Usefull Tips For Parents

Make sure your kids have an iron-rich diet.

2010-03-06T17:06:00.003+07:00

It is hard to believe that mineral deficiencies exist in a developed country, but believe it or not, iron deficiency is still all too common in our society. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), iron deficiency exists in the United States to a degree sufficient to have an impact on intellectual growth in as many as one in fourteen toddlers and one in six teenage girls. This means that millions of children are affected! Toddlers, prekindergarten children, and menstruating teenage girls are three high-risk age groups that need to be ensured an iron-rich diet.
Children and parents might not notice the symptoms of iron deficiency, which can include decreased memory, poor school performance, impaired athletic performance, fatigue, irritability, headaches, and poor appetite. Kids with iron deficiency anemia tend to get sick more often. Children can usually get all the iron they need from a healthy diet; nonetheless, they should be screened at the appropriate ages during visits to the pediatrician to determine if they are getting enough iron.
The foods highest in iron are lean, red meats, raisins, spinach, and nuts, but iron can be found in varying amounts in almost all green vegetables as well as in nonred meats such as fish and poultry. Some children may need iron supplementation in addition to an iron-rich diet. Talk to your pediatrician about your child's individual iron needs.

Serve at least three servings a day of whole-grained foods.

2010-03-06T16:54:00.001+07:00

A whole grain is any grain that still has all three parts of its grain kernel intact: the bran, germ, and endosperm. Grains are no longer whole or as wholesome when they are refined, is|ince they lose the fiber-rich bran and the nutrient-rich term
According to the Food and Drug Administration '(FDA), it is about 5% of Americans eat three servings of whole gtfains a day. The major health benefit of whole grains is their ability to protect against chronic diseases. The FDA has announced that foods made with at least 51% whole grains act as potential heart disease and cancer fighters. More specifically, eating a diet rich in whole grains can decrease your child's risk for cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and obesity. Whole grains contain high levels of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The health benefits of whole grains pome from a combination of all of these substances and can-be replaced by the enrichment process. Here are some helpful tips for choosing whole-grained foods:
• The first ingredient listed on a label for whole-grained bread should be whole-wheat flour, not enriched wheat flour.
• Choose nutrient quality and taste over convenience. Generally speaking, foods that require more cooking time (basmati rice or whole oats oatmeal) have whole grains compared to their non-whole-grained counterfeits. The few extraminutes of preparation will be worth the wait in flavor, texture, and nutrients

Don't trust the color when choosing whole-grained food products. Brown does not always mean healthy. Bread can be darkened with additives such as molasses to give it the appearance of whole-grained bread.

Beware of hidden sugars in your children's foods.

2010-03-06T16:39:00.000+07:00

Your kids are probably eating quite a bit more sugar than you realize. The average American consumed about 125 pounds of added sugar in 1980, 160 pounds in 1999, and 165 pounds in 2002! Food producers have become much more sophisticated when it comes to hiding more sugar in your kids' foods. Even if you don't think of your family as having a sweet tooth, they are taking in hidden sugars in everything from ketchup to healthy foods such as yogurt.

Why are companies doing this? First of all, food producers sneak in some insulin-spiking hidden sugars in an attempt to increase the flavor in foods that have been reduced in salt and fat. Secondly, and more obviously, they know that kids love to eat sweet things.

Some nutritionists separate sugars into two categories: the high-glycemic-response sugars and the low-glycemic-re-sponse sugars. It is the high-glycemic sugars that you should moderate. These include sucrose, glucose, dextrose, evaporated cane juice, maltodextrin, galactose, corn syrup, dextrin, beet sugar, raw sugar, brown sugar, white sugar, concentrated fruit juice, syrup, sorghum, honey, maple syrup, and high-fructose corn syrup. Foods like ketchup, jams, jellies, soft drinks, fruit juice, canned fruit, ice cream, pastries, and candies can also be packed with starches that turn into high-glycemic sugars.

Stock the refrigerator with healthy, caffeine-free beverages.

