Uplifting Wellness: News Briefs on Nutrition, Avian Flu, and Measles

By Rudolfo Carrillo

Spring Cleaning: Diet Edition

As we await springtime here in New Mexico, it’s important to note that our health journeys are seasonal and continuous: approaching spring will bring fresh concerns which we must balance with staying mindful about what we’ve learned in the past.

Nutritional Warm-Up

Looking forward to warmer days means thinking about—or rethinking—spring and summertime eating regimens, including updating barbeque protocols toward healthfulness. March happens to be National Nutrition Month, and the intersection of longer days, lively social functions, and yummy food is irresistible as we move forward together in time.

Eating Smarter

As part of commemorating National Nutrition Month, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics—sponsor and originator of this important annual celebration—has a website that’s bursting with information, including food prep and planning sections and proposed fitness plans awaiting your hungry eyes.

Recipes for Health

Perhaps the best thing about this site is the recipes section, which features grill-friendly choices like Blueberry Barbeque Chicken and a collection of salad recipes guaranteed to earn rave reviews at the next graduation, birthday, or wedding party. Learn more at: eatright.org.

Stay Ready: Avian Flu Update

Alongside the surge of wellness you feel as you embrace better nutrition—especially by consuming more salads and less red meat at the parties you’re party to—please stay mindful that serious health issues in the wider world may ultimately come calling at our door. These situations call for vigilance, resilience, and open dialogue.

A Bird’s Eye View

Here, we include the current outbreak of bird flu, which is a rising risk in these United States. On Feb. 13, NPR reported that “a variant of H5N1 that had circulated in wild birds and poultry turned up in dairy cattle for the first time. The implications aren't entirely clear yet. … Researchers are also looking into whether the variant could be more deadly for humans.”

Keep up with the latest, official updates about influenza A virus subtype H5N1 in dairy cows, poultry, wild birds, and humans by bookmarking: cdc.gov/bird-flu.

Measles Attempts Comeback

Amid ongoing and upcoming challenges like the bird flu, the vital importance of maintaining and sustaining public health services here in New Mexico is mirrored, if not magnified, by recent pathological developments in southern New Mexico, where our state department of health reports that at least three cases of measles have been detected in Lea County.

Texas Crossover News

Lea County is adjacent to Gaines County, Tex., where 48 cases of measles have been reported over the past couple weeks. Residents of Hobbs have been advised to take special note. The NM Health website offers up-to-date information about possible exposure sites in Hobbs and throughout Lea County.

Don’t Wait, Vaccinate!

More importantly, the New Mexico Department of Health reminds us all that preparation and vigilance equals healthy mindfulness and that timely vaccination is the key to keeping childhood diseases like measles, mumps, and rubella from re-entering the general population. To find out more about this measles outbreak, visit: nmhealth.org/news.

Schedule safe, effective vaccines for measles, COVID-19, flu, RSV, and other communicable illnesses—whether you’re insured or not—at vaccine.doh.nm.gov.