Do you know how to read nutrition facts labels on the foods you eat? Do you know the nutrients going into your body or how much sugar, fat, calories or vitamins you are eating each day? Many of the youths in our area now know those answers because of a local program managed by the University of Idaho Extension.

The University of Idaho’s 4-H Food Smart Families (FSF) and Eat Smart Idaho Programs, funded through USDA Food and Nutrition Services and the Department of Health and Welfare, are working together this summer to educate youths in the Coeur d’Alene and Post Falls areas through a variety of healthy living lessons. College interns, teen advocates, and Eat Smart Idaho nutrition advisers are teaching the lessons.

The “Think Your Drink” lesson has been a favorite. The youngsters visualize naturally occurring sugars and added sugars in many popular drinks. They then measure teaspoons of sugar based on the grams of sugar in each drink.

To help them choose between drinks they should have daily and those that should be consumed every once in a while, 4-H Food Smart Families suggests three different categories of drinks: GO, SLOW, and WOAH.

Water and low-fat milk are GO drinks because they are an excellent fluid source, have few to no calories and contain many nutrients that benefit the body.

When children don’t drink enough fluids, they can easily get dehydrated. “Dehydration,” said Christy Johnson, UI Eat Smart Idaho nutrition adviser, “can affect comprehension when learning and alter performance in athletics."

SLOW drinks are drinks that have many nutrients, but also have lots of sugar or calories. These drinks can make it easy to drink too much, and adding a lot of excess calories.

“Youths are taught that these drinks are OK in small amounts or every once in a while but should not be consumed on a daily basis for optimal health,” said Lizbeth Bumstead, 4-H intern.

Examples of such drinks include 100-percent fruit juice or chocolate milk.

Then, there are drinks that have a lot of sugar and calories with little or no nutrients. These drinks are WOAH drinks and include beverages like energy drinks with 16 teaspoons of sugar per 16-ounce container, sport drinks with nine teaspoons of sugar per 20-ounce container, fruit drinks with 15 teaspoons of sugar per 12-ounce container, sweetened teas with 18 teaspoons of sugar per 24-ounce container and soda with nine teaspoons of sugar per 12-ounce container.

“Think Your Drink is one of my favorite lessons because it’s fun to see the kids’ reactions to the amount of sugar some of their favorite drinks contain,” said 4-H teen advocate Blake Presnell, who assists in teaching some of the lessons.

The FSF and Eat Smart programs were at Hayden Days with a booth that allowed youngsters and their parents to answer some nutrition questions and win some prizes that promote healthy living. Additionally, lessons have been taught at the Boys and Girls Club of Post Falls, all the Summer Feeding Programs in the Coeur d’Alene School District, CDA4 Kids, the Children’s Village, the Kroc Center, and at day camps through CDA Assembly.

“I believe this program is very effective; children often say they are going to go home and tell their parents how much sugar is in their soda,” said intern Maranda Jo Helland.

The 4-H FSF program has not only made effective changes with youth participants, it has also inspired its staff members, interns and teen advocates. Presnell, one of four Idaho teens chosen to participate in the National Youth Summit on Healthy Living in Maryland this past February, said his behavior changed after becoming involved with 4-H FSF.

“I didn’t think about checking food labels or think about the fat content in fast foods,” Presnell said. “Now I am better at choosing healthier foods. My mom and I always check labels on bread and canned foods. It’s made me more aware."

The 4-H FSF and Eat Smart Idaho programs will continue teaching lessons to schools in the area throughout this coming school year.

For more information, contact Shelly Johnson, University of Idaho Extension, at (208) 446-1688 or sjohnson@uidaho.edu.

Visit Eat Smart Idaho online at www.eatsmartidaho.org.