2010-03-06T16:30:00.001+07:00

Should you be uneasy over how much caffeine your child consumes? It depends. Used judiciously, caffeine improves concentration because it acts as a mild stimulant to the central nervous system. However, even moderate consumption can lead to undesirable side effects such as nervousness, irritability, sleeplessness, and rapid heart rate. Caffeine also leads to increased urination because it is a diuretic. This can cause problems with bedwetting in younger children, and it can also lead to problems with dehydration in children who are active and using caffeine-containing beverages to rehydrate.

Foods and beverages with high amounts of caffeine, such as coffee, cola, tea, chocolate, and over-the-counter medications, can also make it more difficult for your child to fall asleep. Caffeine-associated headaches and fatigue secondary to sleeplessness may lead to poor school performance.

Given all this, keep caffeine in mind when shopping and keep it out of the refrigerator. Opt instead to stock up on healthy caffeine-free beverages like skim and low-fat milk, fruit juice, and especially water. Also, encourage older children to choose caffeine-free alternatives like decaf espresso drinks and herbal teas when visiting cafes with friends.

Ensure that your growing kids are getting enough calcium.

2010-03-06T16:27:00.004+07:00

During periods of growth, children, and especially teenagers, need additional nutrients. This means your growing kids require more calories and more essential vitamins and minerals. One of the most important minerals that your children need more of during periods of rapid growth is calcium. However, according to the USDA, fewer than 35% of boys and fewer than 15% of girls take in the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of calcium.

Taking in and utilizing enough calcium helps your children attain maximal bone densities, which is one of the best defenses against developing osteoporosis later in life. Calcium is also an important intracellular molecule that is responsible for muscle contraction and chemical signaling.
Because close to half of your children's bone mass is developed during adolescence, teenagers need about 25% to 40% more calcium in their diets than do people of other ages. This translates into between 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams of calcium a day! Though that sounds like a lot, keep in mind that a cup of yogurt has almost 200 milligrams of calcium, or 15% of what your adolescent needs in a day, and a glass of milk has over 400 milligrams, or 30%.

Encourage your kids to eat a diet rich in fiber

2010-03-06T16:23:00.000+07:00

Planting the seed for good health maintenance begins with fiber. My doctor once told me that fiber is like a broom for the GI tract, sweeping its way through the intestines. Sources of fiber are abundant, including fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, and seeds. A typical American diet contains only five to ten grams of dietary fiber a day, much lower than the recommended twenty to thirty-five grams a day. High-fiber diets reduce constipation, straining with bowel movements, rectal fissures, hemorrhoids, and di-verticular disease as your kids become older adults. Furthermore, high-fiber diets may help to reduce the incidence of certain gastrointestinal cancers.
Many snack foods are made from refined flour and sugar, so just remember to include some snacks that have fiber in them when planning your kid's menu. For example, one apple has about three grams of fiber, one slice of wholewheat bread has two grams of fiber, and one carrot has two grams of fiber. If one food doesn't appeal, try another. If you can't get your little ones to eat bran baked goods, peel an orange for them. Air-popped popcorn as a snack is also a good source of fiber, or get your kids to eat a salad with their
meals.
Some kids may have bloating, cramping, and increased gas as the amount of fiber in their diet is increased. For this reason, it is important to encourage your child to drink a lot of liquid when adding fiber to her diet and to make these changes gradually over time.

Teach your children the new food pyramid guidelines and incorporate these guidelines into your dietary planning.

2010-02-22T17:48:00.002+07:00

As complicated as the new food pyramid might seem (food pyramid site info), adhering to the guidelines is not rocket science. With a little planning and a smidgen of self-discipline, you can teach your children a systematic approach to eating healthy that will last their whole lives. The food pyramid guidelines for older children and adults are slightly different from the guidelines for young children between the ages of two and six, for whom the U.S. Department of Agriculture created modified recommendations endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatricians:
• Six daily servings from the grain and cereal group
• Three daily servings of vegetables
• Two daily servings from the fruit group
• Two daily servings of meat and two of milk and dairy
   The main difference between these recommendations for little kids and those for the rest of the family is that the quantity of the servings is different for big people and little people. For everyone, variety is key.
    Here's a helpful tip I got from a colleague. She calls it the Five-Plus Rule. She recommends that families strive to eat a minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables, but you don't have to stop there. Up to ten servings a day is okay
   Another great new way of t mid that is gaining steam younger children about ue foods. Everyday foods ate base of the food pyramid and sheufil time foods, like ice cream, coekies,;g the very top and should be eaten for instance, or as a once-a-week understand the distinction, they'll pro! which is which and take respons

Not all fat is bad.

