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My wife and I have always put top propriety on our children's health and vitality. There are several components to the development of healthy children-mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical. In this article, I am going to address the important nutritional requirements for children.
Let's face it; the foods that schools provide and promote are generally a joke. The refined and fried foods in a lot of schools and American homes cause many kids and teens to experience mood swings, blood sugar lows and highs, and lousy energy levels. After all, the cells of the body do not work by magic. A kid's developing body requires enough energy and nutrients for proper growth, development, and vitality.
Picture yourself as your kid's "food coach." A coach guides another person in a particular area to increase their knowledge and skills. A great coach additionally provides support and helps to motivate one to make the best choices. This is a great approach to take with your kids. Being parents ourselves, we know that a tough but caring and passionate system works best when it involves implementing healthy meals and snacks for your child. The following are basic guidelines in becoming an effective "food coach" for your children:
By analyzing the Standard American Diet (SAD), one can get a more clear picture of what should not be fed to children on a regular basis. From here, we can then go on to what is best for children to eat. The typical child's diet is high in processed carbohydrates-basically sugar, saturated fat, and animal protein. Many of the foods are loaded with artificial sweeteners, dyes, and preservatives. Meals are often the fast-food variety, frozen foods, or are skipped altogether. It is deficient in plant foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and fish. Most children do not drink enough water every day and drink soda pop or sweetened fruit juice instead. Pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals are present in the food supply (including leading brand baby food). The short and long-term effects of the pollutants are not known, although we know a child's maturing immune and nervous system is more vulnerable to these chemicals.
Vital Study: A study of preschool kids found that the foods most commonly eaten were fruit drink, carbonated beverages, 2% milk, and french fries. Vegetables dominated kids' least preferred foods lists.
A carbohydrate is a term that describes a compound that contains carbon and water molecules. Actually, individual sugar molecules joined together to make carbs. The simplest of sugar molecules are glucose, fructose (fruit sugar), and galactose (a milk sugar). These are called monosaccharides as they have one sugar molecule. Within the category of carbohydrates, we have simple and complex carbohydrates.
Simple carbs are composed of one or monosaccharides. They are the sweetest tasting of the carbs. These include:
As you read about in the description of the Standard American Diet, a lot of kids eat far too many simple carbs. Although the body eventually breaks carbohydrates down to glucose (the simplest of sugars), the majority of simple carbohydrates like candy, potato chips, soda, and refined flours (white bread) have little to no vitamins, minerals, or phytonutrients. They are commonly referred to as empty calories. When eaten in excess, especially on an empty stomach, they result in immune system suppression, mood swings, attention problems, and weight gain (fat deposition). A lot of these effects are in large part due to the spikes in blood sugar. Therefore, the hormone insulin is released to help in the transportation of blood sugar into the cells. As a by-product of this effect, the pancreas (which produces insulin) is strained, immune cells are compromised, and the body stores fat. Too high of an amount of simple carbohydrates predispose children to obesity, diabetes, cavities, and cardiovascular disease. The question then comes up concerning fruits, since most are simple carbs. Fruits are good to eat when eaten in moderation and when the rest of the basic nutrients are eaten in balance. For children with tendencies to blood sugar problems or easy weight gain, the quantity might be more restricted or eaten with meals to avoid blood sugar spikes.
About 50 to 60% of your child's diet should be carbs. The focus of the carbs should be complex carbohydrates. They supply a longer-lasting energy source, offer a longer sense of feeling full, keep blood sugar balanced, and include more vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Examples of complex carbs include whole grains (such as whole-wheat pasta, bread, and cereals, oatmeal), beans, brown rice, peas, and the majority of root vegetables.
Consuming carbohydrates with protein sources, fiber, and fat (good fats) helps to smooth out the effect on blood sugar levels. This is another reason a "balance" of all the nutrients is so vital.
Vital Study: One study found a 50% reduction in white blood cell activity (good immune cells) for two hours after consuming a sugar solution. This negative effect can last for five hours or more.
Protein is found in plant and animal foods. The body uses protein as an energy source. It also repairs tissues, organs, and muscles. It comprises enzymes and hormones and is found in every cell in the body. Amino acids are the individual building blocks of protein. There are about 20 different amino acids. Ten of the amino acids are referred to as "essential amino acids", which means our body can not make them, so it is important we get them from our diet. The remaining ten non-essential amino acids can be manufactured in the body.
