Trick-or-TREAT

Halloween is here! Every child looks forward to this day each year—the costumes, the parties, and, most importantly, the candy! Halloween has become a week-long event.  I remember when I was growing up, I would go trick-or-treating not only in my neighborhood, but each of the surrounding neighborhoods that held their event at a different time.  By the end of the holiday, I would have at least two of those pumpkin pails filled to the brim with sugary treats. It was definitely enough candy to last through the year.

As an adult, there is a new day we look forward to….the day after Halloween! All candy goes on sale at Walgreen's, your kids go back to school so you can steal their treats, and your coworkers that over-prepared for the amount of trick-or-treaters they would actually have bring in their leftover candy.
However glorious this day may seem, it is not so good for your health. This huge amount of candy is scarier than Halloween itself!

Here are some spooky things to think about that will really creep you out this Halloween:

• Let’s first take a minute to think about how long your Halloween candy lasts you throughout the year.  From personal experience, I would say that Halloween candy still tastes delicious until 6 months later, when Easter candy is out, and all I want is a Reese’s shaped like an egg. Now think about how long those bananas on your counter last. Maybe a week. Bananas are highly nutrient and water dense. Our bodies need these nutrients to survive, but so do the microbes that cause rot and decomposition in fruit!  What is in chocolate that makes it stay fresh for so long?! Little-to-no water and A TON of sugar and preservatives—this combination is our microbe friends’ worst nightmare. They hate candy because they can’t survive on it…and guess what? We can’t either.

• Why do we love sweet and savory treats so much? It’s because, biologically, our bodies actually NEED sugar and salt to function. However (and this is a big however), in today’s world, we get more than enough sugar and salt in our diet. The desire for sugar and salt has become an ADDICTION. Don’t believe me? Check out the reactions of these kids when they are told that their parents ate all of there Halloween candy:

• Why do our bodies look physically worse after consuming a lot of simple sugars? The second week of November is usually about the time you start to notice physical and mental changes as a result from all that candy you’ve been consuming.  You start getting acne, gain a little weight, your teeth start to rot, and you are having a hard time concentrating and falling asleep.  All of these changes are a result of increased blood sugar.  

• The sugar in your blood feeds the bacteria in your pores that result in acne.
• The acidity from the sugar does not mix well with the calcium in your teeth, so they start to rot. 
• All of the energy from the sugar causes your cells to go into hyperactive mode, causing you to be fidgety and have a hard time concentrating. 

Spooky stuff! Now that I’ve added to your Halloween terror of treats, here are some tricks on how to make Halloween a bit healthier:

• Limit candy to just Halloween. As of November 1st, toss the rest in the garbage.
• Strike a deal with your kids—for every piece of candy they turn in, they get points toward something awesome, like next year’s costume, a Christmas present, or fun family activity.
• Hand out something else to trick-or-treaters! Be a neighborhood celebrity and stand out.  In my neighborhood, we have the house that hands out tennis balls, the house that hands out bubbles, and the house that hosts a haunted garage. All three are must-stops every year.
• Shorten your trick-or-treat route. Go trick-or-treating for half the time you usually do and then head to a haunted house, a corn maze, or go apple picking instead! 

Happy Halloween!!

Family Meals a time to Talk, Listen, and Connect

It is that time of the year again, the outdoor activities are starting to wrap up, and everyone is moving indoors. As we move indoors, one of the activities we should all consider having is a family meal together. Eventhough it may be tricky to get the whole family together for dinner with varying schedules, but family meals are important. Here's why family meals matter:

• Studies have shown that family meals can reduce substance abuse and obesity rates in teens. Teens who eat meals with their family also felt more connected with their family.                                                         
•  Mealtime can be an opportunity to talk, listen, and connect as a family. With this in mind, try to make mealtime pleasant and perhaps even fun. The Family Dinner Project is a great resource for conversation starters and dinner games. Save the homework discussion for later.

• If schedules are tight, try connecting as a family at breakfast or brunch on the weekend. There is no set amount of nights or times you should eat together as a family.                                                                                                                           
• If cooking meals is a chore, check out The Real Happy Hour’s Pinterest page for quick recipes. You can also get your children involved, this is another great time to talk, listen, and connect with them! 

Get Ready...Get Set...CRUNCH!

This year, the Oshkosh Area School District is participating in the Great Lakes Great Apple Crunch and Food Day event on Thursday, October 22^nd. All Oshkosh area public elementary schools, roughly 2,300 students, are anticipated to join. This is the 2^nd year schools in Winnebago County have participated.

This year’s event is organized through a collaboration with Winnebago County’s AmeriCorps Farm to School Program, re:TH!NK, Winnebago’s Healthy Living Partnership, and Oshkosh School District’s Food Service Director, Peggy West. All local apples are provided by Todd Hanson, the owner of Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, in Black Creek, Wisconsin.
The Great Apple Crunch originated in 2012 in New York City, where 400,000 people took a bite out of a locally grown apple at the same time. The event raised awareness about eating healthier diets, saving the environment, supporting local growers and farmers, and increasing access and affordability of local produce. The Great Apple Crunch event is also connected to Food Day. Celebrated on October 24^th, Food Day inspires Americans to change their diets and solve food related problems at a local, state, and national level.

