Posts Tagged ‘healthy eating habits’

What lessons were you taught about food about food as a child? Were you taught healthy eating habits, or unhealthy? Most parents teach the same lessons they were taught, and these lessons will be passed down through many generations until someone decides to break the cycle.

Were you raised in the “eat everything on your plate” generation. Eat everything on your plate, even if you were already full. Were you told to think of the starving children in third world countries? Did you ever understand how leaving one potato could help a starving child in another country?

If you are concerned about starving children around the world don’t use it to encourage your child to overeat, think about buying less food and donating money to a charity that supports famine relief.

If you want your children to learn healthy eating habits then prepare healthy meals at home, and try not make them feel guilty when they have had enough.

Of course, the approach is completely different for a fussy eater who won’t eat anything except what they want to eat. Fussy eaters should be encouraged to eat SOME of everything on their plate so they don’t try to avoid the foods they don’t like. And to stop them eating their favorite foods then saying they are full you can impose a one hour time limit after dinner before they are allowed to come out with the infamous “I’m hungry!!!”

It’s not a good idea to use the ‘eat everything on your plate or you don’t have dessert’ motivation either. This encourages children to overeat in order to get the yummy foods. Having a half hour break between dinner and dessert can help with this.

Of course, ultimately you need to build up some idea of just how much each child is capable of eating and base their portion size on this amount. Sometimes they will be hungrier, in which case make sure they understand that they can request more. But care should be exercised in what they are eating. Don’t give them an extra sausage as these are high in fat (and therefore calories since fat has four times the number of calories compared to protein and carbohydrates) give them extra vegetables instead and if they need to lose a little weight then reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates on their plate (potato, pasta, rice or white bread) and increase their other vegetables. There is a very good reason for this, carbohydrates provide the majority of our energy requirements but simple carbohydrates require virtually no digestion which means less calories are used in the digestive process and any excess calories consumed are more likely to be stored as adipose tissue (fat). Complex carbohydrates on the other hand burn a lot of calories in the digestive process making them much less likely to contribute to fat stores.

So consider, if you were raised to eat everything on your plate, have you continued the cycle by teaching your children to do the same?

Imagine 15 years into the future. Your child has become an overweight adult suffering all kinds of health issues. They may even blame you for making them eat everything on their plate, or not allowing them to leave the table without their plate being clean, or constantly feeding them junk food and take outs. They are even more likely to blame you if they were overweight as a child. Now back to the present, how would that make you feel?

Give them something valuable to pass on to their children by teaching your children healthy eating habits.

In modern society it is estimated that one in three children is currently overweight. The statistic for adults is closer to one in two (50%), for this reason it’s crucially important that parents be proactive in dealing with childhood obesity in order to bring this disturbing trend under control so this generation does not become the first in hundreds of years to have shorter lifespans than their parents.

We all understand that there are several factors which have contributed to this dramatic increase in childhood obesity:

1. We have busier lifestyles and therefore have less time to prepare nutritious, home made meals so more processed and fast food is consumed. It seems odd that with all the advances in technology that are supposed to make life easier we are busier than ever. This phenomena is easily explained however. The fact is that the technologies cost money so we are all working longer hours etc in order to afford the technologies so in fact it doesn’t make life easier at all, just increases our need for a greater income.
2. Then of course we also tend to engage in less physical activity. It’s not as safe for children to play outside as it was 30 years ago when I was growing up. Combine that with the invention of gaming consoles and computers and children spend so much time on those pursuits. Thankfully, the giant gaming companies have started listening to parents and doctors concerns about the lack of activity in children and have begun developing console games that require movement like Wii sports etc.

While recognizing the causes is relatively simple, it’s not always so simple to create a solution.

