Hidden Health Dangers In Our Children's Diet

In the land of the plenty, we find ourselves eating more food but less nutrition! Do you have a healthy eating plan? Is your day full of grab and go or healthy eating habits? Weight gain is a concern now for kids and adults; we need healthy eating tips!

Where do we begin to make changes? Become a Food Detective! We might think "I can't have sweets, I can't have bread, I can't have potatoes." Stop! Think of what you can eat! Picture the rainbow, do you see white? No. Your eyes are full of reds, greens, yellow, blues, violet, purple and orange. All of those colors are packed with powerful antioxidants and disease fighting nutrients.

After raising dozens of foster children, I'm for few food rules. However, when we're talking the language of nutrition, that involves what I like to call a few basic eating habits. Rules make us think of strict boundaries, and that's not what I want to convey. Let's just agree to develop good eating habits.

First, we might need a bit of motivation:

If we're taking children's health into consideration, it follows that adults health will improve with the same eating choices. So, even though most of this information is geared towards kids, just understand adults are going to be glowing with health as well.

Obesity puts children health at grave risk, both in childhood and in his or her later life.

Health Risks of Not Eating Well

Diabetes: The most common form of diabetes is called Type 2 or "adult-onset" diabetes and is caused primarily by years of poor eating habits. That's good news!! It means we can impact and decrease our risk now if we make changes in our habits. However, "adult-onset" no longer fits; today's kids are coming down with it at an increasing and alarming rate. Kids as young as 4 years old are being diagnosed diabetic, as are an even catastrophic number of teens. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control predicted that one in three children born in the year 2000 would develop diabetes at some poiint in his or her lifetime. The numbers are even higher now, and mostly due to our diet. The diabetic complications that are so scary? Blindness, Heart attack, Stroke, Amputation.

Obesity: Overweight kids are more likely to suffer bone fractures and 30% more likely to suffer from joint or muscle pain than children of normal weight.

Cardiovascular Disease: 60% of overweight children have at least one cardiovascular disease risk such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and abnormal glucose tolerance. 25% of overweight kids had at least 2 of these risk factors.

Asthma: Research indicates that a large percentage of children with asthma were overweight and that overweight sufferers of asthma had more severe cases than those of normal weight.

Sleep Apnea: Obesity in children is also associated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, which can contribute to high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease.

Kidney Stones: This health problem was previously seen primarily in middle aged adults, but now has begun to surface with regularity in children. Why? Too much salt in their diets and water is being replaced with sugary sodas and juice boxes.

I think we can begin to see that if we control our weight, and consumption of sugar and salt, we can reduce the risk of many diseases that are connected.

What is bloating our waistlines? Refined grains, added fats and sugars, hard-to-pronounce chemical ingredients are adding nothing to our nutritional "bottom" lines....but are adding a lot to our 'BOTTOMS.'

Let me ask you this: Would you rather stuff your piggy bank with pennies or $100 bills? Why put food in our bodies that has a penny's worth of nutritional value in it, if we can fill ourselves up with high dollar, life giving, valuable vitamins and nutrients?

Before we look at some good eating habits, here's one general thought. Don't deny your child or yourself snacks. Hunger is the VIP pathway to candy, sugar and salty foods. So, it's wise to change what we snack on, but allow snacks and avoid hunger.

If you're having to paddle your way through stormy nutritional waters, let these 8 common sense habits keep you afloat!

Habit #1: Don't skip breakfast. Never, ever. Children skip breakfast more than any other meal; it's more prevalent in girls, older children and teens. Here's the impact: People who skip breakfast are more likely to take up smoking or drinking, less likely to exercise, and more likely to follow fad diets or express concerns about body weight.

Common reasons to skip breakfast were lack of time, not hungry, or "on a diet."

• Breakfast people tend to have higher total calorie intakes throughout the day, but compared to skippers, they also received significantly more fiber, calcium and other micro-nutrients. Breakfast people also tended to consume less soda and french fries and more of fruits, vegetables and milk.
• Breakfast people are about 30% less likely to be overweight or obese. Which meant, that kids (or adults) who ate breakfast may eat more food, but tend to weigh less...meaning what they're eating ended up being better for them.

Habit #2: Snack on purpose. There is actually a big difference between mindless munching and strategic snacking. Snacking on purpose means reinforcing good habits, keeping the metabolic rate high, and filling the gaps between meals with the nutrients a child's body craves. (also adults)

• From about 1977 to 1996, salty snack portions increased by 93 calories and soft drink portions increased by 49 calories. (Data from Nationwide Food Consumption Survey and the Continuing Survey of Food Intake.) Now, salty snacks are even more fattening than ever.
• Snack Ideas include plain popcorn (without the extra salt and butter), fruits, vegetables, unsalted nuts, and small amounts of dark chocolate, which is packed with antioxidants and some fiber.