Farm to School programs across the country are adopting the Great Apple Crunch event to encourage students to try and enjoy healthy locally grown food options at school and in their daily lives. Sarah Elliott, Wisconsin’s Farm to School Program Director, agreed with the cause, saying, “By crunching into an apple at noon, or a time that is best for you, you are showing your support for Farm to School and for Wisconsin farmers!”

Not only is the event raising awareness of Farm to School Programs and healthy nutrition, but it is also helping numerous local farmers across the state. Last year, Wisconsin farmers produced 42.3 million pounds of apples for local consumers, resulting in 78% of the state’s total utilized crop. Some locally grown apples one may find include: Cortland, Priscilla, Jonathan, Empire, Honeycrisp, Gala and McIntosh. For more information about locally grown produce in your area, please visit https://farmfresheastwi.org/.

re:TH!NK encourages you to support a nutritious lifestyle and locally grown produce by participating in the Great Apple Crunch Event on Thursday, October 22^nd! To register your school or business, please visit their website or Facebook page. Pictures or videos can be tagged by using any of the following hashtags on Twitter or Facebook: #GreatAppleCrunch #FoodDay2015 #F2SMonth #WIAppleCrunch.

A special thanks to Farmer Todd and Apple Blossom Orchard and Market for their support of the Great Apple Crunch! For more information about Apple Blossom Orchard and Market, visit their website: http://www.appleblossom.farm/ or call (920) 993-7277.

ACEs: Understanding the Effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences

Lately, a lot of advocates and researchers in public health have been throwing around the latest buzz word, ACEs. After doing a quick internet search for “ACEs”, I came across news headlines like “Police, mental health team mobilize to reach kids witnessing violence” and “Pediatricians Screen Parents for ACEs to Improve Health of Their Kids” So what are ACEs and why do they seem to be the next big public health urgency? ACEs are potentially traumatic events that occur prior to the age of 18. These childhood experiences range from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse to parental divorce, domestic violence, parental mental illness, or the incarceration of a parent or guardian. The original study on ACEs took place from 1995 to 1997 by Kaiser Permanente with more than 17,000 participants. Participants completed a standardized physical exam and completed a survey with questions about childhood maltreatment, family dysfunction, and current health status and behaviors.

From this study, researchers developed a questionnaire to tally up an “ACE Score”, which is out of 10, and the questionnaire is available on the ACE website, or below:

1. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often…Swear at you, insult you, put you down, or humiliate you? Or act in a way that made you afraid that you might be physically hurt? If yes enter 1.
2. Did a parent or other adult in the household often or very often... Push, grab, slap, or throw something at you? Or ever hit you so hard that you had marks or were injured? If yes enter 1.
3. Did an adult or person at least 5 years older than you ever… Touch or fondle you or have you touch their body in a sexual way? Or attempt or actually have oral, anal, or vaginal intercourse with you? If yes enter 1. 
4. Did you often or very often feel that... No one in your family loved you or thought you were important or special? Or that your family didn’t look out for each other, feel close to each other, or support each other? If yes enter 1.
5. Did you often or very often feel that... You didn’t have enough to eat, had to wear dirty clothes, and had no one to protect you? Or that your parents were too drunk or high to take care of you or take you to the doctor if you needed  it? If yes enter 1.
6. Were your parents ever separated or divorced? If yes enter 1.
7. Was your mother or stepmother: Often or very often pushed, grabbed, slapped, or had something thrown at her? Or sometimes, often, or very often kicked, bitten, hit with a fist, or hit with something hard? Or ever repeatedly hit at least a few minutes or threatened with a gun or knife? If yes enter 1.
8. Did you live with anyone who was a problem drinker or alcoholic or who used street drugs? If yes enter 1.
9. Was a household member depressed or mentally ill, or did a household member attempt suicide? If yes enter 1.
10. Did a household member go to prison? If yes enter 1.

Now add up your “Yes” answers. This is your ACE Score.

The original ACE study in 1997 found that of the 17,000 participants, 87% of those had more than one ACE score. And one thing to note: the majority of these participants were white, middle- and upper-middle class, and college educated. So despite the stereotype that abuse and neglect predominately happen in lower income families and families of color, this study highlighted that abuse and neglect occurs in all classes, income levels, and races.

I’ll admit, I have a few ACEs. And I definitely understand the struggle of coming to terms and dealing with these experiences. However, as I’ve dug deeper into this research, I’ve become more aware of how prevalent ACEs are and that my experiences aren't very unique. According to the 2011-2012 Wisconsin ACE Brief, 58% of Wisconsin residents have experienced at least one ACE, with 14% experiencing 4 or more. Here in Winnebago County, more than 20% of residents have four or more ACEs, which makes us one of 13 counties across Wisconsin with this high of a statistic. This is such a prevalent issue, and it's unsettling to learn about how pervasive across the lifespan these childhood experiences can be.