Here are a couple of things you can do to help your children lose weight or lead a healthier lifestyle to avoid becoming overweight in the first place:

• Lead by example. Provide your children with an example of healthy eating and excercise habits. Let them see you enjoying these things, don’t make it look like a chore. Encourage them to come when you take the dog for a walk. A couple of times a week after work or school, rather than vegetating in front of the t.v., go for a swim, bike ride, kick a football, shoot some hoops or fly a kite. Arrange weekly family activities like bike rides, picnics in the park, ten pin bowling etc. The point is that if we foster a love of healthy food and outdoor activities our children are more likely to carry that outlook with them into adulthood, thus avoiding obesity in the first place.
• If your child is already showing signs of being overweight there are a several things you can do to turn the tide. To start with, take them to your family physician for a complete checkup (the doctor can also offer advice on how to help them eat better). Then work with your child to lose weight, because if your child is overweight there is a good chance that you are also. Just as in step one, spend quality time together engaging in a wide range of fun activities. It’s vitally important that you don’t make this seem boring or a bore. Have fun with them but don’t lie to them about their weight (don’t tell them it’s ok to be fat because they have grandma’s hips) but don’t make them feel bad about themselves either. Let them know they are beautiful and worthwhile regardless of their weight and abilities. Just handle it logically and teach them the changes they need to make when it comes to what they should eat, and how much, as what they do for recreation.

When it comes to helping obese children develop healthy eating and exercise habits it’s all about making permanent changes to their outlook on food and exercise. Try to refrain from focusing on weight loss, focus on living a healthier lifestyle instead. Doing this will make your child less likely to feel negative about themselves and more likely to enjoy the time spent with family engaging in fun activities. Again, it can’t be stressed enough, DON’T FOCUS ON ‘WEIGHT LOSS’, FOCUS ON EATING PROPERLY AND BEING ACTIVE. If you make a big deal about their weight then they may develop self esteem issues. Focus on healthy living and your kids will learn great, healthy eating and exercise habits without feeling negative about themselves!

The way children eat pizza you would think that pizza was a new food group, but of course it isn’t a food group. Pizza is generally a junk food. Pizza includes many of the different food groups. But why is it so popular?

I remember my first pizza. Dad bought it from the local pizza take away. But that pizza was nothing like the junk available in restaurants today. It wasn’t overloaded with cheese and had heaps of fresh vegetables. Of course, in those days Pizza joints were generally owned and run by Italians so the pizza was made according to the traditional Italian pizza recipes.

If you are like many people you love pizza, but there are potential problems.

• Do you eat one or two slices or the whole pizza?
• What pizza toppings do you use?
• Do you have any idea of the calorie content?
• What food groups are represented on the pizza you eat?
• How can you make the pizza healthier?

Many people are insufficiently disciplined when it comes to eating pizza. They will scoff down a whole pizza without considering the calories being consumed.

As an example, lets examine a supreme 12” pan pizza. This is usually sliced into 8 portions. Are you ready for a reality check here?

One slice can contain as much as 330 calories which means the whole pizza is 2640 calories. If you are trying to restrict your calorie intake in order to lose weight and you eat the whole pizza in one sitting then you have blown your calorie intake for the WHOLE DAY.

But let’s examine the nutritional facts here. The figures below apply to ONE SLICE of pizza, The figures need to be multiplied by the number of pieces you consume.

	Calories	Quantity (g)	% Daily recommended
Calories per slice	330
Calories from Fat	160	17g	26%
Saturated Fat	N/A	6g	30%
Cholesterol	N/A	35g	12%
Sodium	N/A	850mg	35%
Carbohydrate	N/A	29g	10%
Dietary Fiber	N/A	2g	8%
Sugar	N/A	N/A	3%
Protein	N/A	N/A	14%

When seen this way it doesn’t look healthy, does it?

How often do you eat pizza? You need to understand the consequences of what you eat. You also need to decide whether to order pizza to make your own which is healthier an more fun, especially when you allow each family member to add their own toppings.

