The one food Andrew Luck struggles to eat (but does anyway)
Riley Hospital for Children's "Change the Play program" isn't about encouraging medical reporters to make healthier choices. It's about getting youngsters to adopt healthy habits.
So when Indiana University Health public relations people offered this medical reporter half an hour on the phone with the program's signature personality, Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, I figured it would not make sense to bother him with my own stodgy questions. Better instead, to turn to children for their questions.
Here's what kids wanted to know — and what Luck, that good sport in so many senses of the word, had to say:
Question: What foods give you the most energy all day long? – Avi Maun, 8, Carmel
Luck: I love eating fruits and veggies. I try to eat a big breakfast — oatmeal with fruits and yogurt and an omelet and a big glass of water. That helps give me a lot of good fuel for the day. I think a healthy snack is super important and I try to stay away from chips or cookies. For snacks, a banana, grapes, some nuts or trail mix.
Q. How are fruits and vegetables good for my body? – Thomas Allen, 9, Carmel
Luck: Fruits and veggies are good for you because they're natural and they grow out of the earth. They have good proteins, good sugars. They make you feel good after you eat them.
Q. Do you like carrots? How about broccoli? – Sarah Beard, 7, Fishers
Luck: I like both. Carrots — raw or boiled or steamed. Broccoli, I don't eat it raw, but I do like it.
Q. Is pizza healthy? --Andrew V., 7, Tampa, Fla.
Luck: Maybe certain types of pizza can be OK. There's probably healthier foods than pizza. I still eat pizza, but I don't eat it every night.
Q. What exercise do you recommend for kids? –Sam Rudavsky, 8, Indianapolis
Luck: I always liked going out and playing with whoever was in the neighborhood, whether it was my sisters or friends. I loved being part of pickup games of basketball, soccer, kickball. One of the more fun things we did was we would make up games. We made up a game called "roof ball" one summer when we were staying with my grandparents. We would throw a volleyball up on the roof and whoever caught it got a point.
Q: How do you focus your mind when the fans are calling your name? – Ashenafi Price, 8, Indianapolis
Luck: You learn to tune out distractions when you play. In practice, we put music on, so you sort of tune that out. When you're playing on the field, you have to understand that listening to fans, whether they're saying good things or bad things, is just a distraction and nothing else. Don't take it as motivation. They're there and you're out there to play. It could be in front of two people or 75,000. I don't think it matters. It's the nice things that people say to you that can get in your mind and make you lose focus easier than the mean things.
Q: Where do you exercise? – Matthew Beard, 9, Fishers
Luck: A lot is at the Colts facility, the weight room, the fields. I have also started riding my bike around town. It's just a regular hybrid road mountain bike, not one of the skinny Greg LeMond bikes.
Q: What food do you not like the most that you have to eat? – Shayen Maun, 5, Carmel
Luck: I really have struggled eating red and green peppers, raw or cooked, but it ends up in a lot of food and my girlfriend likes them, so I will eat them when I have to.
Q. I am a dancer and I was wondering if you take dance to make you leap higher or be able to move your body quicker? – Selam Price, 10, Indianapolis
Luck: Some people take dance to improve their athletic performance. I have not, but maybe it's something I should try.
Q. How come you're not thirsty all the time with your workouts? – Zach Spahr, 9, Indianapolis
Luck: I do get very thirsty during workouts and that's why I think it's important to be hydrated before, have hydration available while you're doing something and drink the right things after you work out to recover. I drink a lot of water throughout the day, probably 10 glasses, and I drink one or two BodyArmors a day to make sure I have the right electrolytes and vitamins. In high school, every time I went by a water fountain, I would take a couple of sips of water.
Q. How many treats should we be having every day? – Will Spahr, 12, Indianapolis
Luck: Depends on what type of treat it is. For me, a good Indiana peach is a treat and good for you, so I will have a couple of those a day. But if you're talking about sweets, try to limit yourself to one a day.
Q. How often do you get to eat dessert? – Danny and Mikey Cardwell, 10 and 8, Carmel
Luck: I don't eat dessert with lunch, only with dinner and then it's every other night, half the time. I love dark chocolate. That's sort of my guilty pleasure.
Q. What is your favorite restaurant? – Katy Spahr, 7, Indianapolis
Luck: That's a good question. I don't think I have one favorite. There's a bunch of great restaurants — R Bistro and Black Market and Bluebeard, India Garden, Siam Square.
Call Star reporter Shari Rudavsky at (317) 444-6354. Follow her on Twitter: @srudavsky.
Any child can register to join Change the Play's Kids Club, just launched in May. Kids who join the free program will receive monthly emails on topics related to health, as well as a membership kit with some swag items. To register, visit www.iuhealth.org/changetheplay.