Why Changing Our Kids Nutrition is Vital to
Their Health Now and as Adults
"It's bizarre that the produce manager is more important to my children's health than the pediatrician"~Meryl Streep We've heard about the rise in childhood obesity; the first lady has made it her mission to reverse it. Every report we hear on children's health goes through the dramatic rise in this issue. But the real story is the decline in our children's health irrespective of their weight. We have an alarming rise in children's health issues including ADD/ADHD, autism, diabetes, immunity, food and environmental allergies, asthma, eczema, high cholesterol and even cancer. I recently saw an article claiming that if we don't make a drastic change in the way we are nourishing our children that those born from 2000 to now, as a generation, will not outlive their parents! I find this both incredibly scary and quite plausible. One need only look at the packages of many of the foods that our kids eat to note that they are devoid of any real nutrition. Unfortunately, the packaging on the foods we eat tells only part of the story. It tells us how much protein but not the quality of that protein (i.e. how clean and how digestible is it), it lists sugars but doesn't talk about glycemic index (the immediate impact of those sugars on our bodies), it lists only certain vitamins and nutrients but has no information on beneficial phytochemicals that can be obtained from plant foods. Fatty acids like omega 3s are only recently being seen on packages, but are not a standard part of package labeling. If I had to name the top 5 things wrong with kids' diets they would be as follows: - Not enough omega 3's
- Too much sugar and foods that readily convert to sugar (mainly white carbs)
- Foods that contain pesticides and other chemicals
- Eating too narrowly to get a diversity of nutrients
- Not enough calcium/magnesium
Omega 3 fatty acids, the "good fats" are vital to brain function and hence affect focus, concentration, and mood. Omega 3 fats positively affect the health of the cell membrane. Since the health of this membrane determines what gets in and out of the cell, they are crucial to every cell and hence every bodily function. This is especially true for processing sugar in the body. Food sources of omega 3s are fatty fish like salmon and cod, flax, walnuts, canola and chia or hemp seeds. Most of our kids are not eating adequate amounts of these foods to meet the needs of the body. To make matters worse, the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 in our diets is way off. Omega 6 is found in vegetable oils and grains and is prevalent in packaged foods. It is estimated that the average American eats a ratio of 20:1 omega 6 to omega 3 rather than the 2:1 ratio the body needs. The Bottom Line: Kids need to eat 3 servings of fatty fish per week, add flax, chia or hemp to their diets, or take a fish oil supplement. Read More |
