TYH: Eating With Family or Friends Has Health Benefits

Oct 17, 2017 | 11:34 PM

It’s a busy life for most of us. Finding time to sit down and eat can often be a struggle. On today’s To Your Health, Catherine Hansen has more on how eating together can be healthier in the long run.

 

(Announcer:) And now, “To Your Health”. Brought to you by Hart Drugs, Third Avenue Pharmacy and the Phoenix Pharmacy.

(Reporter Catherine Hansen:) It may seem a thing of the past, but the classic Norman Rockwell sit down dinner is still relevant in our busy world today.  It may not look the same, but there are some big health benefits to eating together.

(Lise Luppens – Population Health Dietitician, Northern Health:) “We know that when people eat together, whether it’s families with children or older folks with each other, or whatever the family might look like, we do better. We’re more connected. We do better nutritionally. For example, more fruit and vegetable intake, more intake of various nutrients. We also know that it’s especially important for children, that children tend to do better in school when they eat together with their families more often.”

(Hansen:) Family dinners are shown to reduce stress, save money and help children learn healthy eating patterns. But it’s not just about physical health. It’s about social emotional health as well.

(Luppens:) “If you’re going to eat together with someone, maybe it’s not dinner time. If dinner time is a crazy time with lots of different schedules, maybe it could be breakfast.”

(Hansen:) Whether it’s family or friends, dieticians say sharing food leads to less consumption and healthier choices.

(Luppens:) “It doesn’t need to be a gourmet meal. It could be leftovers, it could be, if you need, takeout, a restaurant meal. So again, its more about the act of sharing food.”

(Hansen:) Letting children help in the kitchen before the meal can also help them develop skills and traditions to last a lifetime.

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