Summer time heat raises the risk for dehydration and heat stroke. With the high summer temps and humidity lately, it’s extra important to make sure you get enough fluids! It is important to stay hydrated throughout the day, as it is too late, if you wait to get a drink when you feel thirsty. Especially for those older adults, it takes longer for them to feel thirsty even though they may be severely dehydrated.
Tips for getting adequate fluids:
• Keep a glass or bottle of water with you during the day so you can sip on it. Drink when you are thirsty and even when you are not thirsty.
• Drink more water instead of sugary beverages, milk and juice to avoid those extra hidden calories. Alcohol will increase your water loss. Plain water always works the best.
• Increase your fluid intakes if your diet is high in fiber, protein or salt.
• On days where you may be sweating alot or burning extra calories such as an all day softball tournament in 80-90 degree weather, or doing yardwork/landscaping in the heat all day…you may need to add electrolytes such as Gatorade or Powerade. I prefer G2 Gatorade as it’s lower in sugar, yet still has plenty of electrolytes. **Please note, these drinks are not necessary when you’re doing less than an hour of light activity or more sedentary activities as they just add extra calories and sugar.
• Consult with your doctor or dietitian if you are on a fluid restricted diet and would like further help with your hydration needs. Use the above chart to determine your hydration level by the color of your urine.
Sarah and I finally got away for a week. We went out to the Black Hills to enjoy some hiking, biking, and just plain get away time. It was hot, but we got going early each morning, and then just relaxed the afternoons. Here we are hiking one day in Spearfish Canyon, checking out the numerous water falls that are out there.
The vacation started with the Volksmarch up to Crazy Horse. Almost 6 mile hike up and down, but got up close to Crazy Horse. I got to touch his chin!
We saw plenty of buffalo out in Custer state park. We managed to keep our distance from them though!
We saw deer out hiking up to Little Devils Tower, then off to Black Elk Peak, formerly Harney Peak. That day was about 8 miles total, but took us 4 1/2 hours. Up the mountains, and back down. It was work, but enjoyable.
We spent several days out on the Mickelson Trail biking. These were challenging. You spend many miles going up, then down. We had one stretch of going up 15 miles. It was time for a break after that! But, the views were incredible!
As long as we carried enough water with us, we were fine. We may have spent the week with all the hiking, biking, and sightseeing, but truly many of the things we saw we would not have seen had we not been doing these activities. I took literally hundreds and hundreds of pictures. Words can’t describe what you can see off the beaten path. It made the exercise part of it very relaxing. Even though we were working at it, we took a break when we needed it. The views were amazing. It was a perfect place to get away from all of the busy part of life, and just unwind. We all need to make more effort to do this. The better condition we are in, the more we can see, and enjoy. You don’t know what you are missing out on until you do.
Our last hiking day was at Sheridan Lake. The water was blue, and crystal clear. We saw other water falls off the trails that we did not know even existed. You need to get out and explore. That is how you strive to survive. Push past some limitations and enjoy. Most of the time you will find that those limitations are only in our minds. Our bodies can do a lot more than you think! Keep moving everybody!
June is national dairy month, thus it’s a great time to recognize and discuss the benefits we can get from dairy in our diets. Cow’s milk is the richest source of well-absorbed calcium and is actually absorbed better (about 25%) than the calcium in soy milk. There is about 300 mg of calcium in an 8 oz serving of milk and we recommend getting at least 3 servings of dairy a day. A serving is equal to an 8oz (1 cup) serving of milk, 6 oz tub of yogurt, 1 oz cheese, 1/2 c cottage cheese. In addition to calcium, cow’s milk is an excellent source of phosphorus, vitamin B12, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin A, vitamin D, protein, and niacin…totalling 9 nutrients compared to only 4-5 nutrients found in soy and almond milk. There are many other types of “milks” out there such as almond, rice, coconut, and soy, however these drinks are not the same as cow’s milk in regards to the nutritional qualities. Many of these milks use fortification (adding nutrients), whereas the nutrients are found naturally in cow’s milk.
Below is a list from the Midwest Dairy Association about these beverage’s nutrient sources and nutrition quality (http://www.midwestdairy.com/0p335/dairy-imitators/)
“Soy beverages are made from soybeans and are a good source of protein. However, according to the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score (PDCAAS), soy protein is a lower quality protein than the whey protein found in dairy products. Rice-based beverages are generally processed from brown rice and are fortified with nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D. Rice beverages typically contain only one gram of protein compared to eight grams in cow’s milk. Nut-based beverages can be ground from any nut and the most popular is almond. Almond beverages only supply one gram of protein per serving and lack many of the natural benefits found in almonds. Seed-based beverages, such as hemp, are newer to the marketplace. Their nutritional benefit is touted to be their omega fatty acid content. Similar to the other beverages, they also fall short on protein.”
Often times, these other “milks” contain higher sugar content, less calcium, less protein, and are absorbed less than those benefits in cow’s milk. Now if you have a lactose intolerance or milk allergy, these are certainly options for you, however if you do not have an allergy or intolerance, I highly encourage you to work towards getting your 3 a day servings of dairy and preferably low fat dairy. It will not only provide you with excellent vitamins and minerals to keep your bones and muscles healthy and strong, it will also provide you with an excellent source of protein. For more information on the benefits of dairy, you can visit www.midwestdairy.com.
If you want to check out a real life dairy just east of Watertown, you can check out Modak Dairy’s Open House this Saturday! Check out the details below!
