Nutrition for Today's Children :: Children and Parenting

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Nutrition for Today's Children
by author Graham Butler, BSc, CNPA

For parents and children, September is much like New Year’s. The start of the school year presents new challenges, adventures and opportunities. It’s time for your children to hit the books again. It’s also a perfect time to brush up on your healthy shopping habits.

Our focus as parents should be to reduce processed food, eliminate unwanted additives and increase the nutritional value of our daily fare. So how do we get started in a world where our main source of nutritional information is advertising? Get simple–a few basic rules will go a long way–and be patient!

Avoid Processed Foods

White bread, white pasta, white rice, cookies, chips, boxed cereals ...much of the food we consume is processed. Food processing reduces overall nutritional value, particularly vitamin and mineral content, and leaves us with foods relatively high in calories and low in nutrients. In addition, processed foods often contain hydrogenated fats as well as refined sugar and flour. Hydrogenated fats have been found to damage cellular membranes–a very important consideration for growing children. Refined sugar and flour stress the metabolism, disrupt digestion and wreak havoc in the brain.

Watch For Food Additives

Read labels carefully and avoid ingredients with a "chemical name." A number of additives are used to increase shelf life, enhance flavour and improve appearance and texture. Many of these additives (see box) contribute to fuzzy thinking, poor complexion, early sexual maturation and hyperactive behaviour, among other problems.

Get Fresh

Focus on fruits, vegetables and whole grain products, and on freshness and quality. Food in its natural, unrefined state contains the valuable nutrients, including live enzymes and fibre, necessary for playing, learning and growing.

Eating whole grains, local fruits and vegetables and inexpensive root crops (such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and carrots) as nourishing staples also greatly reduces costs. Save money further by shopping at farmers’ markets and local farms and by buying in bulk when warranted.

Go Organic

To avoid chemical residues, consider organically grown products. They are also picked when ripe and at peak nutritional content. Use caution with genetically modified products–there’s no scientific evidence to suggest they contain the same food value as conventional products or that the process of modification doesn’t have long-term health effects. Purchase organic eggs from local producers whenever possible.

Shop Selectively

The old recommendation to shop the sides and avoid the middle aisles of the supermarket is a good one. Health food stores are particularly good sources of healthy snacks, pure juices and lunchables. They are also a better choice for cooking oils (see box), as supermarket selections are often overly refined and contain heat-damaged trans fats.

There’s no magic nutritional bullet other than our own awareness. To promote good nutrition, parents must be vigilant and responsible, and encourage responsibility in their children. It’s important to provide a good example and make active, considered choices regarding the food we eat. Then you can give yourself high marks for giving your children the tools they need for optimum learning, growth and health.

Cooking With Oils

It is always best to eat oils in their natural, unheated form. Do not heat flax oil, walnut oil or pumpkin seed oil. If you choose to cook with oils, use extra-virgin olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil or butter and never heat to a smoke point.

PDF Table of Common Food Additives to Avoid

Graham Butler, BSc, CNPA writes on numerous natural health topics based on his experiences as a consultant, retailer, educator, lobbyistâ€“and as a caregiver to Madeleine, age 9, and Kai, age six. He lives in Bracebridge, ON. and can be reached at napot@muskoka.com.

Source: alive #239, September 2002

Optimum Bone Health
Healthy kids rarely sit still! They are continuously on the move--and for good reason: they have bone to build. Bone is living tissue that continually renews and regenerates itself throughout the entire lifespan..

How To Raise Athletes Not Couch Potatoes
Children are 10 pounds heavier today at age 10 than they were a decade ag.

Kids First
Living a healthy life in North American society can be like fighting a battle, and the best weapon in this battle is knowledge. Kids need to be brought up knowing which foods are best for them and why: organic fruits and vegetables and whole grains because they provide the nutrients necessary for proper growth.

Healthy Snacking
Children need snacks. In their school lunches and when they come home in the afternoon famished, they need healthy, tasty treats.

Natural Sweets for School Treats
It's back to school this month, which means kids will need healthy, tasty foods to keep their energy up and provide the nutrients their growing bodies need.

Teen Tanks Need Heavy Fuel
Teenagers need lots of calories each day to keep up their energy for sports and activities and still have some left over for building muscles and bones. The common tendency is to resort to fast and convenient foods that are cheap and abundant. Too often good nutrition gives way to the stimulation of salt, sugar and additives.

Combating The Childhood Obesity Crisis
Kids and youth are eating worse and exercising less. Something has got to change. In his 29 years as a physical education teacher, David Lively has seen "big" changes in his students. Frightening ones.

Struggling at School?
Too often we label a child or teen with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), then prescribe Ritalin, a nervous-system stimulating drug th.

Nutritious Nibbles for Kids
It's that time of the year again. When our precious children head back to school, good whole food nutrition throughout the entire year will give them the essential building blocks for the brain to function well and for the whole body to stay alert and alive.