2010-02-20T11:01:00.000+07:00

So what's the skinny on fat? Many misconceptions about fat are perpetuated by fad-dieting, as well as a frenzy of information about the risks and benefits of high-fat diets. What is clear is that a prudent diet for children includes moderate consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol. Indeed, an adequate amount of fat is necessary since fats and cholesterol serve not only as a source of energy but as important building blocks for cells and hormones. Healthy eating patterns with moderate fat consumption in childhood are linked to a reduction in heart disease, diabetes, and obesity in adulthood. So an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!
All that being said, it's important to remember that not all fats are equal. Saturated fats are the worst kind. Choose cooking oils that contain polyunsaturated and monounsat-urated fats, like olive oil. A good rule of thumb is that un-saturated fats are liquids at room temperature and are generally derived from plants, while saturated fats are solids at room temperature and are typically derived from animals.
When shopping for snacks for your kids, you should also avoid partially hydrogenated fats, like those found in many store-bought cookies, crackers, and baked goods. Keep in mind that soft margarine is generally better for you and your children than stick margarine because it has fewer trans-fatty acids. Trans-fatty acids are associated with an increased risk of heart disease because they lead to an increase in the bad type of cholesterol.

Incorporate nonmeat sources of protein into your child's diet.

2010-02-20T10:53:00.000+07:00

Giving your child a combination of protein sources is the optimal way to raise a healthy eater. Your children need to consume 10% to 15% of their daily calories from protein sources to ensure adequate growth and tissue repair, but the typical child's diet provides twice the amount of protein needed. Regardless if your child eats too many calories from protein, carbohydrate, or fat, extra calories are stored as fat by his body. The key to healthy eating is understanding that protein is available from sources other than meat, which, in addition to being high in protein, is often high in fat.
So what's the difference between animal-derived protein and plant-derived protein? Both are made up of the same set of twenty amino acids. Animal-derived proteins are called complete because they contain all of the needed amino acids in each bite. Plant-derived proteins are incomplete because they do not. However, by combining plant protein sources, such as rice and beans, you are providing your child with all of the needed amino acids!
As parents struggle to lower cholesterol and improve their families' cardiovascular health, they are faced with the challenge of meeting their children's protein needs while at the same time reducing saturated fat and cholesterol in their diets. Natural and convenient alternatives are readily available in the form of beans and soy protein. The American Heart Association has proclaimed that dietary soy protein can lower LDL, or so-called "bad" cholesterol. Not only are beans affordable and great sources of protein, but they also contain needed B Vitamins, iron, and calcium. Furthermore they are rich in fiber and cholesterol-free

Feed your kids healthy, well rounded diet centered on the principles of variety and moderation and obtain the benefits from both meat and nonmeat sources of proteins.

Carbohydrates should be the foundation of your children's healthy diets.

2010-02-20T10:52:00.000+07:00

Despite the popularity of recent high-protein diets that vilify dietary carbohydrates, carbohydrates are the foundation of a sustainable, healthy diet for you and your kids. Although it is true that excessive carbohydrates are converted to fat, the same can be said of dietary protein and fat. High-protein diets work in the short run because dieters are taking in fewer calories than they are burning. The high-protein foods that are the staple of fad diets are often high in fat, and the long-term effects of high cholesterol on dieters' cardiac health are still unknown. Furthermore, much of the weight loss credited to a high-protein diet over the short run is lost water weight. Walking around partially dehydrated is not good for anyone, especially children!
When I give advice to my patients and their parents, I ask myself what I would tell my brothers and sisters about feeding my nephews and nieces, and I think about what I recommend for my own daughter. In sum, I never recommend fad diets to my own family. Small children should certainly not be on nutrient-restrictive diets unless they are followed closely by a pediatrician and dietitian. Teens too should not start dabbling with fad diets, which can begin the lifelong process of yo-yoing—repeated weight loss and weight gain—that plagues so many. Like so many things in life, carbohydrates are good in moderation. That said, whole-wheat bread, brown rice, and wheat pasta are better choices than their white or processed counterparts for the whole family.