“MoDak Dairy Open House – June 12, 2021 – Kranzburg 10:00am-1:00pm
46647 171st Street Goodwin, SD
The Moes family welcomes you to tour MoDak Dairy. Come to learn about dairy locally in South Dakota. There will be many activities including visiting the new heifer building, farm tours, free grilled cheese, and ice cream. All are welcome to attend!
Directions: From I-29 go 8 miles east on Hwy 212. Turn North onto 466th Ave for 1 mile. Then turn right onto 171st Street. https://agunited.org/events/”
I know I will enjoy a nice glass of cold milk tonight with supper, I hope you do too!
Eating healthy on the go can seem difficult at times, however there are many things you can do to make it a little easier! Summer can be just as busy as the school year, thus I thought this was a fitting topic to discuss. Here are some tips that will save you time while still eating healthy nutritious food!
• Plan Ahead: On Saturday or Sunday, take a look at what your week ahead is going to be like. It can be very helpful to write out your schedule so you can see the times in your week where you may be on the go and extra busy. From there, decide on a few meals that would be easy to prep and that will provide you with energy for those busy days. Also, decide on some easy to grab snacks that you can keep with you.
• Meal Prep: If you have looked at your week and you know you will not have time to cook for yourself, meal prep a few staple items that you can easily grab out of the fridge on your way out the door. This can be something as simple as brown rice, baked chicken, and a side of vegetables. A few breakfast ideas include overnight oats, protein balls, hardboiled eggs, and precut fruit that you can throw in a blender and make a smoothie with. Whatever your food choice may be, meal prepping can be a helpful way to prepare meals for a few days at a time.
• Prepare Extra Food: If meal prepping isn’t really your thing, it’s okay! Another easy way to save time is to prepare extra food when you do cook. If you have time to prepare a healthy dinner, make a few extra servings that you can save for lunch the next day.
• Snack Up: Having healthy snacks on hand will keep you from purchasing quick and unhealthy choices when life gets a little busy. A few good ideas include fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, trail mix, cheese, pretzels and hummus, yogurt, and peanut butter on whole wheat bread.
• Hydrate: This last tip is so important! The last thing you want to happen when your busy is to become dehydrated. Keep water with you at all times and drink it throughout the day. You can always spice your water up by adding in fresh fruit or sipping on unsweetened iced tea. Utilize a few of these tips to make healthy eating a little bit easier when you have a busy schedule or when you are on the go! Eating healthy and staying hydrated will provide you with the energy that you need to get through your day! -Kelsey
It is much easier to get things done when you work as a group, but even better yet as a team. That was the case with the DASH Around Kampeska Half Marathon. This “group” came together for creating this event, but ended up becoming a “Team”! It took a lot of work, many hours, and each of us doing our part in order to pull off this event that occurred yesterday. None of us got much sleep Friday night hoping everything would turn out fine. It did! And, we had great weather for our inaugural event.
DASH is an acronym created by the Watertown Police Department, for Drug Free, Alcohol Free, Safe and Healthy. This mission is “to challenge community partnerships to lead by example and to empower Watertown youth to choose to live healthy and positive lifestyles.” This Half Marathon was created by runners, for runners. We wanted to make it a premier event featuring Watertown, but for the DASH cause. It was a success!
We were helping with the packet pickup Friday night, but the “girls” did much better with this. Jill Makepeace is our very own Watertown Promoting Director, and was talking the ear off of everybody. The 3 of us just had to stay out of the way. But Greg and Owen mapped out the course, and I lost track how many times they ran it, biked it, or drove it. They had it down! I am the oddball out in this picture…I clearly need more hair!!
We made a road trip as a group going over the route, where to post signs, mile markers, water stations, aid stations, and port a potty’s. A lot of planning took place on this! We wanted to make sure, as runners also, this would become an event we would want to keep coming back to as well. Michelle helped us all stay on track, and was truly the director and mastermind behind all of this, and helping us all stay on track! Thanks!
Tim Toomey and I getting set for the start of the race. We all needed to help Tim calm down before hand. He is in charge of the timing of the event, and I don’t think he slept at all the night before, wanting to make sure everything was going to go as planned without a hitch. As runners, we want our times in the races we run! A lot of pressure to get this right, and he did an awesome job! His wife Cheri was the photographer as well, so hundreds of pictures were taken as well. Their son created a video that I think will now become out new promotion for years to come featuring Watertown, and showing off Lake Kampeska!
We have to have our fun moments as well, and goof off too! We all had fun with it as well, but we were all relieved it went as well as it did. We had many positive comments, and also came up with ideas for improving it going forward. We can always make things better!
The biggest thing that makes these events so fun and memorable are the bonds that are created during runs like this. Sarah and Megan ran the majority of it together. There were many people who ran a personal best, and many also that were involved with their kids, either running together, or helping at the aid/water stations. All of these things become memories to talk about and remember for years. That is really why this is done. This is why we worked hard to create this event. This is why we will keep doing it going forward. Good times and memories are what it is all about. I can’t thank all of the committee members enough for all of the hard work that went into this event. We all had a job to do, and we all had to help. We all helped set up and take down, and when we work as a “team”, you truly understand the concept of teamwork, and why we all have to rely on help from everybody else. Kudos to all of us involved in planning and creating this event. It will become a feature event for Watertown going forward! Keep moving everybody!
