Photos by Setondji Jean-Francis Boko, Written by Tanya Terry
Dr. Shan (pronounced Shane) Jackson, holistic wellness and health educator, recently shared with the Courier why she wrote her dream-inspired book “Rainbow Power” and what she hopes the book will do for kids, parents and teachers.
“The book was actually given to me in a dream,” said Jackson. “The characters, the whole entire story, I got up and wrote the book in a night. It was on my heart to do it because I know that kids learn a lot through color, but also adults. If you give them something through color, they’re more receptive. They’re more responsive to things through color.”
Jackson developed the characters that night, each with different personalities ranging from goofy to quiet.
Jackson added to the 12 pages she originally wrote. Eventually, she had 27 pages inspiring and teaching kids, parents and teachers the importance of eating healthy at home and in the classroom.
“The importance of really teaching a child nutrition is a way of ending generational habits,” stated Jackson. “I’ve always said that when you teach them young, it’s vital because it creates an atmosphere to actually build stronger immune systems so one day they’ll have low risk of having any type of disease as far as diabetes or heart disease. It promotes longevity – because a lot of us have been fed a certain type of way. That means the way our mother fed us is the way her mother fed her, and how her mother fed her. So, I wanted to break that trend of generational habit after generational habit.”
Jackson shared this is important to her especially when it concerns the Flint community because Flint was affected by the Water Crisis.
“I feel like if we already had things into place a lot of people wouldn’t have been affected by it – because their immune system would have been built and ready for it.”
Jackson pointed out Flint barely has grocery stores, but has tons of liquor stores in which fruits and vegetables are often overpriced.
Jackson added eating “junk food” not only contributes to heart disease and diabetes, but also ADHD.
“Flint was special to me because they didn’t know what Vitamin C looked like and they didn’t know what calcium looked like. In the book, all these things come to light – so you know what these things are and what they do for your body.”
In Jackson’s book, the children are in the gym. They are supposed to be physically active, but they’re tired. The teacher does not immediately realize the reason the children are so tired has a lot to do with what they’ve been eating. Eventually, the teacher brings in a friend to talk about the importance of eating healthy.
Jackson also stressed healthy eating can affect the child’s ability to get an education.
“It keeps them strong when it comes to memory. It keeps them sitting still and not all over the place so they can learn.”
Jackson also said children should be fed right both at home and at school.
Jackson recently visited a local high school where a child had an IEP meeting. An IEP is an individual education program – a plan for children with disabilities to try to help them be successful at school. Jackson found out from the child’s mother the child was eating Fruit Loops cereal and drinking Faygo pop for breakfast, as well as having candy. Jackson soon realized and shared with the teachers that the reason the child was behaving the way he was had a lot to do with him being on a “sugar high.” Jackson added his diet could also stunt his growth and development, preventing from being the best he could be.
“A lot of our babies are not ADD, and a lot are not ADHD. A lot of them are NDD. That means nutrition deficiency disorder. That means if I feed my child a certain type a way, it will look like they’re ADD. It will look like they are ADD.”
Jackson suggests diets rich in kale, spinach, fruit, nuts and fish. She added parents need to change how they eat to have a positive influence on how their children eat. Her books breaks down what various fruits and vegetables do, from different places around the world. In doing so, she uses creative and colorful characters from many countries.
“If your a parent who can’t explain nutrition, the book will help explain nutrition for you.”
Jackson has also been teaching inmates at Genesee County Jail about how the foods they eat can affect their mental health. She said Flint is a city that needs a little “push” when it comes to nutrition and the initiative of healthy eating for its kids.
“Rainbow Power” is currently available on Amazon, and Jackson is planning a relaunch of the book on her website, as well as on Facebook in January 2024.
