Boosting health and immunity with Matt Dowling

Tracey Challenor:

Hello, I’m Tracey Challenor. Great to have your company for this Life Education podcast. Well, never have we been more focused on our health and wellbeing than right now during the coronavirus pandemic. And while there’s no single food or lifestyle that can make us immune to the disease, there are simple ways we can strengthen our immune system to help fight off viruses and other illnesses, particularly with flu season just around the corner. With me today is Life Educations very own health and nutrition officer, Matt Dowling, to talk us through some of the things we can do to stay healthy and maybe even use this isolation period to make some positive and lasting changes to support our family’s health and wellbeing. Hi Matt. Welcome. Thanks for joining us.

 

Matt Dowling:

Hi Tracey. Thanks for having me.

 

Tracey Challenor:

How have you been coping with the restrictions? Has life changed much for you?

 

Matt Dowling:

So far so good with the restrictions for us. Yeah, opportunities for entertainment around home haven’t quite dried up just yet. We’re pretty fortunate. We live on a small farm. So yeah, there’s plenty of space to go for walks and we’ve got an old tennis court we can have a hit on. There’s definitely no shortage of fences to fix and weeds to pull out of the veggie garden. So yeah, staying pretty busy. How about you? How are you navigating the restrictions at the moment?

 

Tracey Challenor:

Well, I’m just in suburbia, but I have been getting out on the bike every day and loving that. Also been getting into the garden and finding that very therapeutic. So really quite active. I’m a bit of a homebody anyway, so things haven’t changed all that much for me.

Matt Dowling:

Oh fantastic. We sound like two of the lucky ones then.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Yeah, we are lucky. Well, let’s talk about nutrition, Matt. We’ve probably all indulged a bit over Easter. I think the big challenge for many of us currently health-wise is not only hopefully avoiding coronavirus altogether, but trying not to put on excess weight during these months at home and less regular activity because we’re missing out on some of that incidental exercise that we normally get during the day. How do we stop the kilos piling on when the kitchen is so close by, gyms are closed, and regular sport is off limits?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, good question Tracey. Yeah, it’s a challenge. Definitely. I’ve been working from my home office and can absolutely relate to the temptations of the nearby fridge and cupboard. I’ve actually been having a lot of these chats with friends and family recently, because I think, let’s face it, most of us do really rely on our normal routine to stick to healthy food choices and regular exercise. And I guess when we’re talking about maintaining a healthy weight, there are a lot of factors that go into it, but put simply for most of us, it is looking at the amount of energy we consume from food and drink compared to the amount that we’re using or burning throughout normal daily activities and exercise.

 

Matt Dowling:

So I guess the first part of that equation is the energy going in and we really need to have a look at what’s available in the fridge and the cupboard, particularly at the moment, because this is where all our food and drink consumption is coming from. And I think the first rule of reducing energy intake is really avoiding processed food and drink, particularly those high in fat and sugar because this is where most of us consume too much energy. And I think the best way to do this, and we’ve all heard it before, is not to buy it in the first place. If it’s not at home sitting in a fridge and cupboard to tempt us, then we’re not going to eat it. So, I think a really key tip here is sticking to the outside edge of the supermarket. Most of those processed foods and drinks tend to be concentrated in those inner aisles. Whereas the outer edge is where we find the fresh produce, like your fruit and veggies, your lean meats fish, frozen veggies, you know, whole grains like brown rice, beans, lentils, all that really good stuff.

 

Matt Dowling:

That’s the first one. And then I guess the second part of the equation is of course is the energy that we’re burning or using through those daily activities and exercise. So, I guess at the moment for most of us it’s walks and bike rides close to home is a good opportunity. We were just mentioning before that home gardening and DIY – it’s amazing how much energy you can burn digging holes and pulling weeds. I guess other opportunities you can find at home. A game of cricket in the backyard or wheelbarrow races with the kids. We actually played a board game of Twister. Do you know Twister, Tracey?

 

Tracey Challenor:

Yes.

 

Matt Dowling:

All the different coloured circles.

 

Tracey Challenor:

I remember Twister.

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah. So, laughing and puffing away playing a game like that as well burns calories.

 

Tracey Challenor:

It sure does.

