nutrition

Lake Tahoe Unified School District is looking for volunteers to help them in their quest to help students with a healthy lifestyle as well as their efforts to be sustainable and use of renewable energy.

Community members with an interest or expertise in any of these areas are encouraged to join one of the following committees:

Wellness Committee – Nutrition, Wellness Committee – Physical Education and Activity, and Renewable Energy and Sustainability Committee

First responders and the public are invited to the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue's "First Responder Behavioral Health Fair" on Monday, June 26 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Lake Tahoe Airport.

Learn from the experts about the signs and symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), alternative methods on treatment, stress relievers and other ways to maintain good mental health when dealing with high stress jobs such as police and fire.

Children from the South Shore of Lake Tahoe no longer need to go hungry during the summer months. Thanks to a generous donation of $125,000 by Rob Katz, Vail Resorts CEO, and his wife Elana Amsterdam, “Summer B&B 4 Kids” will launch on Wednesday, June 21, with a focus on helping the over 50 percent of local children who are receiving free or subsidized school meals during the school year.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and you may have heard the phrase “each mind matters.”

Why does each mind matter? Mental health is something we all have. Just as our bodies need attention, our minds also need nourishment and care. Suicide rates are increasing and there is a relationship between mental illness and suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), about 90 percent of people who die by suicide have experienced mental health issues.

Don’t have time to exercise? According to recent research, a four-minute workout might be better than 30 minutes on the treadmill. Sounds almost too good to be true, but according to fitness researchers, it’s not.

Regular exercise improves your physical and mental health. Unfortunately, many adults do not make time for their weekly 150 minutes of moderate or intense activity recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.

As we look at reopening the Al Tahoe Elementary School as a STEAM academy, it is important to take a look back at the journey Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) has taken to get to where we are today.

Following decades of desegregation efforts and forced busing, lawsuits in the 1990s effectively brought a halt to desegregation efforts in the country. Neighborhood schools in South Lake Tahoe may have been segregated, not only based on race, but based on income levels.

On behalf of the organizers of the Lake Tahoe Virtual Race, I would like to thank Lake Tahoe community members and businesses as well as Barton Health employees and physicians for their incredible generosity.

Barton Health recently hosted the first Virtual Race Challenge. Racers walked and ran for 72 days and recorded their mileage on a 72 mile digital map of Lake Tahoe. Together, with their financial contributors, the racers raised $4,044 in donations to help expand Barton Health’s Cancer Wellness Program.

Ring in the holiday spirit at Barton Health’s eighth annual Festival of Trees & Lights. The winter celebration features events and entertainment starts Thursday, December 1 and continues through Sunday, December 4 at MontBleu Resort on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe.

“The Festival of Trees & Lights provides a warm and family-friendly atmosphere to inspire people to get into the spirit of holiday giving,” says Kindle Craig, the director of the Barton Foundation. “All the money raised goes back into the community and supports health and wellness programs.”

You hear of the "great recession" causing issues in many areas from jobs and income to housing, but another victim is quality child care in South Lake Tahoe.

Prior to 2009 there were over 45 licensed day care providers on the South Shore, a majority of them licensed for 12 children and open evenings and weekends. Now, there are just 20, 12 of which are licensed for 12, the other eight are small licenses, for six children or less.

With the cool fall weather approaching, it’s important to think about a very important vitamin we can absorb from the sun: vitamin D. According to city data, South Lake Tahoe boasts an average of 249 days of sunshine per year so we should all be quite abundant in our vitamin D stores. However, many of us spend hours indoors and nutrition research shows about 40 percent of adults are lacking this vitamin.

Below are some common questions about vitamin D and how to get the most from this important nutrient.

What is vitamin D?

Wednesday, September 21, 5:30-8pm
Entrance Fee: $40 in advance, $45 day of the event

Location

The 2nd annual Rock Tahoe Half-Marathon heads to Lake Tahoe on Saturday, June 18. The 2,000 spots for runners are already full, filling up three weeks before the event. The course takes the participants down 1,000 feet in elevation as they pass some of Tahoe's iconic views.

At the 2016 Amgen Tour of California, the biggest and most prestigious pro cycling race in America, the young development team Axeon Hagens Berman is making a name for itself and its riders – and three of them share a look at what's for breakfast on the road.

