.
Speaker 0 00:09:28 Or someone could have an acquired immune deficiency and that just means that they may have a disease that is weakening their immune system. Um, someone could have a very active immune system and you'll see that in people who have like allergic reactions to things. And then also sometimes our immune system works against us. Right. And then that's like an autoimmune. Um, but aside from like, you know, illnesses that can weaken our immune system, there are things like, you know, certain medications can cause our immune system to be weak, like steroids or certain cancer treatments sometimes. Um, and then also, um, certain lifestyle factors. So like smoking and excessive drinking can definitely weaken our immune system. And then of course, poor nutrition. Right. So definitely wanting to avoid becoming malnourished. Okay. Or, you know, having nutrient deficiencies. Okay. Okay. Talk a little bit about, there's this mindset, um, that it costs a lot of money to eat well, right.
Speaker 0 00:10:23 To make good choices that it's expensive. So what are some things that you can do if you're really trying to, you know, you're on a budget and you really have to be mindful of how much you're spending as it relates to food mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, but then you want to incorporate some of those healthier things that you talked about. Um, from a food category perspective, definitely. Yeah. It, it, it can be. Um, but you know what if it means having good health, but I mean, for the most part there are things you can do. Um, so like when you're shopping for produce, especially I hear that a lot. Fruits and vegetables are so expensive. Right. And yeah, they can be, I encourage people to just shop. Um, for fruits and vegetables that are in season, you can get them, um, a lot cheaper in season if there's like a farmer's market nearby that you can visit, you know, up the road.
Speaker 0 00:11:07 Right. Um, support your local farmer's market and purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables there. Um, frozen vegetables can work as well. Um, in cardiac rehab we talk a lot about that too. So I'll say, you know, frozen vegetables perfect for your diet. Of course sometimes they might come like preseason and things like that. So I tell people, be mindful of those things that already have things added onto it and just kind of look to see if it's just like plain frozen broccoli or corn. Okay. Um, and then like canned vegetables of course can still fit into your diet. They are definitely cheaper than fresh, um, vegetables, but you know, for someone who might be trying to wash their salt intake, then you might wanna find that canned vegetable that has reduced sodium or no added salt. Right. So there's certainly ways around that we can fit, you know, those things into our diet and still not have to break the, the bank and fit it into your budget.
Speaker 0 00:11:54 My mom used to say with the canned goods, if you pour out the juice then you won't get the sodium <laugh>. Yes. And add water. Yes. Draining the juice and rinse them off with water. Definitely removed that extra salt. What about, um, vitamins and herbal supplements? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, can they help boost your immune system? Are there some that are better than others or some we should avoid? Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, with vitamin supplementation and herbal supplementation? I would definitely say as far as re research goes, it's still pretty controversial. Um, uh, for people who might need like, um, have increased nutrient needs. So like certain populations like elderly population or someone who's critically ill or our pregnant population, you know, they either have an increased nutrient need or they might have difficulty getting those nutrients in. And so in that case, like a multivitamin supplement that provides no more than 100% of the recommended, um, dietary allowance is, um, can be beneficial in that sense.
Speaker 0 00:12:56 Aside from that, I would say vitamins and herbal supplements, definitely. I don't think they should replace a healthy diet. Um, I think it's, you know, a lot better for people to try to get those vitamins and minerals through eating whole nutritious foods just because when you eat those whole nutritious foods, not only do you get those vitamins and minerals, but you get other things like fiber that you wouldn't get in a multivitamin supplement. Right. Um, aside from that, you know, definitely, like I said, those certain populations could benefit if, if you're not getting enough of those nutrients in your diet, then mm-hmm. <affirmative>, one of the things, um, that I learned when I started my journey to prevent diabetes, um, due to my family history was like I said, learning how to read the labels. Yeah. And really understanding that. And you would think as a nurse I should know that, but sometimes we don't always do what we're supposed to do. <laugh>
Speaker 0 00:13:44 Even though we know better, was really looking at carbohydrates. And then fiber. Would you talk about the association between that and the importance of adding fiber to your diet? Definitely. Um, adding fiber, very important. And I wanna say definitely here and our, a lot of people, we don't get enough fiber in our diet. It's good for our gastrointestinal health, um, for when it keeps our GI tract functioning, um, helps, you know, keep, you know, keep us regular Right. And helping to prevent things like constipation. It may even have some help in, um, you know, um, reducing your risk of things like colon cancer. Right. And also reducing, um, helping to reduce with cholesterol levels. So we wanna get fiber from things like our whole grains, so whole grain products or whole wheat. We wanna get it from fruits and vegetables. Um, again, going meta cardiac rehab, <laugh>, <laugh>, we talk a lot about when we're eating fruits and vegetables, especially like fruits with the skin.
