Steps to Better Family Nutrition
One of my new year resolutions for the new year is to better my family's nutrition habit. I'm really doing all I can to make this happen.
Getting your family to eat healthier can be tougher than asking an ESPN nut to give up football - in favor of the opera. Even though you have some pretty strong reasons for making the switch to a whole-foods diet, change doesn't come easy to the fast-food and microwave-meal set.
The key is to take baby steps towards a healthier diet instead of simply dumping all your family's favorites in the garbage and replacing their corn chips with tofu. Little changes over time can add up to big changes in health. Here's an eight-week plan for getting your family on the path to good health:
WEEK ONE. Start eating at least one meal a week as a sit-down, family occasion. Studies show that families that eat together make healthier food choices. Not only that, family meals are correlated to lower teen drug and alcohol use, higher grades, and higher self-esteem.
WEEK TWO. Now that you're eating together, get everyone involved in the meal prep. Teach your kids (and your spouse!) how to make rice from a bag, not a box. And simply knowing that potatoes don't come crinkle-cut may make your little ones more inclined to give the unedited version a try.
WEEK THREE. Cut the HFCS. HFCS, or high-fructose corn syrup, has been linked to a variety of nasty side effects, including weight gain, elevated cholesterol levels, fatty liver disease, and diabetes. Because it's largely found in processed foods, if all you did was eliminate HFCS from your diet, you'd have made a huge stride towards feeding your family higher-quality nutrition. Check the labels on all products you buy and replace the "fake sugar" foods with foods sweetened naturally. Even plain table sugar is thought by many researchers to be less detrimental to your health than HFCS.
WEEK FOUR. Add an extra fruit or vegetable serving to lunch. If you're used to tossing an apple in your kids' lunch box and calling it good, challenge yourself to push the boundaries. Try applesauce (unsweetened is best), clementines (kids love the miniature size), or dried banana chips. Even unsweetened fruit strips count, as do dried cranberries, edamame, frozen peas, and frozen grapes (they taste like tiny popsicles!). For yourself - add a cup of carrot sticks or a banana to your lunch. Try eating it first so you fill up on the good stuff before you start in on the not-so-good stuff.
WEEK FIVE. Cut the soda. If your family is big on soda consumption, you may be drinking your way to obesity. Cutting back by even one can a day can save 200-plus calories. In our house, we have a rule of no soda except on the weekends, and then only when we eat out. Having a blanket rule makes it easier than dealing with the constant negotiating and whining. Also make sure there is a healthy alternative - water, unsweetened juices (dilute these half-and-half with water to cut calories even further), and milk are all great choices.
WEEK SIX. Go organic. I try to opt for organic whenever I have a choice, but even that can be overwhelming! If you are blown away with the number of organic products (and the prices!), start slow. I recommend starting the shift by purchasing organic meat. Once that's a regular part of your routine, you can add in organic milk and dairy products (eggs, butter, cheese), and then start on the vegetables.
By taking small steps and making sure each change is fully integrated into your routine before you make another, you can acclimate yourself - and your family - to different, more healthy food choices. Eating well is a collection of choices made over time, not something you develop - or wreck - in just one meal.
Children's nutrition: Tips for picky eaters
Children's nutrition doesn't have to be frustrating. Consider these strategies to avoid power struggles and help the picky eater in your family eat a balanced diet.
Is your preschooler refusing to eat anything other than biscuit and ice-cream? Or would your toddler rather play than eat anything at all?
If children's nutrition is a sore topic in your household, you're not alone. Many parents worry about what their children eat — and don't eat. However, most kids get plenty of variety and nutrition in their diets over the course of a week. Until your child's food preferences mature, consider these tips for preventing mealtime battles.
Respect your child's appetite — or lack of one
If your child isn't hungry, don't force a meal or snack. Likewise, don't bribe or force your child to eat certain foods or clean his or her plate. This might only ignite — or reinforce — a power struggle over food. In addition, your child might come to associate mealtime with anxiety and frustration or become less sensitive to his or her own hunger and fullness cues.
Serve small portions to avoid overwhelming your child and give him or her the opportunity to independently ask for more.
Stick to the routine
Serve meals and snacks at about the same times every day. You can provide milk or 100 percent juice with the food, but offer water between meals and snacks. Allowing your child to fill up on juice, milk or snacks throughout the day might decrease his or her appetite for meals.
Be patient with new foods
Young children often touch or smell new foods, and might even put tiny bits in their mouths and then take them back out again. Your child might need repeated exposure to a new food before he or she takes the first bite.
Encourage your child by talking about a food's color, shape, aroma and texture — not whether it tastes good. Serve new foods along with your child's favorite foods.
Make it fun
Serve broccoli and other veggies with a favorite dip or sauce. Cut foods into various shapes with cookie cutters. Offer breakfast foods for dinner. Serve a variety of brightly colored foods.
Recruit your child's help
At the grocery store, ask your child to help you select fruits, vegetables and other healthy foods. Don't buy anything that you don't want your child to eat. At home, encourage your child to help you rinse veggies, stir batter or set the table.
Set a good example
If you eat a variety of healthy foods, your child is more likely to follow suit. But if he or she sees you eat a lot of junk food, He or She will follow suit. Sometimes, picky eating habit is traced from one of the parents, either the father, or the mother.
Be creative
Add chopped broccoli,carrots, or green peppers to spaghetti sauce, top cereal with fruit slices, or mix grated coconut or sliced banana in cereals like Oats,and carrots into casseroles and soups.
Minimize distractions
Turn off the television and other electronic gadgets during meals. This will help your child focus on eating. Keep in mind that television advertising might also encourage your child to desire sugary or less nutritious foods.