Understanding Nutrition

2010-02-20T10:42:00.000+07:00

Nutrition is what we put in our mouths and the mouths of our children. Everything you and your child eat can be broken down into a few groups: things you get energy from, things your body uses to form tissues and bones, things that promote bowel movements things your body uses to facilitate chemical reactions at the molecular level, and finally, things that can affect your body in other ways, either positively or negatively, like medications or caffeine.
At the simplest level, eating a well-balanced diet with foods from each of the major food groups ensures that you and your children are eating healthy without ever having to think about it. To help keep nutrition simple, here are some tips that address different categories of nutrients.

Five Tips for Your Kids: Healthy Eater Kid

2010-02-16T18:08:00.000+07:00

Dealing with an overweight child can be a very delicate situation. We do not want to damage their self esteem by telling them they are fat or lazy, yet at the same time they must be conscious that they have to be more aware of their weight and eating habits for them to be healthy. Parents have a significant influence over the situation. Consequently most of the effort will have to come from the parents. Try these tips for getting kids to eat healthier.

#1 Kids listen to what you do not what you say.

Parents must be an example to their children. Children watch you even when you don’t know they are. If you are sitting in front of the TV with a bowl of ice cream and a bag of chips you are sending the wrong message to them. They don’t know you have PMS or you had a hard day or even you’ve been good on your diet for a month and this isn’t so bad. They are seeing lounge and eat. Nothing more or less. Make a salad in the middle of the day and offer them some. Have a piece of fruit as you go out the door and give them permission to go grab themselves a piece to take with them. This changes the message to snack and snack healthy.

#2 Encourage healthier eating habits by cooking healthier meals. You don’t have to announce “ we are all going to eat healthier so we can loose weight”. Cook a healthier recipe that you think your family will like. When they complain or ask “what’s this”, simply tell them you thought you’d try a new recipe. Don’t be disappointed or discouraged if they won’t eat it, or don’t like it. Simply offer them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in its place. Most importantly do not go back a cook again trying to give them what they want. When given a choice they will most likely choose their “regular” less healthy meal.

#3 Implement house rules that require healthy eating. If you have a child that loves juice tell them they can only have juice if they drink and equivalent amount of water first. If you have a child that’s use to grabbing a handful of cookies when they get home. Instead of taking the cookies away , which is sure to give you a “health witch” title, Simply state “you can have cookies, after you eat a piece of fresh fruit first”. This will not only increase the amount of healthy foods and drink they eat, but also fill them with whole foods which leaves less room for junk.

#4) Be like your mother.

Remember when you had to eat all your vegetables? Offer (healthier) desserts after dinner to those that eat their vegetable. You may be in a situation of one child having dessert and the other not, however that’s great learning experience for everyone, You get what you earn. Life lesson at the dinner table. And no it’s not unfair. Kids understand immediate reward/punishment better than speeches. Keep the talking to a minimum, state the rule then stick to it.

#5) Be firm and be consistent.

Kids will push to test your limit. When you decide to implement a healthy habit stick to it. No matter how much a kid cries, whines, or sneaks (and they will). Stay firm that this is the rule. Discuss the rule with you’re your spouse so you can have a united front. If your children are use to free range in the kitchen, and eating whatever they want implementing all these tips at once will be to drastic a change for them. Try implementing one rule a week or even every two week. Remember health eating is a process and slow and steady wins the race. Not only will the new “house rules” be a change for your children but it will be a change for you as well, requiring more monitoring and more planning (making healthy snacks and ingredients always available)