Speaker 0 00:14:44 Yeah. Um, you get like fiber definitely in the skin of our apples and pears and things like that. So I always tell people next time you get an apple, eat the whole apple. Um, <laugh> <laugh>. And um, and definitely when you're reading the food label, I encourage, um, people to look for in the ingredients list, look for words like whole or whole grain, whole wheat. Because sometimes certain products, they might say the words wheat on them, but they may not be like a whole grain or whole wheat type of products. So, um, and then also when you're looking on the label, when you look at how much fiber content is in that product, try to find products that have at least three grams of fiber or more per serving. And so there's, you know, for some people they don't always like things like whole grain toast or whole wheated.
Speaker 0 00:15:25 They're like, oh, I don't like the way that that texture feels. And so we talk about ways to start adding that into your diet. You know, if you cook with whole grain, um, start cooking with whole grain pastas or rice, um Okay. You know, if you don't already do that, then maybe start to, you know, just add it in, do half and half, maybe half white rice, half brown rice. Right. Um, anything you can do just to start to add that into your diet, so. Okay. Oh, very good. Very good. Good, good information. What about this insulin resistance? I know every time I go to the doctor she talks about insulin resistance and belly fat. Yeah. And the association around that. Would you talk a little bit about insulin resistance? Yeah. Um, so just going back to earlier, um, like I mentioned, when people are taking in a lot of foods that are processed that have a lot of added sugar, um, which you do see in like the western type of diet, right?
Speaker 0 00:16:14 It can lead to those things like insulin resistance and you know, leading to diabetes. Right? So, um, just look for, and those types of products would be like our baked goods. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, so cakes, cookies, pies, you know Right. Pastries, all the good stuff. And so when we take on a lot of that, um, added sugar, our body, you know, can hold onto that and deposit as fat around our, our abdomen area. So, um, in order to, you know, avoid that, then, you know, just really moderation, not taking in a bunch of added sugar, really limiting processed foods and get back to those whole nutritious foods and regular physical activity, um, to help reduce your risk of developing. Would you talk a little bit more about physical activity and someone who's really starting mm-hmm. <affirmative> the journey of nutrition mm-hmm. <affirmative> and then looking at how do I come up with a, uh, an entire plan that includes exercise?
Speaker 0 00:17:07 What are some of the recommendations around starting that? Um, so I will say the recommended uh, physical activity per the American Heart Association is generally about 30 minutes of physical activity. Um, excuse me, 150 minutes of physical activity. So that would equate to about 30 minutes, five days a week or so. And so also disclaimer, cause I'm not an exercise anesthesiologist, but Right. But <laugh>, right. But, um, for someone who's just starting out exercising, um, starting with something as simple as, you know, walking as long as, you know, if there's nothing going on with you physically and your doctor cleared you to do, you know, physical activity, walking of course. So taking a brisk walk, um, and then just, you know, kind of work to building yourself up. Don't, you know, if you haven't gone out there in a while, you know it's okay to work to get yourself to a certain limit, but starting walking, doing simple household chores, um, you know, vacuuming, climbing the stairs mm-hmm. <affirmative>,
Speaker 0 00:18:05 Anything that can kind of get your heart rate going. So you can start burning calories or washing the car, chasing your dog or chasing children around. Things like that. You know, going outside during the holiday times with family and just doing, you know, yard activities. So even simple things like that. Um, some people, I don't know if they feel like, oh god, you know, getting a gym membership cuz that can be very expensive too. Yeah. Um, so, but don't feel the need. Like you have to go that route. You know, there's other things that you can do that are easily accessible. Um, you know, there's lots of things on the internet, right? There's lots of free exercise videos. I'm actually, I do that myself. I wanna say at least four times a week at home. I go to YouTube and Right. I find my exercise channels and there's a lot up there to fit, you know, depending on what your schedule is.
Speaker 0 00:18:52 Cuz then there's the thing where people say, well, I don't really have enough time. So, but there's all kinds of videos out there to kind of fit your schedule. If you've got 20 minutes or if you've got 30 minutes, there's a video out there that you know you can start watching or doing. Um, there's things you can sometimes do in your office. You can try and incorporate exercising at work, taking a break, um, especially if you're, you know, have a job where you're sitting down a lot. Right. Um, you know, maybe set an alarm on your phone every hour, every 45 minutes or so to remind yourself to, you know, get up, stretch, maybe go take a walk, things like that. Right. So there's lots of things that people can do and incorporate. That's true. You hear some people talk about walking meetings mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, I donate to a gym every month.
Speaker 0 00:19:29 Oh, good. Um, that I don't attend <laugh> and so I, I, I did have to come up with things that I could do at home. So you're right, there are like videos that are free mm-hmm. <affirmative>, there's exercise equipment that you can incorporate into your home. Oh, sure. Um, but I find when I switch it up mm-hmm. <affirmative> that I don't get bored and I'm, I'm more consistent with that, so Yeah. That's good. Switching is good. And it's good for your body too. The body likes that a lot. Yes. Um, just trying different things and then you'll probably notice where you're, you might be more sore in some areas you're like, oh, I guess I haven't worked that muscle in a while. So definitely switching it up include, you know, weights if you can get your hands on them just to add some extra resistance. Um, right. My, another issue for me was I'm a former athlete and so former it was a long time ago and um, sometimes you don't realize your limitations as you get more seasoned <laugh>, um, and you end up getting hurt.