The 144 pro cyclists (18 teams) in the 8-day race aim to consume the same amount of calories they burn on the bike, which at Amgen, depending on the length and toughness of the day, can be anywhere between 4,000 to a whopping 8,000 calories!

Presented by: Jessica Perasso, RD & Dana Dose, RD, CDE - Barton Nutrition Services

-Discover potential complications of diabetes
-Learn why blood sugar control is important
-Understand the effects of exercise on diabetes management
-Know routine care and how to stay healthy and partner with your healthcare team

Attend any four of Barton’s 2016 Wellness Lectures and be entered into a drawing for a $150 gift certificate to a South Lake Tahoe business of your choice. Questions? Call 530.543.5615. Visit bartonhealth.org/lecture for the most up-to-date lecture information.

Location

The El Dorado County Senior Nutrition Program in South Lake Tahoe continues to have a great need for community volunteer drivers to help deliver lunchtime meals to homebound seniors and other vulnerable people. The meals are prepared by the Senior Nutrition Program and the volunteers deliver those meals.

South Tahoe High senior Kaitlynn Watson signed a letter of intent Friday to play volleyball of Loyola of New Orleans.

Watson takes with her a long list of accolades including All Team Academics, 1st Team All League and is currently ranked #2 in the state with digs at 360.

"The moment I stepped on the campus, I knew that is where I wanted to be," Kaitlynn said of Loyola. "They made me feel so at home, they're like a family and not a team." Watson will major in Biology with an emphasis in nutrition.

To help South Lake Tahoe children in need, Bread & Broth 4 Kids has been formed to bring weekend food to 100 students each week. The bag of food is to help with meals when they aren't in school and able to receive free breakfasts and lunches Monday through Friday.

Bread & Broth is a non-profit, all volunteer organization that provides free, hot meals to those in need in South Lake Tahoe. They are now seeking donations and volunteers for the new kid's program.

A series of classes to be held in South Lake Tahoe will be giving instruction and support to caregivers who are, or are planning to care for a family member or friend 60-years-old or more.

The free classes will be held at Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel on five nights:

OCTOBER 12th Mealtime Matters: The Importance of Nutrition in the Elderly
NEW CLASS Heather Lallement, CHPN, RN, Barton Home Health and Hospice

OCTOBER 19th Understanding the Stages of Alzheimer’s Disease
NEW CLASS Jacob Harmon, N. CA. and NV. Alzheimer’s Association

The El Dorado County Senior Nutrition Program is currently looking for dedicated, caring volunteers to help in a variety of capacities. "Volunteers are a vital asset to the Senior Nutrition Program," said Ruth Green, Program Coordinator for the Senior Nutrition Program. "Without this valuable community support, many of the County's senior services would simply not be possible." Current volunteer needs include:

Hippocrates, a physician and philosopher of health, said: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Food is often underestimated as an effective medicine. One collection of ingredients gaining attention are phytonutrients. Phytonutrients, sometimes called phytochemicals, are nutrients found in plants that contribute to its vitality. They can be found in a variety of plant-based foods and research shows when humans consume phytonutrients, they interact with the body and promote healing.

Supervisor Sue Novasel, Lake Tahoe’s representative on the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors, announced the formation of an ad hoc committee that will engage a visioning process related to future development and use of County-owned properties and facilities in South Lake Tahoe. The vision committee will join with two members of the City Council and staff in collaborating toward mutual facility goals.

The community has undergone a complete physical and the results are in. Based on the 2015 Community Health Needs Assessment, mental health and substance abuse remain top health concerns in the area.

Barton Health conducted its second Community Health Needs Assessment to identify unmet needs within the community. After identifying these needs, Barton will work with representatives from organizations who provide services for the medically underserved to offer recommendations and a collaborative action plan focused on positively impacting the community’s health.

The Barton Health Public Relations department enjoyed hosting the 4th annual Mom's Morning Out on Saturday, May 2. Thank you to all the women who attended and to our business vendors and Zen room specialists for making the event a success!

South Lake Tahoe resident Lisa Maloff presented a $10 million check to the Barton Foundation on Wednesday night for the building of the Robert Maloff Center of Excellence. The donation was made in memory of her husband Robert, who co-owned and operated the Lake Tahoe Inn and Timber Cove Lodge.