Try making your own dough so you understand exactly what goes in it. Basic dough to make more than one pizza is a simple recipe. 16 oz (450g) white flour (or wholemeal flour if you want to make it healthier), 1 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt and sufficient warm water to create a dough. Note: sugar and salt can’t be reduced as both are required to cause the yeast to ferment. Notice that you are not adding any fat, milk powder or extra sugar and salt.

Make your own tomato sauce, with tomato, garlic and onions. You don’t need fat or sugar either. It’s low in calories and can be used as the base for tomato soup or pasta sauce.

Load your pizza with lots of fresh vegetables.

What about meat? Take a piece of skinless chicken and dice it, cook with garlic or spices. You can dry fry if you have a non stick frying pan. Again no fat required.

But what about the cheese, mix together some low fat mozzarella and parmesan. You don’t need a large quantity of cheese. Try it and see if your family prefer the home made pizza.

If you eat a whole pizza (2640 calories) you would need to walk for 11 hours to burn off all those calories. You can eat your calorie laden pizza if you want but are you prepared to walk for 11 hours? A leisurely walk burns approximately 240 calories per hour.

But maybe you don’t eat a whole pizza, that is great, but how many calories do you consume in a day? Don’t forget to take into account your snacks and sugary drinks, a can of regular soda contains up to 160 calories, so four cans of regular soda means 640 calories. Yeouch, theres 25% of your daily energy needs right there. You need approximately 2000 calories to live if you are a woman and 2200 calories for a man. This is based on average activity levels.

Yes you can eat pizza but keep in mind the consequences!

Aside from it’s primary purpose, there are several monosodium glutamate side effects. Technically speaking, monosodium glutamate is a “flavor enhancer”. It stimulates your childs taste-buds, making them more sensitive to food flavors. This improves the taste of food, or rather, your child’s response to that food.

If that was all MSG did, it wouldn’t be a problem. Unfortunately, it isn’t. Monosodium glutamate side effects go far beyond this purpose, and not all of those side effects are positive. Unfortunately, the FDA has not acted on the problems and monosodium glutamate maintains the status of “generally regarded as safe” (GRAS). Considering the negative side effects of this chemical on children and adults alike, MSG should be banned, especially since it is abused by the food industry so much.

So what are the negative monosodium glutamate side effects?

1. Some children are allergic to MSG: A child can consume a small amount of it and have an anaphylactic reaction to it. Like other allergies… peanut, wheat, citrus, shellfish etc. the reaction varies from causing discomfort to being life threatening. Because MSG is commonly used in a wide variety of products that are consumed by children, it should be banned. The reason is simple. If your child had a severe peanut allergy, you would avoid giving them peanuts and products containing peanuts. Products containing peanuts or potential traces of them are required to indicate this on the packaging. Compare this with monosodium glutamate where most processed foods contain it but, because of insufficient labeling laws, it is not required to be listed in the ingredients. This creates a potentially dangerous situation that requires government intervention. Companies should at least be forced to label the foods correctly.
2. Monosodium glutamate dramatically stimulates appetite and causes binging: Have you ever wondered why one potato chip is never enough? Monosodium glutamate is the reason. Your child can be physically full, but monosodium glutamate stimulates a part of their brain that tells them to eat more. Food manufacturers use monosodium glutamate to make their foods addictive. Binging on any food causes obesity. MSG takes away a child’s choice in what they eat by creating a dependance similar to drug addiction. That is immoral and should be illegal. Monosodium glutamate has also been identified as a major contributor to the dramatic increase in type 2 diabetes in society. It’s also a major factor in bulemia. Monosodium glutamate encourages children to binge. That’s why snack producers use it. Thankfully, people are becoming savvy to this and choosing not to allow their children to consume food containing MSG. However, companies are not content to allow even this level of personal choice. Because of the GRAS (generally regarded as safe) designation, they are permitted to include MSG as an ingredient in a list of so-called “secret ingredients”. These are ingredients that are not required to be listed on food labels because doing so may allow competitors to copy their recipe and steal their business. Further, some products contain MSG and if companies list that product, they are not required to label the individual ingredients. The names of these common products include ‘Natural Flavorings’, ‘Naturally Flavored’, Artificial and Natural Flavors’. These are PRODUCT NAMES rather than FDA designations. These names conceal the fact that those products are additives. The primary ingredient in many of those products is monosodium glutamate, so if you see them in the ingredients list, replace them with the words monosodium glutamate…because that is basically what it really means.
3. The most controversial problem with MSG is HOW it stimulates your child’s appetite: MSG is referred to as an “excitotoxin”. This is a chemical that stimulates your child’s nervous system using a mechanism usually used to fight infection or remove damaged tissue. A child’s brain is generally sterile and doesn’t have the same immune system as the rest of their body. The main immune system is based on an inflammatory mechanism. Inflammation in the brain is potentially deadly, so the brain uses a glial system instead. The glial system releases chemicals that destroy invading particles and stimulate the brain. Guess which mechanism MSG uses? Guess what the side effects are? If your child consumes large quantities of MSG then in the long-term it will destroy brain tissue. Monosodium glutamate has also been implicated in Alzheimer’s.