 

Matt Dowling:

There’s also a really good resource I love if you haven’t seen it before, or others listening, is the 10,000 steps program. I think 10,000steps.org.au is how you check it out. It’s brilliant. You can challenge friends and family members and work colleagues to maintain physical activity even from home. Our work team’s actually used it a few times and yeah, it’s a lot of fun. Creates a lot of banter. It’s brilliant.

 

Tracey Challenor:

That is a great initiative, isn’t it? And now’s probably a good time to set that daily goal of trying to do 10,000 steps. It sounds like a lot. I mean it is the gold standard isn’t it? But it’s surprising how quickly the steps do add up over a day, even just, you know, walking around the house, walking around your neighbourhood.

 

Matt Dowling:

Absolutely. Yeah. Look, it’s a great resource sort of to keep you accountable and to have a bit of fun at the same time. And it’s not just steps. You can also record other activities and sort of gives you the equivalent steps from doing that activity so it’s brilliant.

 

Tracey Challenor:

And getting back to nutrition, of course, this is the time when more and more families are cash strapped. So, people are looking for ways to eat healthily but also affordably. What would you suggest in the way of healthy recipe ideas that are cheap and easy to make?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, as you said, I think right now it’s a really good opportunity. As I said, most of us don’t have the extra financial resources to be throwing at fast food options. So yeah, it’s an opportunity to make the most of it and try some quick new, cheap, healthy and easy recipes. I think two really simple tips. First one is cook in bulk. This makes meals a lot cheaper, ingredients go further, you have less waste so you can use those leftovers the next day or freeze them for another day when you don’t feel like cooking. Recipes like spaghetti Bolognese and stir fry and soups are brilliant to cook in bulk.

 

Matt Dowling:

So that would be my number one tip. Number two, don’t be afraid of frozen fruit and vege. So, these are often just as nutritious as those in the produce aisle, but often a lot cheaper and a great resource to have at home to add extra fruit and vege into your day.

 

Tracey Challenor:

And also, as you mentioned, growing some of your own vegetables and herbs and salad leaves. It’s fairly easy to do, isn’t it?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that’s another opportunity while we’re all at home. Absolutely. There’s a really good resource I was going to mention that I’ve been using recently is the Queensland Health Healthier, Happier online resources. I think that one’s healthier.qld.gov.au. And they’ve got some brilliant family- friendly recipes and tricks and tips to cook simple healthy meals on a budget. Some of the recipes I’ve been using there are things like veggie lasagnas and fritters. Grainy salads like rice paper rolls for lunch. There’s some really cool breakfast recipes on there, like cooked porridge using banana and apple and baked eggs and brekkie smoothies. So yeah, if you haven’t seen that one, that’s a really good resource.

 

Tracey Challenor:

I had a look at that site, and it is brilliant. And one of the things I really like about it is that it’s got videos for people like me who hate reading recipes. You can just play the videos and it tells you the measurements and you just follow it and it’s so easy isn’t it?

 

Matt Dowling:

Absolutely. Absolutely. And while we’ve got more time on our hands and we’re at home, yeah, it’s a great opportunity to try something new.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Well many parents are busy working from home at the moment, but when we do have time, the kitchen can be a great creative space to relieve the boredom. What are some of the ways we can involve kids in the kitchen that will not only keep them busy but teach them about nutrition and give them some important life skills?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, look, I think this is a great point. We’ve now got a really large body of evidence that tells us that sustainable, healthy lifestyle behaviours need to start when they’re young. As kids are growing and developing their taste preferences and positive and negative associations with food are also developing. And once we reach a certain age, these preferences and food associations are almost set and become really hard to change. So, creating a positive healthy food environment at home is really important and I think the kitchen is obviously the best place to do it. Getting the kids involved. There’s some great kid- safe kitchen knives on the market at the moment, so you can have them chopping up veggies, putting ingredients together. And if you choose simple recipes, they can learn to cook the whole meal. There are things like san choi bow and tacos, homemade pizzas, jacket potatoes. And one of my actually all-time favourite snacks. Tracey, do you know about ants on a log?

 

Tracey Challenor:

I have seen you do ants on a log but tell us about it.

