Wellness

@ Moraine Valley

Kelly Devine Rickert

Covid-19 Vaccine

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Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine

Per CDC Website, 5/5/21

COVID-19 vaccination will help keep you from getting COVID-19

Once you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing more

  • After you are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, you may be able to start doing some things that you stopped doing because of the pandemic. For example, you can gather indoors without masks with other people who are fully vaccinated.
  • We are still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. Until we know more about how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19, people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should keep taking precautions in public places like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces, and washing your hands often.
  • People are not considered fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, or two weeks after a single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. You should keep using all the tools available to protect yourself and others until you are fully vaccinated.

COVID-19 vaccination is a safer way to help build protection

  • COVID-19 can have serious, life-threatening complications, and there is no way to know how COVID-19 will affect you. And if you get sick, you could spread the disease to friends, family, and others around you.
  • Clinical trials for all vaccines must first show they are safe and effective before any vaccine can be authorized or approved for use, including COVID-19 vaccines. The known and potential benefits of a COVID-19 vaccine must outweigh the known and potential risks of the vaccine before it is used under what is known as an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA). Watch a video explaining an EUA.
  • Getting COVID-19 may offer some protection, known as natural immunity. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the months after initial infection, but may increase with time. The risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 far outweighs any benefits of natural immunity. COVID-19 vaccination will help protect you by creating an antibody (immune system) response without having to experience sickness.
  • Both natural immunity and immunity produced by a vaccine are important parts of COVID-19 disease that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

COVID-19 vaccination will be an important tool to help stop the pandemic

  • Wearing masks and staying 6 feet apart from others help reduce your chance of being exposed to the virus or spreading it to others, but these measures are not enough. Vaccines will work with your immune system so it will be ready to fight the virus if you are exposed.
  • A growing body of evidence suggests that fully vaccinated people are less likely to be infected without showing symptoms (called an asymptomatic infection) and potentially less likely to spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. However, further investigation is ongoing.
  • Stopping a pandemic requires using all the tools we have available. As experts learn more about how COVID-19 vaccination may help reduce spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, CDC will continue to update its recommendations to protect communities using the latest science.

COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective

We understand that some people may be concerned about getting vaccinated now that COVID-19 vaccines are available in the United States. While more COVID-19 vaccines are being developed as quickly as possible, routine processes and procedures remain in place to ensure the safety of any vaccine that is authorized or approved for use. Safety is a top priority, and there are many reasons to get vaccinated.

None of the COVID-19 vaccines can make you sick with COVID-19

None of the COVID-19 vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19 so a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19. Learn more Facts about COVID-19 Vaccines

Moraine Valley Covid 19 Vaccine Clinic!

Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic offered by Osco
Monday, May 17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (first dose)
Moraine Valley Community College, Building M, Moraine Rooms
Link to register for an appointment: https://kordinator.mhealthcoach.net/vcl/1620140873290

Moraine Valley faculty, staff and students have priority registration through Wednesday, May 5. The link to register will open to the public starting Thursday, May 6, so save your spot today! You may share the registration link with your family and friends. A follow-up clinic for the second dose of the vaccine will be on Monday, June 7.

Any questions?

Kelly Devine Rickert

devinerickertk@morainevalley.edu

6 Easy Earth Friendly Nutrition Tips! #gogreen

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Wondering what you can do to minimize your impact on Mother Earth? Look no further!  These
are easy ways you can start to reduce, reuse and recycle more often!

  1. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Weekly!!! (Bring your reusable bags (when we can again) or opt for paper bags.) When you shop for your food, cook from home, pack your lunches
    and snacks to bring with you, you are reducing waste. In a HUGE way!
    Think about it. Every single time you dine out, whether it be at a fast food restaurant, food truck or grab and go’s like vending machines and gas stations, you are throwing out garbage, containers and wrappers.
    In most recent stats, 44% of Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each week… That is a lot of garbage!
  2. Buy in bulk
    Yes, 100 calorie packs and mini containers of pre-cut veggies save us time, but also increases our waste. Here are items to buy in bulk, to cut up and portion out at home, It’s cheaper and better for the environment!
    Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts/seeds, Beans, Grains, Rice, Oats, Yogurt, the list goes on.
  3. Ditch the water bottles ONCE AND FOR GOOD!
    Each day, people in the U.S. throw away more than 60 million plastic water bottles. Tap water is great or buy a water filter if desired but let’s ditch those plastic water bottles! Keep a BPA free, dishwasher safe water bottle on hand and refill it up! Some water bottles even
    have their own filtration system.
  4. Eat Local.
    By buying foods close to your home, you are reducing the distance your food must travel, thus the energy it takes to do so! Visit your local farmers market or at least shop for foods that are in season.
  5. Plant a garden
    Save the water for your lawn and instead it for a garden. Don’t have enough room? You can plant a few tomato, pepper and herbs in pots on a patio or porch. Great way to make fresh tomato sauce for pasta and pizza nights!
  6. Minimize leftovers
    Did you know the US throws away 80 BILLION pounds of food…. A year!!! Use those leftovers! Store them in freezer for use later or you can also add your produce, egg shells, coffee grounds etc to a compost. You can start a simple compost using a 5-gallon bucket and some
    grass and leaves from your yard.
    Even making 1 or 2 small changes can really add up over time!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb


Kelly Devine Rickert

Celebrate Earth Day All Month!

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earth-day

Wondering what you can do to minimize your impact on Mother Earth? Look no further! These are (in my opinion) easy ways you can start to reduce, reuse and recycle more often.

1. Make a grocery list and go shopping. Weekly! (Bring your reusable bags or opt for paper bags and recycle!) When you shop for your food, cook from home, pack your lunches and snacks to bring with you, you are reducing waste in a big way.
Think about it. Every time you dine out, whether it be at a fast food restaurant, food truck or grab and go’s like vending machines and gas stations, you are throwing out garbage, containers and wrappers.
In most recent stats, 44% of Americans eat at a fast food restaurant each week. That is a lot of waste!

Example Lunch from home:
Leftover taco meat from last night (in reused Brummel and Brown container)
Salad with veggies and cheese in Bento box
Salad dressing in mini container
Fork from home

All can be washed at home and reused!

VS.

Lunch from Panera
Salad and sandwich
2- Plastic/carboard boxes
plastic utensils
large brown paper bag

2. Buy in bulk!
Yes, 100 calorie packs and mini containers of pre-cut veggies save us time, but also increases our waste.
Here are items to buy in bulk, to cut up and portion out at home. It’s cheaper and better for the environment!
Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts/seeds
Beans
Grains
Rice
Oats
Yogurt

3. Ditch the water bottles ONCE AND FOR ALL
I have not bought a case of water bottles in probably over 9 years.
Keep a BPA free, dishwasher safe water bottle on hand and refill it up! Some water bottles even have their own filtration system.

4. Go Meatless once a week
Ditching the animal proteins once a week will save your pocketbook AND reduce your carbon footprint.
By reducing your animal protein intake just once a week you can decrease fossil fuel usage, water usage AND reduce greenhouse gas emmissions.
For my Meatless Monday (which will actually be today’s dinner in honor of Earth Day!)…
I am simply making homemade pasta sauce with whole grain pasta, side salad with fresh veggies and a side of whole grain garlic toast. Easy Peasy.

5. This one is obvious and you probably knew it was coming…. EAT. Local.

By buying foods close to your home, you are reducing the distance your food must travel, thus the energy it takes to do so!
Visit your local farmers market or at least shop for foods that are in season. To find a Farmers Market or CSA near you visit, visit this website: http://search.ams.usda.gov/FARMERSMARKETS/default.aspx

6. Plant a garden… or at least some pots of home grown veggies.
Save the water from your lawn and use it instead for a garden. Don’t have enough room? Join a community garden! Even making 1 or 2 small changes can really add up over time!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

Kelly Devine Rickert, MS RDN CSSD

Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator

Why I Became a RD!

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Happy National Dietitian Day! I thought I would share with you why I decided to go into the field of nutrition.

Kelly at the national nutrition conference in Georgia pre-covid

Most people have no clue what they are going to major in or what they want to be when they grow up. I was one of the lucky ones who knew at the young age of 16 what I wanted to be.. a sports dietitian! How on earth did I even know what that was you’re thinking? That’s because I had to see one!

Back in high school (Go Providence Catholic!), I was a cross country, track runner and basketball player (my first love). As a freshman in high school, I starting “dieting”, reading magazines, cutting back of calories and most definitely on fats. I assumed, if food had fat in it, I would ” get fat”. As my low fat diet progressed, I went down 2 sizes in pants, but I was tired and cold all of the time, my energy levels were quite poor which lead to some endocrinology issues.

When I was 16 my mom had me go to the doctor she worked for, a pediatric endocrinologist, where they ran blood work and some tests to figure out what was going on. This lead to MRI’s, Dexa Scans, you name it. While I didn’t know it at the time, they were actually looking for tumors, as they suspected I had cancer. Thankfully, all tests came back great except my blood work (still) and body fat percent. It was determined that because my diet was so low in fat, it was causing all my blood work and hormones to be off. Not only was my body fat too low to get my period but it was also causing other abnormalities as well.