Approximately 15 to 20% of your child's diet should consist of protein.
A lot of people are afraid of fat as they identify it with obesity. But, for a child to be healthy, fat is needed in the diet. The key is to get in the right kind of fats and also to decrease or avoid harmful fats such as trans fatty acids. Children need fat in their diet to produce energy for healthy brain development and function, regular growth and development, absorb fat-soluble vitamins, healthy skin, nails, and hair, healthy immune system, and several other essential functions. There are fats in plant and animal products. Because fats are so misunderstood, I have an expanded section as follows.
Kids need to have a proper balance of essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are fats that the body can not produce. So essential to life, humans can not live without these essential fats. Two kinds of fatty acids are considered essential. They are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) of the omega 3 family and linoleic acid (LA) from the omega 6 family.
Essential fatty acids are part of the cell membrane. They are needed for cells to carry out their regular roles. A sample of the roles essential fatty acids are involved with:
Imagine a scale with the omega 3 fatty acids on one side and the omega 6 fatty acids on the other. To keep a balance, there has to be a proper ratio between the two fats.
The problem with most kids in our current society is that this scale is tipped in favor of the omega 6 fatty acids. This imbalance can result in a whole host of issues, including behavioral changes, lowered immunity, heart problems, joint issues, skin issues, and an array of other medical conditions. In her book The Omega Plan, Dr. Artemis Simopoulos states that the "western diet contains about fourteen to twenty times more omega 6 fatty acids than omega 3's".
One of the keys to a healthy diet is to make sure your child is getting enough fiber on a daily basis. Plant foods are the only source of fiber. There are two sources of fiber. Soluble fiber means the fiber dissolves in water. An example would be oat bran or dried beans and peas. This kind of fiber helps to slow down the absorption of glucose from the intestines into the bloodstream and therefore improves blood sugar balance. It also helps to reduce cholesterol. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and helps to bind water and bulk up the stool to enable effective defecation. It also helps to bind excess fats and toxins in the digestive tract to be excreted out with the stool. Populations that consume a lot of fiber have less risk of colon and other cancers. Fiber also provides your child a feeling of fullness without empty calories. To calculate how much fiber your child needs, use the following formula: age of the child in years + 5. So a 3-year-old would require 8 grams of fiber a day. Most foods include a combination of soluble and insoluble fiber.
Constipation, straining to have a bowel movement, abdominal pain, or hard stools can all be indications that your kid is not receiving enough fiber. Kids with a delicate digestive system (bloating, gas, cramps, etc.) commonly do better with the steaming or cooking of fibrous vegetables such as broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower. By incorporating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day, you can attain enough fiber for your child. Basically, try to get in a good source( s) or fiber with every meal.
Sufficient water consumption is really vital for both kids. The majority of our body is water, making it a vital substance for all the cells, organs, and tissues of the body to work properly. This includes the brain. Mild dehydration can interfere with concentration and lead to headaches. Most children do not consume enough water on a daily basis. Infants should consume 1.5 ounces of water per pound of body weight daily. Babies that are breastfed do not have to drink water as they get plenty in the breast milk. Kids need to consume an average of 40 ounces a day. Warm weather, physical activity, soft drinks, and high sodium foods result in the loss of water in kids. A child needs more water to help recover when he/she is sick.
Note: Do not depend on a child to tell you when he/she is thirsty. By the time a kid feels the need for liquids, they are already a little dehydrated. Normal purified water consumption throughout the day is encouraged.
Foods are one of the few substances that get into a child's body that we can control. It's difficult to regulate the air your kid breathes unless you move to a different location. But we can control the safety of our kids' food to a certain extent, and it starts by going organic.
Organic foods refer to foods that have not been sprayed with synthetic chemicals and have been grown in safe soil. Try to find foods that are labeled "certified organically grown."
Vital Study: one study compared the quantities of healthy and toxic minerals in organic and conventionally grown foods. The following are the results that highly favor organically grown foods:
Please work with your children to improve their diets. Improvements in their health can often be observed in a matter of days or weeks!