 

Matt Dowling:

So traditionally ants on a log is a piece of carrot, so that’s your log, a carrot stick. You then put a thin layer of peanut butter on top and then your ants, which is just sultanas on top of that. But really you can actually use any fruit or veggie like capsicum, cucumber, apples, pears. And I’ve done this a lot with kids in the classroom and use a healthy spread on top, like a Greek yogurt or hummus or low-fat cream cheese. And then yeah, your sultanas or nuts or little pieces of cut up fruit on top. And yeah, it’s beautiful, it’s quick, it’s cheap and it’s very healthy. Easy way to get more fruit and veggies.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Yeah, you’ve done it a few times in our work kitchen and even the adults love it, don’t they?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. It’s quite often the example I’ve used when someone says eating healthy or healthy snacks are too expensive or too difficult. It doesn’t get much easier than ants on a log.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Well, at Life Education, our educators reinforce the important two and five rule: two pieces of fruit and five vegetables every day to stay healthy. How do we encourage kids to eat fruits and vegetables when there are so many tempting snacks? We mentioned that earlier, but particularly now when they’re at home so much and raiding the pantry on a regular basis. I have teenage boys and I find that my fridge can be brimming with healthy food, but they’ll still go for the unhealthy snack, the Frankfurt sausages or something like that. How do you make healthy food a bit more interesting?

 

Matt Dowling:

You’re right, it is about creating that positive relationship between your kids and fruit and veg, rather than it being something that they’re forced to eat, or they have to eat. And you mentioned the two and five, yet traditionally we have talked about two serves of fruit and five serves of veggies each day. I think sometimes we can get a bit confused about what constitutes a serve. So, I often talk about small handfuls. So, two small handfuls of fruit and five handfuls of veggies or salad each day. And you’re right, you also mentioned the rainbow. So, a rainbow of different coloured fruits and veggies throughout the day ensures that we get enough of all the different nutrients that our bodies need, like vitamins and minerals. And these vary in type and amount depending on the colour of fruit or veg.

 

Matt Dowling:

But yeah, you’re right. Making that sort of positive link between those foods and a kid. So, I think things like little timber sticks as skewers, skewer sticks. So, one activity I’ve done with kids is little bits of fruit kebabs stick, yeah those. So, you can cut them up into tiny bits and then you get bits of fruit and veggies and use the sticks to put them together to create little fruit and veggie people.

 

Matt Dowling:

So, that’s one little fun exercise I’ve done to talk about the rainbow. Also putting a little rainbow on your fridge and you create a little challenge with everyone at home. So, who can tick off more colours of the rainbow at home. Also, you mentioned the garden before. Planting a rainbow of veggies in the home veggie garden and I guess almost sort of entrusting the kids to look after it. I think that’s another really good way to create that positive association.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Yeah. And when kids understand how food is grown, they can see the health benefits and I guess they’re more likely to want to eat well, aren’t they?

 

Matt Dowling:

Definitely. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Matt, last year, Life Education Queensland launched an exciting new program in primary schools called Healthy Eats, which you’ve been closely involved with as our resident health and nutrition educator. Tell us about the Healthy Eats program. What’s it all about?

 

Matt Dowling:

Tracey, Healthy Eats is really exciting. I can talk underwater about Healthy Eats so stop me if I start wafting on. But essentially in a nutshell, it’s about supporting disadvantaged primary schools in regional areas to create a healthy school food environment that encourages and supports a consumption of fruit and veg at school. So, I guess it’s essentially working with schools to create an environment where the healthy choice becomes the easy choice because it’s accessible and because everyone else is doing it, too.

Matt Dowling:

And this type of program is so important at the moment. We’ve seen the most recent population data tells us that on a whole, most Australian kids are falling well short when it comes to the recommended intake of fruit and veggies for healthy growth and development. And this is particularly the case in remote and low socio-economic areas. So, I guess those stats really led to North Queensland primary health network funding the development of Healthy Eats by the Life Education team. It’s really been a lot of fun to be involved in.

 

Matt Dowling:

It started last year with a pilot program, we had 20 North Queensland primary schools registered, which involves over 2000 students and more than 4,000 families. And really the results were overwhelmingly impressive. So much so that we’ve expanded it to 50 primary schools in North Queensland this year.