As you can see from these side effects, the consumption of MSG should be avoided not only in children but in adults also. Most modern Chinese restaurants understand this and have now removed this ingredient from their recipes.

The main problem in modern society is packaged and processed foods, especially those at fast food restaurants and snack foods. If you want to avoid your child consuming large quantities of monosodium glutamate you need to limit consumption of those foods.

This post published with thanks to Mr Roger of Fatzilla.org who graciously permitted me plagiarize his work.

This post does not constitute medical advice nor should it be substituted for professional medical advice. This post titled “Monosodium Glutamate Side Effects” is intended for informational purposes only.

Making fun and healthy snacks is a challenge for all parents. Children love snacking and they can be good to encourage fussy eaters, but are they having healthy snacks for kids?

The problem is that many children love to snack on foods that are high in sugar, fat and calories that, whilst nutritionally sound in themselves, are not healthy for them in large quantities. Modern parents are so busy that it is easy to purchase processed snacks from the grocery store. It can be muesli bars, crisps, fruit bars, muffins and single serve packets of cookies etc. Many children go to school with several of these snacks in their lunch box, placed there by well meaning parents who don’t want their children going hungry but who simply do not understand the potential harm that can be caused.

One of the problems for parents is to know what constitutes healthy snacks for kids. Many foods designed for children contain far too much fat and sugar, even when the packaging says they are healthy. It all comes down to moderation. Even foods that are labeled low fat can contain high amounts of sugar. Parents need to learn to read and understand food nutrition labels.

In a report produced in the United Kingdom it showed that children who eat a packet of crisps/chips per day consume 5 liters of cooking oil per year. That is a huge amount of fat. Unfortunately, many children eat more than one packet per day. Some children regularly consume 3 or 4 packets per day. Consider the implications of the calories they are consuming and the potential damage caused by their arteries becoming blocked at a young age.

Children are always hungry when they return home from school. They want to be fed instantly. They don’t want to wait for dinner. They want something to satisfy their hunger immediately. Maybe they open the fridge and grab the closest food, it may be a pie or pastry but most children know where snack foods like crisps and candy bars are kept and these are the foods they grab.

But if you don’t have any in the house and give them an apple instead, the tantrum starts because they want their favorite foods. They are children who have no idea about nutrition so you need to take control. Maybe it does mean removing processed snacks from the pantry. It may take a couple of weeks for them to stop grumbling but in time they will get used to you providing healthy snacks.