Speaker 0 00:20:22 So I really had to identify that I couldn't do the things that I did when I was younger. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>. Um, so not to injure myself. So I'm glad you talked about, you know, um, working with your physician and really definitely finding a regimen that's within your limitations. Definitely. Talk a little bit about, um, portion control. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, um, and you know, a as simple as just reading labels and understanding serving sizes. I mean, um, that was something I had to learn cuz I never really looked at that. You might get, get a bag of something and it might be, um, 10 servings in that. Right. And you eat all 10 in one setting. Yes. Um, so just talk a little bit about the importance of evaluating that, um, as it relates to moderation and, um, nutrition. Definitely portion sizes, um, important. Yes. Reading the label, that's great that you <laugh> you look there, I'll, I'll, when I educating tell people, you know, look, start at the top right.
Speaker 0 00:21:20 It'll tell you this bag has 10 servings, <laugh>. Right. And then just below that it'll tell you what one serving counselor has. Right. Right. Um, and so I encourage people to use things like measuring cups to keep themselves honest. Um, and then keeping in mind that yes, on that label, the calories and the, the, the sodium and the fat and things like that, all of that is for one serving. So yes, if you eat the entire container, you ate all of those calories and things times 10. So use measuring cups, keep yourself honest use, you know, for, especially with certain snack foods portion out those things, you know, if you know chips, if you wanna have that every now and again, um, just portioning those things out instead of taking it with you and, you know, sitting with it, you know, beside you on the couch, you get to doing, you know, right.
Speaker 0 00:22:06 Before you know it, you're at the bottom of the bag, so. Right. Um, but also, um, and then like, you know, plate sizes stick to like a standard plate size. Right. Um, cuz you know, plates come in all different sizes. Yes. And, you know, we have larger ones or smaller ones. Right. So just try to stick to like a, you know, standard size, um, so that you can, um, not have to fill, like you have to fill up this giant plate Right. Of food. Um, that's a good point. So you, you're seeing some of these restaurants that are more tapas and small plates. Yeah. So, um, definitely. I'm glad you brought up restaurants too, because sometimes well tapas Yeah, they have smaller serving, but for the restaurants that don't have that, you know, sometimes the portion sizes are a lot larger now Right. Than what they used to be.
Speaker 0 00:22:48 And so I'll encourage people to say, you know, if you go, if you do go out to eat, you know, cutting that food into half or to thirds and then saving the rest for another day, save it for later. Take, you know, the other half to lunch or share with a friend or a family member if you like sharing. Okay. All right. That's good, good information. So if they're, if someone wants to just educate themselves more, maybe have, uh, a dietary or nutrition consult just cuz they may have family history mm-hmm. <affirmative> of certain things, um, how would they navigate that and is that something that we offer here at Riverside Health System? Yes. Um, so, um, in Riverside Health System, we do offer that there's a wellness facility in the DBE area here in Newport News and there is a dietician there, um, who does nutrition counseling, um, reaching out to your physician to let them know that, you know, you'd like to seek some additional nutrition counseling so that they can, you know, uh, refer you to a dietician somewhere.
Speaker 0 00:23:48 Um, and then there's, um, we do have a dietician, I believe at, um, Walter Reeve. Okay. Um, who does some outpatient, um, diabetes diet, education, some diet counseling there. So yes, there are some, um, some resources. Um, if you don't have access to a dietician, um, I know there's a lot of information on the internet. Yes. <laugh>. Absolutely. So I tell people, you know, to be mindful of the places that they go, where they read, especially if it's like, you know, a blog of, you know, someone's, you know, it might be like their testimony, their personal opinion, but I tell people to just stick to like professional websites, professional organizations like the American Heart Association or the Academy of Nutrition and Diet, uh, of dietetics. Um, so websites and professional organizations like that, or the American Diabetes Association. Mm-hmm. <affirmative>, they have, um, those sites. You know, we as dieticians will go to them a lot as well.
Speaker 0 00:24:38 They have educational tools, so lots of resources and things that you can look up and read about. Um, so those are some things that I would suggest. Okay. All right. Very good. Well, thank you so much for your time. Just a lot of robust information and, um, I really enjoyed our conversation. And, um, thank you for just sh your sharing and, um, your knowledge. We appreci appreciate it so much. Thank you. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for listening to this episode of Healthy Youth. We're so glad you were able to join us today and learn more about this topic. If you would like to explore more, go to riverside online.com.