 

Tracey Challenor:

It’s an amazing program, isn’t it? It’s already picked up a Simna Award for social impact, which is fantastic. Why was the Healthy Eats programs so successful do you think? I mean, how did you get kids excited about eating more fruit and vegetables? You were in the classroom jumping around with cabbages and things. I saw some of the footage. How did you do that?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, look, I think we just took a slightly different slant. Traditionally I think a lot of nutrition programs in schools have really focused on education in a very prescriptive way. Sitting kids down in the classroom and preaching about right, now you have to eat this, this and this to be healthy. But now this huge body of evidence is telling us that healthy eating is more than just the education of knowing what’s healthy and what’s not. As you said before, we really need to look at our environments. So yeah, just as home is an environment and the workplace is an environment, so too is the school and the wider community.

 

Matt Dowling:

I think that’s really where Healthy Eats focused is creating sort of fun and dynamic resources to create that really supportive environment. So, things like cooking sessions and fruit and vegetable passport competitions. The kids are rolling their sleeves up and getting into the school veggie garden, joining breakfast programs, volunteering in the tuck shop, there’s teachers resources and a whole lot of stuff there that again, I guess tries to help schools to create that really supportive environment where it becomes the norm.

 

Matt Dowling:

I also think the second thing about Healthy Eats is we really tried to take a community approach to the program. When we started the pilot program, we sat down with all the school communities involved, so teaching staff, parents, students, local health services, indigenous health services, local council, store owners. We sort of sat down with everyone in each community and asked really, “What are the priorities in your community? How do we get primary school kids in your schools to eat more fruit and vege? What’s worked in your community before? What hasn’t? Who’s already doing great stuff in this space in your community that we can team up with?” And we created a lot of local relationship with like Bunnings and Woolworths and other local services to help schools get things like school gardens off the ground or partake in healthy food supermarket tours. So, I guess through that process, the Healthy Eats program is really sort of driven by the school community themselves. They choose what resources they want to engage in and instigate. And I think that sense of ownership and excitement is really filtered down all the way through the school community.

 

Tracey Challenor:

And that’s what brought about the lasting change because I think after the program around 80% of primary schools said that fruit and vegetable consumption had increased, hadn’t it? And teachers said they’d rebook the program.

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah. Yeah. We were blown away, Tracey. It was a pilot program and we really didn’t know how it was going to go and what the feedback was going to be like and the uptake. And again, schools really just sort of took it and ran with it. Yeah, it was really impressive.

 

Tracey Challenor:

That’s fantastic. Matt, a recent YouGov survey I think was done the other week, found that bad habits are getting worse in the coronavirus crisis. A lot of people are saying they’re finding it just that little bit harder to exercise and are making less healthy choices as we mentioned before. But it is probably more important than ever, isn’t it, that we do find time to exercise and cut down on alcohol even though we might be tempted to have a glass of wine in the evening, quit smoking if you’re a smoker. How do you keep your own exercise and diet routine on track?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, that’s a very good question. I think Tracey, with any extra stress, it can be more difficult to stick to healthy routines and slip into a bit of a negative cycle so to speak. I guess regardless of where that stress might be coming from, whether it is coronavirus or it’s work stress or family stress or health issues, I think it does become that little bit tougher.

 

Matt Dowling:

I guess for me, I just keep it simple. I set myself one or two small simple goals that are important to me. At the moment, I’ve got a bit of a life motto or mantra that says that I want to be the best version of me every day. And for me that’s the healthiest version. That’s the Matt that gets eight hours sleep, that exercises each day, eats loads of fruits and veggies. And that’s the me that can concentrate for longer periods and laugh more and make better decisions and be in a better mood during the day. So, I guess to do that and to stick to that I’ve actually borrowed a trick I read in a book recently called the five second rule.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Right.

 

Matt Dowling:

So, the way it works, whenever I catch myself about to make an unhealthy choice or I’m procrastinating about the right choice, I remind myself of that best version of me today and then start counting down from five. Five, four, three. And the when I get to one, I start moving in the direction of that healthy choice.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Wow, that’s a good one.

