-Less than 7% of children get the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in a day.
-Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980. It is now considered an epidemic by experts. Now 1 in 4 children are obese.
-The amount of behavioral problems diagnosed in children has increased 10 fold in the last 30 years (awareness or nutrition?).
THESE HAVE BEEN PROVEN TO BE COMBATED BY HEALTHY EATING HABITS AND PROPER NUTRITION
I am not a purist, but I believe so much in the importance of good nutrition.
Here are 9 tips given by William Sears, MD (with inserts of my opinion too) from his 9 Simple Steps program for the Healthy Happy Kids Campaign:
1) Shape Young Tastes- Start early! If they eat green beans, squash, sweet potatoes as a baby why stop them as they grow?
2) Feed your Family the Right Carbs- Fruit, Veggies, Whole Grain, etc. (the best thing to remember is to feed your family items that have both Protein AND Fiber in them) Check nutrition labels.
3) Feed Your Family the Right Fats- Omega 3 fats. (Flax oil, Olive oil, nuts, avocados, fish, nut butter, etc) Watch out for Hydrogenated fats. The best tasting peanut butter that we have found that isn't loaded with hydrogenated fat is Skippy Natural.
4) Feed Your Family "Grow Foods"- Break it down to Red, Yellow, and Green light foods. (Peas, beans, yogurt, eggs, etc) Foods that are high in sugar will make them hungrier faster. A good point to know for label reading is 4g sugar= 1 tsp of sugar.
5) Raise a Grazer- Remember children's portions are about 1/4 cup. We use snack tickets at our house. They have 3-4 tickets a day. I put them in a jar and they turn in a ticket every time they need a snack. They pick what type of snack from our snack cards ( Fruit, Veggie, Dairy, Your Choice, Something Salty, etc) and then that card is placed in the back of the pile. So they get to choose when the tickets are used and have somewhat of a choice (by picking a card) of what the snack is, but when the tickets are gone they are gone. This has worked amazingly at our house.
6) Start the Day with a Brainy Breakfast- The most important thing to remember is to give them a healthy breakfast (there is lots of research to show that children who have "brainy breakfasts" do better in school academically and physically).
7) Feed Your Family Fruits & Veggies- Have these available for them. We have "Sneakies" we call them. Veggie pizza they can create themselves. Pitas they can stuff with whatever they want. You get the idea...items they make the way they want.
8) Take Your Kids to the Supermarket- I don't know if this is really worth tugging the kids along every time, but it is good to have them there to show them how to make healthy choices. THey can choose the fruits and veggies, the healthy cereals, the right kind of bread etc. Have them show you what food is a "grow" food and what is not.
9) Use supplements for your kids- We use Juice Plus. It is the best supplement we have found. It is made from fruit & vegetables. They have gummy & chewable vitamins for children as well as supplements for adults. There is a lot of research available about this particular supplement. Check it out.
I hope this information was helpful. Remember to still have fun with your kids. An ice cream cone every now an then isn't horrible...If you make a few little changes it is amazing the difference you will see in your kid's behavior, their attention span, and the decrease in the number of their illnesses.
Other good resources: Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth
The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood: Ten Ways to Get Your Family on the Right Nutritional Track by William and Martha Sears