The point is not to deny food, but to teach our children and ourselves to crave the healthier food. Here's a rule that worked for us as foster parents: The kids had to get permission for a snack, but if they chose from the Anytime Basket, which contained fruits and vegetables, they didn't need to ask. It was easier for them to reach for the no permission needed items, thus they began to eat more of what was nutritional because it was readily available and free for the taking.

Habit #3: Think in small portions! Over the last many years, calories in hamburgers have increased byabout 100 calories, french fries by about 70 calories, and Mexican foods by about 150 calories. (Nationwide Food Consumption Survey)

• Strategy for serving: To teach appropriate portions, use smaller bowls and cups. We tend to keep eating when large portions are in front of us. The simple act of smaller serving dishes and plates can keep our mind's eye in line with our stomachs.

Habit #4: Drink with calories in mind! We are often geared towards watching what we eat, but it's easy to forget the calories in what we drink. Drinks are a huge contributor for weight gain, especially in children. One study found that sweetened beverages constitute more than half of all beverages consumed by 4th - 6th grade students. Those who drank the sweetened beverages added 330 extra calories to their day, and ended up eating less than half the amount of real fruit than did their peers who didn't drink the sweet liquids.

• One important strategy that helps is saatisfy our thirsts is to keep cool filtered water available. If we add cut up limes or lemons and oranges for flavoring we can enjoy a refreshing, natural drink.
• As with all things, a parent's example is a key factor as to whether a child will drown himself in soda. The kids will eat and drink what you eat and drink.
• There is some controversy regarding the importance of dairy. I will just say that studies indicate that for whatever source, kids are not getting enough calcium. With 40% of their adult bone mass being created during adolescence and 73% of the calcium in the US food supply coming from dairy foods, it seems an easy source of calcium. If you are not wanting them to eat the cheese and drink the milk, make sure they get their calcium from other foods or supplements.

Habit #5: Eat More Whole Foods! Look at the ingredient list and go for the one with fewer items listed! As an example of added ingredients, let's look at the Baskin Robbins Heath Shake. It has 73 ingredients. That can't be good, although I'm sure the taste is deceptively delicious, if you don't mind drinking a heart attack. This shake provides 2,310 calories as well as more than three days worth of saturated fat!

Can we not just drink a shake with ice cream and milk? And a straw or spoon? That doesn't mean you can never have anything like that, perhaps shared with the National Guard, but it should be in small portions and an infrequent choice, not a daily pit-stop after school and never when you're stressed!

• Salt Intake: If you never picked up a salt shaker, your naturally occurring salt intake would account for only 12%. 77% of our daily salt is added by food manufacturers. I don't think they have our best interest at "heart." Watch those added ingredients in processed foods.

Habit #6: Bring Back the Family Table! I know it's time consuming, but we found in our busy foster child stuffed home, that eating habits and attitudes improve with family sit-down meals. Now, studies indicate that's true! Children in families with a more structured mealtime exhibit healthier eating habits. Those children who ate together with their families 3 to 4 times a week, had less over/under weight issues. Maybe you can't do the Ozzie Nelson routine, but if you just make an effort to dine in real time together, you can at least demonstrate the eating habits you want your children to embrace.

• Smart move: Get the kids involved in the preparation of meals and setting the table. This "quaint" practice can give kids real experience in food choices and nutritional education.

Habit #7: Kick the Sugar Out! Sugar is the enemy. Period. It's everywhere! Ketchup is full of it. (Try making ketchup from scratch, with less sugar. It's not hard.) Candy, gum, syrups, condiments, jams, jellies, jello, puddings, cookies, cakes, you name it.

• High-Fructose corn syrup creates a longer shelf life for foods, and is being added to foods you'd never think would need sugar. Again, the FDA is not so concerned about YOUR SHELF LIFE. Eating all this hidden sugar creates the craving for more and adds at minimum 132 calories to your day.
• Become a savvy smart label reader! Giving up all pre-packaged foods is not practical, but we can make good decisions if we just read the labels. And, why not fire off a quick email or letter to those companies whose label has caused you concern? Consumers have the power, if we'll use it. Hint: Ingredients are listed from largest amount in the product, down. So, if sugar is close to the top, you know the portion is high.

Habit #8: Guide your diet by color. The colorful fruits and vegetables are consistently a healthy choice. Dine in the Rainbow of the garden!