 PLEASE FORWARD TO YOUR TEACHING STAFF and PARENT CONTACTS
The Healthy Lives Team Families update contains helpful information and activities for your whole school community
This is the FAMILIES newsletter from The Healthy Lives Team. Each Friday we share relevant information, activities and resources to support your ongoing health and wellbeing.
The HEALTHY LIVES TEAM supports schools, pupils and families with everything to do with health and wellbeing. We want to help you to live fitter, healthier and happier lives.
We now have a Healthy Lives Team webpage where you can find out more about the team and access Healthy Schools resources and all our archived newsletters.
 Healthy Families Parent Ambassadors
Healthy Families Parent Ambassadors are a valued part of Tower Hamlets, supporting parental engagement for schools and communities whilst developing skills to support others.
They aim to recruit, train and offer development opportunities and teach about nutrition, diet, the benefits of physical activity as well as ideas for sessions with parents. Ambassadors will also get tips on how to hold successful information sessions in both schools and other organisations that support families.
This programme is for parents, grandparents and carers who have children that attend a school in Tower Hamlets and their programmes and workshops take place in schools and community settings across Tower Hamlets.
All participants will receive a resource pack at the training day to support their delivery, which includes creating balanced meals; understanding food packaging; becoming more active through games; healthy lunches, drinks and snacks; information and knowledge about other organisations and oral Health
Lunch and refreshments will be provided on the day. If you are interested, please contact: maria.olaribigbe@towerhamlets.gov.uk for further information.
 Sugar and health
Sugars are a type of carbohydrate which can be classified into two broad categories:
- Natural sugar is found in foods like fruits, vegetables, milk and other dairy products.
- Processed sugar added to foods and drinks which is known as ‘Free sugars’
In the UK, all age groups are consuming free sugars in excess which can be harmful to health. A diet high in free sugars has been associated with tooth decay and weight gain. Sugars found naturally in vegetables, fruits and milk do not count as free sugars.
To limit free sugars from your diet, it is recommended to keep an eye on food labels and cut down high sugar foods such as biscuits, cakes, sugar-sweetened drinks, flavoured yoghurts and sweet spreads. Click the link below to find out more information on sugars and health.
 Healthy Snacks for Children
Children need a regular meal pattern to ensure balanced energy levels throughout the day. To achieve this, children should have three main meals and two to three snacks in between meals every day.
Try not to grab snacks like biscuits, crisps, chocolate and pastries as these are high in added sugar and saturated fat. Try to have healthier snacks on hand instead which help to sustain energy throughout the day and provide beneficial nutrients.
Examples include:
- Veggie sticks (carrot, celery, cucumber and pepper) and dip (hummus, guacamole or tzatziki)
- Fruit and berries with plain yoghurt
- Rice cakes with peanut butter or avocado
- Smoothies -made with mixed fruits, skimmed milk/yoghurt, berries and spinach (maximum of 150 ml smoothie a day)
- Mixed unsalted nuts
Making nutritious snacks more available can help to make healthier snack choices. Having a bowl of fruit on display on the kitchen counter or setting up a healthy snack shelf can help your children to notice the healthy choices. Getting the kids to help out chopping veggies and preparing snacks can be a fun activity that can encourage children to try new foods.
Click the links below to find out more about healthier snacks.
 "Life will knock us down, but we can choose whether or not to stand back up"
Jackie Chan
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The Healthy Lives Team
The Healthy Lives Team want to support you with all aspects of health and wellbeing. We will be sending you regular newsletters that will be relevant whether you are at school, work, or at home.
Please feel free to share this email.
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We are incredibly proud in Tower Hamlets to have supported schools to gain more Healthy Schools awards than any other borough in London. So please use this newsletter in whatever way suits you best to stay as fit and healthy as possible.
If you're in a school, please share this newsletter using your social media or website using the following share button, or you can click the hyperlink in the top right corner of this email:
Subscribing to this newsletter
Just to let you know, you're receiving this because you have either opted in to get emails from the council relating to children and education, or you are one of the Healthy Lives team's regular contacts, or you may also have been forwarded this email from your school.
If you or anyone you know would like to sign up to this newsletter, please use the following link.
Take care,
The Healthy Lives team at London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
Useful links
Did you know that Tower Hamlets offers other email newsletters to keep you up to date on a variety of topics?
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