So what are some healthy snacks for kids? Here are a few pointers:

• Stay close to nature: Fresh fruits and vegetables make a great snack
• Purchase or prepare a dip for them to have with celery or carrot sticks
• Make a fruit smoothie with fresh fruit, milk or juice and a dollop of low fat yogurt. You can even add an egg for extra protein to satisfy their hunger
• Make your own crisps by using a peeler to create thin slices of potato then lightly spray with extra virgin olive oil spray and bake in the oven, then you control the fat and salt
• Cut up a range of their favorite in season fruit to create a healthy fruit salad, or poke a skewer through fruit chunks to make fruit kebabs
• Always keep a store of fresh fruit in the house
• Make up your own fruit and nut mixes with their favorite things like sultanas, dried apricots, sunflower seeds, pine nuts, peanuts, cashews, almonds etc and leave a bowl on the bench

Doing this will ensure that there are always healthy snacks for kids laying around where kids can grab for them rather than processed snacks that are high in calories, fat and sugar.

Learn to be creative regarding the snacks you allow your children to eat. A good way to look at it is to treat it like you would an allergy. If your child had an allergy to nuts then you would ensure that no nut product was provided for them. Well, do the same with high calorie snacks, treat it as though they have an allergy to excess sugar and fat and provide foods that won’t cause health issues in the future.

As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that your children remain fit and healthy and eat balanced meals. Make those unhealthy foods they love an occasional treat. Don’t make a big issue if when they eat unhealthy foods or they may develop emotional issues based upon their physical appearance. You expect them to live for at least 70 years so you want to encourage healthy eating habits early on. Do you really think they will never eat another packet or crisps/chips, chocolate bar, pizza or burger? They will still eat these foods but they need to learn how to eat these foods in moderation and not see them as easy snacks and quick energy fixes.

This post does not constitute medical advice nor should it be substituted for professional medical advice. This post titled “Making Fun and Healthy Snacks for Kids” is intended for informational purposes only.

How to pack a healthy lunch for kids is a skill that all parents need to learn. Do you know what your child is eating for lunch? Do they take a packed lunch or do they purchase lunch from the school canteen?

Whatever they have, have you ever considered the nutritional value of what they eat. Children they have no concept of what is a good or bad choice nutritionally until we teach them. They naturally choose what they like rather than what is healthy. Because sugary foods and fried foods are tastier they gravitate toward them without any consideration of whether those foods represent healthy food choices.

If you don’t know how to pack a healthy lunch for kids and supply them with junk food then they learn that it is acceptable to constantly eat unhealthy foods. Of course, in practice, this will lead to health issues. Children must be taught about healthy nutrition and how to make healthy food choices, either through the school or home environment.

It isn’t enough to rely on the school to educate your child about this. You need to be educated about healthy nutrition so you can incorporate the knowledge into family meals and pass those lessons on to your children. After all, children learn more from example than by being told. Discuss what they are eating in school. Explain that while all foods are okay to eat, that they need to balance their food intake in order to supply their body with all the nutrients it requires to function properly. Explain that too many sweet or fatty foods can lead to future weight issues. Help them to see that they can make choices about what they eat. Help them to understand that eating chocolate occasionally isn’t bad but that eating chocolate bars daily may be unwise.

If you want to pack a healthy lunch for kids you need to consider what is included in it! Schools in some countries are banning certain foods from school lunch boxes. No more crisps/chips, chocolate, cake or sweets. If your child’s lunch box contained these items would you know what to replace them with?

Of course, when it comes to how to pack a healthy lunch for kids the biggest problem isn’t what to replace unhealthy food with but getting children to eat what goes in. A sudden change in foods from unhealthy to healthy can be a huge shock. Suddenly they no longer receive the foods they like and must start eating foods that they may be unfamiliar with.

Did you ever watch Jamie Oliver’s ‘School Dinners’ program? When he got the canteen to stop serving junk foods like turkey twizzlers and replace them with healthy foods, an enterprising group of young students mutineed against the whole idea by boycotting the canteen and starting a petition to bring back the junk food. Good for them to demand their rights but sad that they are using it to achieve something that is actually bad for them.