 

Matt Dowling:

For example. Yes, it’s so simple, but so effective. If you’re sleeping in again past the alarm five, four, three, two, one. And when you get to one, you got to start moving out of bed, runners on, same thing with reaching for an unhealthy food choice. Five, four, three, two, one. Grab the apple instead. So, I don’t know. I’ve just find that it’s a simple trick that works for me. But yeah, keep it simple. Set simple, achievable goals I think is some good advice that works for me.

 

Tracey Challenor:

You’re one of the fittest and healthiest people I’ve ever met. I should tell our listeners, you’re also a physiotherapist. I mean some of the lunches you bring to work are quite legendary. Aren’t they? I’ve never seen so many ingredients in a salad.

 

Matt Dowling:

It’s simple stuff. It doesn’t have to be tough. That’s one of my ‘go tos’ is a really simple salad.  You add a bit of a grain, like a brown rice, maybe chop up a little bit of lean meat or eggs or tofu and then throw some yogurt on it with some lemon juice and you’ve got this beautiful healthy cheap, quick salad.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Delicious. You mentioned this earlier. There is a big link, isn’t there, between what we eat and how that affects our mood and behaviour. And we know that our emotions can also affect what we eat. So, it can work both ways. And throw in the boredom and the isolation that many had been experiencing and that can make it even worse for both parents and children. What tips do you have just in general for keeping our gut and brain healthy? We’ve talked about a lot of good healthy eating tips, but is there anything else that you would like to mention?

 

Matt Dowling:

Oh absolutely, Tracey. I mean, healthy body, healthy mind. It’s backed up by a lot of research and you’re right, there’s no better time I think than at the moment. It’s a real opportunity to concentrate on healthy behaviours. And I think keeping it simple, just a nutritious diet, exercise and sleep. As you said, with so many parents juggling work from home, supervising kids that are schooling from home and perhaps extra financial stress. I think those really three simple things, seven to nine hours of recommended sleep, eating more fruit and veg each day and regular physical activity or exercise. It doesn’t have to be gym based. It can be a game of backyard cricket in the garden.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Exactly. And I think at the moment when there is so much that is beyond our control, focusing on things like diet and exercise, it makes us feel a bit more positive, doesn’t it? Empowered and it helps us cope a lot better.

 

Matt Dowling:

Absolutely. Absolutely. A lot of what you just said. Healthy body, healthy mind. And I think we all know that when we have had periods where we’re consistent with those things, we feel great. Yeah, we are the best versions of ourselves.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Oh, some fantastic tips there, Matt. Well, we all cannot wait until life returns to normal, but in the meantime, you’re going to be spreading the nutrition message via our new online learning hub called Life Education at Home, which is pretty exciting. Tell us about that. That’s going to be a lot of fun for kids, isn’t it?

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah. Tracey, I mean of course we cannot wait to get back into the face to face delivery of the Life Education programs, but the online learning hub is exciting. It’s been an opportunity for us that means we can continue to provide health and safety education to children as we support teachers and parents in the coming months. So, there’s a whole host of fun and engaging online resources there to check out. It’s really exciting.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Thanks Matt. Great to chat to you today. Stay well.

 

Matt Dowling:

Yeah, you too. You too. Thanks so much for having me, Tracey.

Tracey Challenor:

What’s for dinner tonight?

 

Matt Dowling:

That’s a good question. Jacket potatoes. I think we’ve got quite a few sweet potatoes at home. So yeah, jacket potatoes I think could be on the menu.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Oh, you’re making me hungry. Sounds fantastic. Thanks a lot, Matt.

 

Matt Dowling:

Thanks Tracey. Have a good day.

 

Tracey Challenor:

Well you’ve been listening to the Life Education podcast and my guest today was Matt Dowling, Life Education’s health and nutrition officer with some great tips on how to boost our immune system and stay fit and healthy both during Covid-19 and beyond. I’m Tracey Challenor. Please feel free to share our podcast chat or listen to our other Life Education podcasts in the series. And if you’d like to download the healthy recipes Matt mentioned or find some more tips on the topics we covered today, simply go to HealthyEatsKids.com.au. You’ll find some fantastic resources there. That’s HealthyEatsKids.com.au. Well, stay well until next time. Great to have you with us. Thanks for joining us.