Image via WI Children's Trust Fund, Wisconsin ACE Brief

I think it's common knowledge that experiencing trauma can cause immediate and serious health effects. However, many studies are showing there are also long-term health effects of experiencing trauma as a child. According to the CDC, adults with higher ACE scores are at higher risk for attempting suicide and developing depression, addiction, and other mental health issues. A 2014 study from the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, also showed higher rates of chronic conditions, like asthma and obesity, along with higher risk of smoking, liver disease, and coronary heart disease. 


Graphic courtesy of Veto Violence; click here for more graphics like this summarizing the ACE study

With 58% of Wisconsin residents experiencing at least one ACE and all of these health outcomes being linked to childhood trauma, addressing ACEs and working to reduce its prevalence could have huge positive impacts down the line. Many public health experts are stressing the importance and urgency of focusing on the healthy development of infants, children, and families.

And if you've made it this far into my blog post, you're probably even more curious about ACEs and what to do about them. So quick plug: re:TH!NK has an upcoming workshop on ACEs!

What: 

a re:TH!NK workshop:

ACE Interface Training

 Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs):
Building Self-Healing Communities

Join us as we welcome two trainers from
Waupaca County Health & Human Services to provide this
free ACEs training!

When:

Monday, September 14 from 12:30pm-3:30pm 

(Come after lunch or bring your own lunch! 

Snacks and refreshments will be provided.)

Where:

Miron Construction, Wenzler Center 

(1471 McMahon Drive, Neenah)

Please click here to RSVP

And I'd like to end on this: having multiple ACEs is not necessarily an end-all be-all. Having multiple traumatic experiences during childhood can significantly affect a person and may require a lot of healthy coping skills and support to get through. But there is such a thing as resiliency. There are people who can go through terrible events and somehow make it out okay. With proper support and services, people who have gone through multiple ACEs can bounce back like a rubber band. And there is a lot of emerging research being done on resiliency. Just in case the ACE questionnaire has you feeling discouraged, take a look at this "resilience" questionnaire, developed by early childhood service providers, pediatricians, psychologists, and health advocates of Southern Kennebec Healthy Start, Augusta, Maine, in 2006, and updated in February 2013. (Note that this questionnaire's purpose is limited to parenting education. It was not developed for research.) How many of these can you answer "true" to?

Resilience Questionnaire: For each statement, mark the most accurate answer, from: Definitely True, Probably True, Not Sure, Probably Not True, and Definitely Not True.

1. I believe that my mother loved me when I was little.
2.  I believe that my father loved me when I was little.
3. When I was little, other people helped my mother and father take care of me and they seemed to love me.
4. I’ve heard that when I was an infant someone in my family enjoyed playing with me, and I enjoyed it, too.
5. When I was a child, there were relatives in my family who made me feel better if I was sad or worried.
6. When I was a child, neighbors or my friends’ parents seemed to like me.
7. When I was a child, teachers, coaches, youth leaders or ministers were there to help me.
8. Someone in my family cared about how I was doing in school.
9. My family, neighbors and friends talked often about making our lives better.
10. We had rules in our house and were expected to keep them.
11. When I felt really bad, I could almost always find someone I trusted to talk to.
12. As a youth, people noticed that I was capable and could get things done.
13. I was independent and a go-getter.
14. I believed that life is what you make it.

Resiliency research and focus may be the key in addressing ACEs and their effects on a person's health across the lifespan. Ensuring that children are able to answer "true" to at least a few of the statements above is critical in ensuring that everyone can lead healthy, happy lives. So let's get to it! (And come to our workshop on Sept. 14 if you're interested!)

Winnebago's Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan

Do you bike or walk in Winnebago County? Technically everyone is a pedestrian at some point in their day, so we have some exciting news for you! Winnebago County is in the beginning stages of creating a Bicycle/Pedestrian Plan that will address creating safer routes for walkers and bicyclists and creating routes that connect destinations such as the County Parks and trails.

My name is Sarahjean and I am a guest blogger this week. Through the Area Health Education Center (AHEC) Community Health Internship Program, I had the opportunity to spend 8 weeks this summer working with the Winnebago County Health Department gathering data for their bicycle/pedestrian plan.

Throughout my internship I have performed multiple audits at intersections throughout Winnebago County, particularly in rural areas. At these audits I had to look at the road conditions and think about how the current conditions affect walkers and bicyclists. I also performed counts of walkers and bicyclists using these intersections to gather baseline data of usage for these areas.

Another intern, Sam, will be continuing my project now that my internship has ended. She will be going back around to do a second round of counts at each intersection.

The health department, parks department, and the department of transportation are currently in the process of hiring a consultant. Once the consultant has been hired, all the data I have gathered will be given to them. The consultant will gather additional data that will be used to create a plan with suggestions of improvements to make that will benefit walkers and bicyclists.

Throughout the next year, the consultant will be asking for feedback from Winnebago County residents. Make sure to voice your opinion/suggestions to make it easier to walk, bike and be active!

If you are interested in seeing the report that I created regarding the audits that were performed, please email Emily Dieringer at EDieringer@co.winnebago.wi.us

Below is a video I created for AHEC explaining my project and time at the health department!