So how can you help them get over this problem? Start by introducing foods into their other meals. Instead of soda try giving children pure fruit juice or water. There are lots of different flavored waters around with no added sugar, buy those and try them out. Many are only 1 or 2 calories for 1 liter bottles. Soda drinks contain so much sugar (at least 5 teaspoons of sugar) and up to 160 calories per can.

Replace white bread with whole-wheat or multi grain bread. If they are fussy about this then try one slice of white and one slice of whole-wheat. Put in a filling that they might enjoy, but be adventurous. Open a tin of tuna and chop a little onion into it. If they don’t like mayonnaise then substitute ketchup to it to bind it together. You could also chop a little tomato or cucumber into this mixture.

Give them chunky vegetables to eat. Tomato, cucumber, carrot sticks, celery etc. Give them a little low fat cream cheese as a dip. Increase their fruit consumption, add a piece of fresh fruit to their lunch box. Or add small packets of dried fruit.

Once you know how to pack a healthy lunch for kids it’s easier to work with school recommendations.

Dinner is the one meal that most parents have total control over. Preparing healthy dinners for children is a challenge that parents can overcome. In most cases, parents are responsible for purchasing food and cooking the meal. But sadly, it is a meal that now lacks the meaning it had in the past. The concept of a ‘family dinner’ in which all members of the family sit down together to eat their meal is a challenge which many families feel unable to achieve. Differing tastes, work schedules, social lives all succeed in disrupting this once important family time. Discussion of the days events with the whole family is sadly a thing of the past for many families.

Instead of a family dinner it is easier to prepare a quick meal which everyone eats at their own time and frequently on the run or while watching television.

When asked, many modern children had never eaten a dinner at the dining table. Some don’t even know how to use a knife or fork correctly and fewer still consume vegetables regularly. Some children were shown a potato and asked what it was. Relatively few knew what it was and when they were told that chips/fries were made from potatoes they answered, “No they don’t, they come from a plastic bag in the supermarket freezer!” This may seem funny, but it is a sad indication of modern society’s dependence on processed, ready made foods and the lack of fresh vegetables that many family consume.

Yes it is easier to ring for pizza and have it delivered to your door, or pull out a microwave meal that takes only minutes to prepare. But have you considered the consequences of these actions?

Life is full of choices and choices always have consequences. Maybe you were never taught to cook by your parents, or maybe you feel that you don’t have time. But if you rely on these processed and prepared meals then your children will learn to do the same. The problem is that these meals are high in fat, sugar, salt and calories and you know what that means don’t you? It means you are increasing the chances of yourself and your children becoming overweight

Perhaps you think it is cheaper to buy these ready meals or ring for pizza or go to the burger shop. Maybe it is cheaper, but constantly consuming these foods effects health and you could end up paying a much higher price than the actual cost of the food. It could even be argued that providing only fast foods is a form of child neglect since these foods are notoriously low in nutritional value and consuming them constantly can make them physically ill.

There are many obesity related diseases including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stress, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome. These potentially life threatening illnesses are being experienced more frequently in those decades younger than was occurring even 30 years ago.

Stop the cycle today and start cooking dinner for the family. It doesn’t have to be a three course gourmet affair. A skinless chicken fillet with a serve of wholemeal pasta. Teach your children to sit at the table and use a knife and fork. Introduce those vegetable into the meal. Have fresh fruit salad with low fat yogurt for dessert. If you don’t know how to cook them you can prepare vegetables from the freezer section of your local store. These are highly nutritionally intact since they are frozen within hours of picking. You also don’t have to clean and chop them and nothing has been added to them.

Start cooking lean meat, chicken and fish rather than processed foods. Experiment with different foods and create your own burgers out of quality minced meat if that is what your children like. It’s time to stop them dictating what they will eat. Don’t tell them you’re putting them on a diet, diet is a dirty four letter word! Just talk about making healthy food choices. Explain to them the benefits of making healthy food choices.

You might think this is expensive but think of the money you will save on medical bills when they are no longer running to the doctor with various complaints.

