Welcome to part one of our Health Literacy Video Minutes. Statistics show that a significant portion of adults are not fully proficient.  We hope that even if a lot of this information is not new to you, it will be a thought starter for ways of increasing your health literacy.

You are what you eat.
We’ve heard that phrase before.  But what does it really mean?  Nutrients from our food refuel and repair the body from the stresses of daily living. So, the philosophy goes, eating healthy foods should help us maintain optimum health. It is no guarantee, as health conditions, environmental and hereditary factors all play a role as well.  However, we generally have more control over our diets. There are people who live in food deserts (areas where healthy foods are not readily available) who have much less control. However, there are still better choices even in those circumstances.
What constitutes “healthy” seems to be a moving target. Nutrition is a science, but it changes as we learn more about how certain foods and ingredients impact the body.  For example, eggs and avocados were once considered bad for us. Newer research shows the benefits of these foods. Evidence based nutrition means using the best information  available. We also know that there are few foods that are healthy if eaten in excess.
If you’d like some more information about nutrition from a reliable source, stop by this site and do some exploring. You’ll find nutrition information and even recipes.
https://www.nutrition.gov/
Cheers to better health!

There’s an old saying- “what you don’t know won’t hurt you”. However, when it comes to health information, that’s not true. Health Literacy is important in preventing illness, managing chronic disease and even understanding prescription instructions and health insurance paperwork.
Only about one in 10 English-speaking adults in the U.S. has proficient health literacy skills according to a report from the National Center for Education Statistics. Even those who have strong basic literacy skills may need to brush up on their health literacy.  Let’s face it, most of us have looked up health terminology, especially in an age when test results are often available on your health practice app before you even see your doctor again.
Health information can be complex and sometimes it may be misunderstood, or someone may be too embarrassed to ask questions. Other times, people may feel they don’t need to know more about their health care, until they do.
Here’s a fun assessment from the Pew Trusts. Don’t worry about acing it. The point is to get a quick snapshot of what you know, and don’t know.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/10/14/how-health-literate-are-you

To your health!!!

The average person reads many times a day- from texts to work documents, emails and instructions. However, only about one-third of the US population reads books for pleasure.  According to Proliteracy, approximately 48 million adults in the United States cannot read above a third-grade level.
Literacy and comprehension are critical life skills. If you can't read work documents, important emails, your prescriptions or even a road sign, life will be more difficult.
In addition to basic literacy, there are other forms of literacy that impact our daily lives. These include health, digital, financial and civic literacy.  Perhaps the most important of these is health. When the last snapshot of national health literacy was taken, only about one in ten Americans were considered proficient while a little over one-third have only basic or below basic skills.
This means many Americans could brush up their health literacy.  Lack of these skills can be costly in terms of health outcomes.  For an interesting perspective, read this 2020 article:
https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/content/dam/UHG/PDF/About/Health-Literacy-Brief.pdf
As part of Onslow Literacy Council's outreach to the community, we will be creating a series of videos and blog posts on health and nutrition literacy over the next few months.  They'll be shared on social media and on this page. We hope you find them helpful and information.
Cheers to good health!