Don't offer dessert as a reward
Withholding dessert sends the message that dessert is the best food, which might only increase your child's desire for sweets. You might select one or two nights a week as dessert nights, and skip dessert the rest of the week — or redefine dessert as fruit, vegetables or child friendly natural juice/smoothies.or other healthy choices.
Don't be a short-order cook
Preparing a separate meal for your child after he or she rejects the original meal might promote picky eating. Encourage your child to stay at the table for the designated mealtime — even if he or she doesn't eat. Keep serving your child healthy choices until they become familiar and preferred.
You really need to be determined to do this. When my oldest son, wont eat Eba and soup ( a Nigerian delicacy, made from cassava). I make him eat it eat, by letting him know that I didn't make any other meal ready, as a substitute.When he sees that I'm not making any move to prepare something else, He will eat it.
If you're concerned that picky eating is compromising your child's growth and development, consult your child's doctor. He or she can plot your child's growth on a growth chart. In addition, consider recording the types and amounts of food your child eats for three days. The big picture might help ease your worries. A food log can also help your child's doctor determine any problems.
In the meantime, remember that your child's eating habits won't likely change overnight — but the small steps you take each day can help promote a lifetime of healthy eating.
CREDITS
Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.org
Like we all know, HEALTH IS WEALTH.
In our world today, healthy living can never be over emphasized. It majorly has to do with what we do, and what we eat.
There are inherited sicknesses like Diabetieas, High or low blood pressure, obesity etc. But if we can find out our family history, and mange our eating and daily activities there is a great chance of not having those sicknesses.
If you eat a variety of healthy foods, your child is more likely to follow suit. But if he or she sees you eat a lot of junk food, He or She will follow suit. Sometimes, picky eating habit is traced from one of the parents, either the father, or the mother.
Be creative
Add chopped broccoli,carrots, or green peppers to spaghetti sauce, top cereal with fruit slices, or mix grated coconut or sliced banana in cereals like Oats,and carrots into casseroles and soups.
Minimize distractions
Turn off the television and other electronic gadgets during meals. This will help your child focus on eating. Keep in mind that television advertising might also encourage your child to desire sugary or less nutritious foods.
Don't offer dessert as a reward
Withholding dessert sends the message that dessert is the best food, which might only increase your child's desire for sweets. You might select one or two nights a week as dessert nights, and skip dessert the rest of the week — or redefine dessert as fruit, vegetables or child friendly natural juice/smoothies.or other healthy choices.
Don't be a short-order cook
Preparing a separate meal for your child after he or she rejects the original meal might promote picky eating. Encourage your child to stay at the table for the designated mealtime — even if he or she doesn't eat. Keep serving your child healthy choices until they become familiar and preferred.
You really need to be determined to do this. When my oldest son, wont eat Eba and soup ( a Nigerian delicacy, made from cassava). I make him eat it eat, by letting him know that I didn't make any other meal ready, as a substitute.When he sees that I'm not making any move to prepare something else, He will eat it.
If you're concerned that picky eating is compromising your child's growth and development, consult your child's doctor. He or she can plot your child's growth on a growth chart. In addition, consider recording the types and amounts of food your child eats for three days. The big picture might help ease your worries. A food log can also help your child's doctor determine any problems.
In the meantime, remember that your child's eating habits won't likely change overnight — but the small steps you take each day can help promote a lifetime of healthy eating.
CREDITS
Mayo Clinic
http://www.mayoclinic.org
Like we all know, HEALTH IS WEALTH.
In our world today, healthy living can never be over emphasized. It majorly has to do with what we do, and what we eat.
There are inherited sicknesses like Diabetieas, High or low blood pressure, obesity etc. But if we can find out our family history, and mange our eating and daily activities there is a great chance of not having those sicknesses.
Why is it important to know my family medical history?
A family medical history is a record of health information about a person and his or her close relatives. A complete record includes information from three generations of relatives, including children, brothers and sisters, parents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, grandparents, and cousins.
Families have many factors in common, including their genes, environment, and lifestyle. Together, these factors can give clues to medical conditions that may run in a family. By noticing patterns of disorders among relatives, healthcare professionals can determine whether an individual, other family members, or future generations may be at an increased risk of developing a particular condition.
A family medical history can identify people with a higher-than-usual chance of having common disorders, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers, and diabetes. These complex disorders are influenced by a combination of genetic factors, environmental conditions, and lifestyle choices. A family history also can provide information about the risk of rarer conditions caused by mutations in a single gene, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anemia.
While a family medical history provides information about the risk of specific health concerns, having relatives with a medical condition does not mean that an individual will definitely develop that condition. On the other hand, a person with no family history of a disorder may still be at risk of developing that disorder.
Knowing one’s family medical history allows a person to take steps to reduce his or her risk. For people at an increased risk of certain cancers, healthcare professionals may recommend more frequent screening (such as mammography or colonoscopy) starting at an earlier age. Healthcare providers may also encourage regular checkups or testing for people with a medical condition that runs in their family. Additionally, lifestyle changes such as adopting a healthier diet, getting regular exercise, and quitting smoking help many people lower their chances of developing heart disease and other common illnesses.
The easiest way to get information about family medical history is to talk to relatives about their health. Have they had any medical problems, and when did they occur? A family gathering could be a good time to discuss these issues. Additionally, obtaining medical records and other documents (such as obituaries and death certificates) can help complete a family medical history. It is important to keep this information up-to-date and to share it with a healthcare professional regularly.
This is not to make you live in fear. This is to help you know your risks as a human being. In general, its better for you to live a healthy life style, than waiting to fall so sick that you'll now have to build up a questionnaire form, and pass it round to all your relatives, to know who has had or has a similar sickness.
For more health advice, please visit your medical practitioner.
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