And as far as time goes, it really doesn’t take that much longer to prepare healthy dinners for children and the family. The main difference is that you need to supervise the cooking rather than just throwing it in the oven and coming back when the timer goes off.

Take back control of dinner and experiment with different foods, you will be surprised how many foods children will eat once they become accustomed to them. And the biggest reward for you effort will be when they are fit and healthy in twenty years time and thanking you for loving and caring enough to prepare healthy dinners for them as children.

The importance of children eating breakfast should not be overlooked. Many children attend school without having breakfast beforehand. Scientific research indicates that not having breakfast can lead to overeating throughout the day. Yes, that’s right, a couple of hundred calories first thing in the morning can stop you from binge eating 400-500 calories later in the day. This is one of the reasons that eating breakfast assists with weight loss.

Just consider, a child eats an evening meal then sleeps for 8-10 hours and now they are heading to school for the day. But if they don’t have breakfast they have no fuel for the day ahead. That is like trying to run your car without any fuel in the tank.

Is it reasonable to expect a child to perform well without providing the tools to accomplish it? If they become hungry during class they will lose focus and possibly even start snacking on the nearest food source. It could be cookies, crisps or chocolate which will provide a temporary burst of energy that will quickly be exhausted leaving them hungry again.

Another contributing aspect to the importance of children eating breakfast could be referred to as ‘brain food’. When a child is hungry a kind of lethargy hits them making it harder for them to concentrate. So providing them with a healthy, satisfying breakfast can also help their cognitive function and therefore their academic performance.

Do you know why breakfast is called breakfast?… Because it is time to break your fast. This means it is time to eat again after not eating for several hours.

Of course, getting a child to each breakfast can be a challenge. Every child is different and has their likes and dislikes. My daughter would be quite happy to go to school without eating anything but I don’t allow her to do that. To be honest, I’m happy to not eat breakfast but I have to force myself to eat in order to provide a good example to her, even if I only eat a piece of fruit. So what can you give your child for breakfast to provide energy and help them focus without adding excess calories from fat and sugar which can lead to weight gain.

Here are some healthy breakfast ideas for children.

1. Cereal is an easy choice. But there are healthy cereals and unhealthy cereals. Try choosing cereals with no added sugar or cereals containing dried fruits to add sweetness. Oatmeal with honey is an excellent choice since oats are slow burning and contain lots of fiber to help satisfy hunger for longer.
2. Milk is required for strong, healthy bones but talk to your physician and see what they recommend. They may suggest a reduced fat, calcium enriched milk for your child. But whatever milk they consume they need calcium to build strong bones and teeth.
3. Fruit is another component of a healthy breakfast. It could be a piece of fruit or a glass of unsweetened fruit juice. It is important that it be unsweetened 100% fruit juice as this not only provides important nutrients, it also avoids excessive sugars. If your child finds pure juice too strong tasting you can dilute with water.
4. You could also add dried or sliced fruit to the cereal to add sweetness and reduce the need for added sugar. Or you could add fresh fruit to natural unsweetened yogurt. When strawberries are in season try throwing 6 in a bowl and microwaving them for 1 (one) minute, this makes the juice come out, then just add half a cup of natural or vanilla yogurt. Yummy!
5. A boiled egg with a slice of whole wheat or multi grain toast is another good choice. Bread should always be brown/whole wheat/multi grain as these are higher in fiber giving them a lower glycemic index which means they take longer to digest and therefore satisfy hunger for longer.
6. Baked beans on toast is recognized as a balanced meal. Again, always select wholegrain or multi grain bread.
7. A fruit smoothie is a delicious breakfast option just add fresh fruit, juice, a dollop of low fat yogurt and 1 (one) raw egg to the blender and blend.

As you can see, there are plenty of healthy options available. You should always encourage your child to have a habit of eating a healthy breakfast.