I was referred to a Registered Dietitian at University of Chicago whom I met with that next week. She educated me on the importance of fat and gave me examples of where I could add in healthy fats in my diet. (I’ll never forget the suggestions so here were some of hers: Brummel and Brown butter and peanut butter on my morning bagel (previous to that it was eaten dry), peanut butter and crackers after school before basketball, butter on my potato or vegetables at dinner, etc). (Huge shout out and thanks to whoever that RD was who gave me those suggestions! She knew exactly how to handle a young, uneducated girl afraid to add in too many calories and fats into her diet. You rocked.)

My energy levels rose, I gained a few pounds (I assume by the way I looked from Sophomore year basketball to Sophomore year track), my energy levels were great. Performance wise the effect was even better. I was able to PR in both the mile and 2 mile run that track season and I ended up winning MVP of Varsity track that year as a sophomore. Just because I added in some fat in my diet. Blew my mind! I decided then and there that I was going to learn everything I could about nutrition and that someday, I would become a Registered Dietitian. (I went a step further, and declared I wanted to be a Sports Dietitian. Which was why, when I passed my board certification in 2010, it made me the happiest person in the universe! I can now proudly call myself a Board Certified Sports Dietitian.)

Not everyone is inspired at such a young age to choose what they do with their life. But I believe things happen for a reason and that this profession is what I was called to do. My food philosophy may change as time goes on and as new research is released, but my passion for nutrition and wellness will never change!

To quote Marc Anthony, “If you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life.”

~Kelly

Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator

8 Tips to a Healthy Lifestyle!

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March marks the start on National Nutrition Month!  Here are 8 tips on how to dedicate you, and your family, to a healthier lifestyle.

National Nutrition Month 2021 Blogger Badge

1. Eat Breakfast. There’s no better way to start your morning than with a healthy breakfast. Include lean protein, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Try oatmeal cooked with low-fat milk, sliced almonds and berries, or top a toaster waffle with low-fat yogurt and fruit. Find more quick breakfast ideas at www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets.

2. Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Vegetables.  Fruits and veggies add color, flavor and texture plus vitamins, minerals and fiber to your plate. Make 2 cups of fruit and 2 ½ cups of vegetables your daily goal. Don’t let cost stop you from enjoying produce.  Frozen and canned are great alternatives. See “20 Ways to Enjoy More Fruits and Vegetables” at http://www.eatright.org/nutritiontipsheets.

3. Be Active!  Regular physical activity lowers blood pressure and helps your body control stress and weight. Start by doing what exercise you can for at least 10 minutes at a time. Children and teens should get 60 or more minutes of physical activity per day, and adults should get two hours and 30 minutes per week. You don’t have to hit the gym—take a walk after dinner or play a game of catch or basketball.

4. Drink More Water.  Drink water instead of sugary drinks and let thirst be your guide. A healthy body can balance water needs throughout the day. Drink plenty of water if you are active, live or work in hot conditions, or are an older adult.

5. Dine Out without Ditching Your Goals.  You can dine at a restaurant and stick to your healthy eating plan!  The key is to plan ahead, ask questions and choose foods carefully. Think about nutritious items you can add to your plate—fruits, veggies, lean meat, poultry or fish—and look for grilled, baked, broiled or steamed items.

6. Enact Family Meal Time.  Research shows that family meals promote healthier eating. Plan to eat as a family at least a few times each week in 2021. Set a regular mealtime. Turn off the TV, phones and other electronic devices to encourage mealtime talk. Get kids involved in meal planning and cooking and use this time to teach them about good nutrition.

7. Fix Healthy Snacks.  Healthy snacks can sustain your energy levels between meals. Whenever possible, make your snacks combination snacks. Choose from two or more of the MyPlate food groups: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, low-fat or fat-free dairy, lean protein or nuts. Try low-fat yogurt with fruit, or a small portion of nuts with an apple or banana.

8. Explore New Foods and Flavors.  Add more nutrition and eating pleasure by expanding your range of food choices. When shopping, make a point of selecting a fruit, vegetable or whole grain that’s new to you or your family. Try different versions of familiar foods like blue potatoes, red leaf lettuce or basmati rice.

For more free info and tip sheets for National Nutrition Month, visit http://www.nationalnutritionmonth.org/nnm/

Kelly Devine Rickert, Moraine Valley Wellness Coordinator