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Child Health Tips>
How to get Nutrition Into Your Child
HOW TO GET NUTRITION IN YOUR CHILD
We all want what’s best for our children, including
good health. Giving your child the gift and knowledge of
good health is priceless in a world with ever increasing
sickness. Getting nutritional foods into your child is
challenging as the world around them advertises fast and
denatured foods. Friends and family can also be an
unhealthy influence. Starting them on the road to health
when they are young gives them a great beginning, but
health at any age is better than not starting at all.
So how do we go about this complex goal? Studying and
changing your health patterns are the first step; children
learn best by our examples. Educating yourself on a more
natural diet, drinking more pure water and then eating that
natural diet, are the places to start.
As you begin to lead your family into the world of
health, you will find you might have to get creative in
getting the nutrition into your children. Forcing
nutrition on a child might make him rebel more, especially
if he sees you are not doing it. Explain, in terms he can
understand, why this way of eating and living is important
and how it will benefit him and the whole family. Talk
about eating the whole fruit or vegetable as opposed to the
juice. The whole food contains fiber and other important
nutrients that juice does not; juice, even natural juice,
will raise the blood sugar, as there is no fiber to balance
the release of the fruit sugars into the blood stream.
Make sure you get them used to reading the label to see
what is really in the foods we eat; juice is often only
partially from fruit and the rest of it from sugar and
chemicals. As you get more educated yourself, it will
become a way of life and will get easier to make healthier
choices and to explain them to your children.
Water, is the first substance to get into your child.
Some symptoms that show you are deficient in water are:
fatigue, constipation, unable to handle the heat, confusion
and finally thirst. Remember that young children become
dehydrated so much faster than adults; fever, diarrhea,
vomiting and sweating can seriously dehydrate a child in a
short time. So how do we get them to drink more water?
Their own water bottle seems to help a child to drink more
water, just make sure to clean properly between uses and
buy new bottles periodically. Try these tips to liven up
the water: a squeeze of lemon or lime, some watered down
natural juice, ice cubes and cooled down fruit teas.
Playing the “Cheers Game” is a great way to make water fun.
After you have filled everyone’s water glass, gently clang
them together and says “Cheers”, then have a drink. Fruits
and vegetables have a high water content, so eat foods
like: cucumber, lettuce, melons and others. Drink very
little while eating; most fluids should be consumed in
between meals as water slows down the digestion with meals.
Never drink tap water, it is full of Chlorine and other
chemicals always drink purified, reverse osmosis and spring
water.
The next challenge is fruits and vegetables,
especially vegetables Give them variation, cook the
vegetables in different ways: stir-fry, grilled, steamed,
soups, stews and in sauces. Also give them raw vegetables;
my daughter mostly prefers raw over cooked vegetables. Use
dips to make the raw vegetables more fun. Also getting
creative with the vegetables: radish roses, carrot curls,
etc, is another great way to make vegetables fun. Ask your
child what he/she wants to try, to give them the decision
making power that they love. Take them out for Chinese
Food and order Chop Suey, just ask for no MSG; Chop Suey is
full of vegetables. Juicing your fruits and vegetables is
also healthy; carrot juice is actually quite sweet. Making
appealing salads with either fruits or vegetables is also a
good idea, you just never know what your child will like
and at times it seems to change from day to day. There are
now fruit and vegetable bars on the market; Rebars have
become so popular because they contain two cups of fruits
and two cup of vegetables in one little bar. A good
portion of our diet should be fruits and vegetables, with
raw being the healthiest way to eat most of them, so start
to include more in your family’s diet.
Whole Grains are also important because of the fiber
and other nutrients they contain. When the grain is
refined, the fiber and most, if not all, of the vitamins
and minerals are removed. White flour products turn into
sugar in the bloodstream, once again, the fiber is not
there to slow the release of the sugar into the
bloodstream. Sprouted Grain Breads are becoming more and
more popular because they are more easily digested for most
people and they are good. Buy whole grain pancake mixes
and frozen waffles and cereals, remember to read the
ingredients. Beware of sensitivities and allergies to
wheat and other grains; have your child tested if you
suspect these problems. There are many wheat-free and
gluten-free products on the market now.
Never underestimate the importance of Fats; good fats
surround every cell of your body and they make up 40-60% of
the brain. These EFA’s (Essential Fatty Acids) will
nourish and calm the brain, nerves and body. They are
needed for all children, especially for children that are
hyper and have learning problems. So how do we get them
into our children? Older children can swallow the capsules
containing: Flax, Salmon, fish, Evening Primrose and other
oils. For younger children you can put the oil in a
protein blender drink; mix it with milk (or soya milk),
bananas, berries, protein powder and any other healthy
substance that can be given to children. Please make sure
the protein powder is not a weight loss product, as the
herbs are not appropriate for children. Read the EFA
bottle for the amount to give each child or follow these
directions: 1 tablespoon for an adult a day, half this for
a child half the size of an adult (5-10 yrs), ¼ the dose
for a child 2-5 yrs old and half this again for a baby. A
breast feeding mother can consume the oils in her diet.
Never heat or cook with these oils, as the heat will turn
them into a bad fat and remember to keep them in the fridge
or freezer. Other sources of Efa’s are: raw nuts and
seeds, nut butters, extra virgin olive oil and avocadoes.
Proteins are also very important, but they are much
more than meat. Other sources of proteins include: beans,
peas, legumes, eggs, dairy, soya products, nuts, seeds and
whole grains. Peas and brown rice make a nice complete
protein. Add a natural soup cube to the water when you
cook your rice to give it great flavour. Make sure your
child is getting some form of protein every day.
Give your child the gift of health; by teaching them
about health you are empowering them with knowledge for
their futures. This knowledge will last them a lifetime
and they will pass it on to their children. Do not expect
to change things overnight and to learn what’s best for
your family in a few days. Make a goal to learn and
practice one new thing a week, mark your progress and goals
in a journal. Each accomplishment will lead you and your
family to a new level and soon in time, you will find you
have succeeded in becoming healthier. Remember every
family and every person is unique, so what works for one
family, or for one person, may not work for another.
Reward yourselves and your children when you reach a goal;
don’t be too rigid on always eating healthy. A child will
rebel if they are totally kept away from junk food, so
everything in moderation. Just teach them that cake, fries
and pop are not an everyday menu item, just a treat once in
a while.
Eating in a stress free, happy atmosphere is as important
as what we eat; digestion is greatly inhibited while the
body is stressed. The latest studies say that laughter
after the meal greatly improves digestion. So start
teaching them by our healthy example and you will prepare
them for a promising future.
ama1153@yahoo.ca
www.healthbrights.com
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