Healthy Snacks for Kids
With the abundance of commercially processed, high sugar and brightly coloured foods available, it can be hard to teach kids about more natural, satisfying options. When preparing healthy snacks it's key to consider nutritional value along with fun presentation.

School's In: Time to Eat Right!
Quick September Snacks When kids are active it can be hard to get them to stop and eat, and if they do, you certainly want to make the most of the opportunity.

Winning The Food Fight
Do your children refuse to eat their vegetables? Do they prefer sugary foods and drinks to fresh produce and whole-grain breads and pastas? If so, you're not alone. Many parents are frustrated by having to compete with slick advertising campaigns luring their children toward the next sugary treat or fast-food snack..

Cereal Killers Lurking in Your Home?
Let's examine a child's typical breakfast: Processed breakfast cereal (sugar) with milk (more sugar), toast and jam (even more sugar), served with a glass of fruit juice (still more sugar). All carbohydrates break down into sugars in the body.

Omega-3s and Children
Omega-3 fats are polyunsaturated fats that protect against heart disease, have anti-inflammatory properties, aid in proper retinal and brain development, and improve focus and behaviour in children.

Managing the Munchies
With an increasing incidence of type 2 diabetes in young people-so much so they don't even bother calling it "adult onset anymore-it's clear that eating habits play a major role in our health. But for many teens, snacking on high-sugar, high-fat food is as much a part of life as homework or driving lessons.

When Food is Love
Although parents find it tempting to use junk food as rewards, this "food is love mentality can create a whole host of problems and set a child up for an eating disorder later in life.

Not Milk?
The best food for babies is their mothers' milk; it is perfectly adapted to their needs. For adults, however, lactose intolerance is just one reason to look for an alternative to cows' milk.

Nag Me Not
In 2000 the Canadian Medical Association Journal reported that children are increasingly choosing to watch TV, surf the Internet, and play video games instead of staying active with sports and outdoor play. Today the average Canadian child sits in front of a screen three to five hours a day.

Bone Health for Children
By the time you are in your early 20s, you have reached your peak in bone mass development. After this age you can expect a slow and steady decline to occur each year.

Soy Beverage
As parents, we want to provide our children with the best food possible. However, kids are sometimes put off by the taste and appearance of healthy foods. Some children, for example, don't like the taste of certain soy-based beverages.

School Lunch Recipes Your Kids Will Love
With a little preplanning and experimentation, packing healthy school lunches doesn't have to be a chore. The key is to focus on the foods your children eat willingly.

Proper Protein Portions
Parents with sport-oriented children want to be involved and informed in both their child's athletic activities and nutritional need. One of their common questions is about protein, which plays a vital role in children's development as well as in their performance.

You Can Have Healthy Children
A young mother, in her mid-20s and grossly overweight, was pulling a four-wheeled cart behind her. In the cart was an obese six-year-old child. The young boy, sitting cross-legged, was eating a mound of pretzels and potato chips piled high in his lap.

Nutrition Tips for Healthy Vegetarian Kids
Parents who eat vegetarian diets are often nutrition savvy, but there are different nutritional requirements for children and adults. Most importantly, children have higher metabolic rates and energy requirements.

Lead by Example
Raising healthy children isn't just about giving them a vitamin pill with dinner. It's about creating a family life that promotes and sustains health for all. While a holistic diet is the cornerstone of a natural lifestyle, other elements such as fresh air and exercise are also important. When parents eat a balanced natural foods diet, they provide their children with the foundation for future health.

We're Pregnant! Now What?
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Teach Your Children Well
There are certain well-researched health and nutritional truths that can improve your children's health and overall well-being. Once implemented in your household, the following practices will optimize your children's health and wellness, both physically and mentally.

Baby Food Basics
New parents want to make the best choices for their children. Proper nutrition and good eating habits should be established at a very young age and affect a child's health for a lifetime.

Healthy Lunches
Are you sometimes faced with the decision between taking a chance on a slice of pizza or picking up a corner-store burrito to stuff into your kid's lunch bag? Instead of relying on those fast-food lunches loaded with calories and fat, here's how you can pack a healthy on-the-go lunch in just minutes.

Eating Well-For Two
The earliest weeks of pregnancy are a critical time for fetal development. In fact, you'll need to start taking care of yourself before you even conceive in order to have the healthiest pregnancy possible. Nutrition will be key to helping you keep your growing baby healthy and safe while inside the womb.

What's for Lunch?
Encourage your children to take part in selecting the foods they want to find in their lunchboxes.

Sugar and Your Child
Many parents realize that sugar is not their friend when it comes to raising happy, healthy children. Childhood obesity and the accompanying health hazard of childhood diabetes are serious health concerns.

Food Additives and Hyperactivity
If you take your children grocery shopping, you know the draw of brightly packaged food. It doesn't stop there: inside the packaging you'll often find additives and colouring to enhance flavour and fun.

The Organic Picnic
Eating alfresco surrounded by nature makes us realize how much we need to take care of our precious planet. We can start by packing an organic picnic—its positive impact can go much further than just the foods we choose.