Children learn from experience and you need to set a good example by eating breakfast yourself. Your children will see you eating and will mimic your behavior. If you routinely skip breakfast, don’t be surprised if your child starts doing the same. They don’t respect rules of ‘do what I say not what I do’. They respect rules that you abide by yourself. Setting an example makes them more willing to follow your rules.

This post does not constitute medical advice nor should it be substituted for professional medical advice. This post titled “The importance of children eating breakfast” is intended for informational purposes only.

Understanding the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load is important for anyone who needs to lose weight, including children. But first, it is important to understand the definition of the two terms.

Definition of Glycemic Index: The glycemic index, abbreviated as ‘GI’, is a calculation of how specific carbohydrate rich foods affect blood sugar levels over a period of 2 hours. Foods containing simple carbohydrates are easier to digest and have the highest glycemic index. Complex carbohydrates burn slower and therefore have a lower GI.

Definition of Glycemic load: The glycemic load, abbreviated as ‘GL’, is a ranking system for carbohydrate content in food portions based on both their glycemic index (GI) and portion size.

Scientists calculate glycemic index by providing 10 individuals a 50 gram serve of the food to be tested then measuring their blood glucose response over the next two hours. This response is compared to the blood sugar response to glucose and averaged across the 10 test subjects to calculate a relative index value.

The problem with this approach is that in real life, portion sizes vary from child to child. Not every child consumes a 50 gram portion! So glycemic index doesn’t provide an accurate measure of the effect of any given food on blood sugar levels.

For this reason, the glycemic load is considered to provide a more accurate measure than the glycemic index alone since it takes portion size into account.

Calculating the glycemic load of foods is fairly straightforward if you know the glycemic index of that food. You can find the glycemic index for a wide range of foods at The glycemic index. Note that this is an Australian website connected with the University of Sydney so some foods may be listed under unfamiliar names. However, the website does provide the most comprehensive listing of GI values along with GL values. Sometimes you can find the GI value of a food listed in the nutritional data table. I believe that over time this will become more common.

The metric formula to calculate the glycemic load of food is: GI value x usable carb content (in grams), divided by 100.

The imperial (UK and US) formula to calculate the glycemic load of food is: GI value x usable carb content (in oz), divided by 100 x 28.4. Note that this figure isn’t exact since the original formula was created in metric but it provides a reasonably accurate indication.

Say for example you want to calculate the GL of two slices of white bread made from wheat flour. The glycemic index of one 30 gram (1 oz) slice of bread is 69. Since children generally eat two slices of bread we need to calculate it according to two slices. The usable carbohydrate content of one slice of white bread is 14 grams (15 grams minus 1 gram of dietary fiber). Therefore, to calculate the glycemic load for two slices of bread the sum is:

Metric: (GI)69 x (Carbs)28 / 100 = 19.32

Imperial: (GI)69 x (Carbs)0.99 / 100 x 28.4 = 19.40

The ranges for glycemic index are

Low GI = 55 or less
Medium GI = 56-69
High GI = 70 or more

The ranges for glycemic load are

Low GL = 10 or less
Medium GL = 11-19
High GL = 20 or more

Okay, lets compare the glycemic load of different types of bread:

Two slices of white bread have a GL of 19
Two slices of whole wheat bread have a GL of 15
Two slices of multi grain bread have a GL of 10

As you can see from this, the glycemic load of two slices of white bread squeezes into the medium glycemic load range. If a child consumes four slices per meal the figure increases to 38 which makes it high GL. On the other hand, the glycemic load of multi grain bread is barely half that of white bread so four slices of multi grain bread has a GL of 20 which is much better. Remember, the higher the dietary fiber content the lower the glycemic load. This is one of the reasons why it is important to provide your child with wholegrain products rather than simple, processed carbohydrates like bread or pasta made from white flour and white rice.

But why should children consume low GL foods? Foods with a high GL tend to cause a surge in blood sugar levels followed by an equally rapid drop which triggers the child’s appetite. If the energy generated is not required it can be converted to fat storage. In diabetics this can cause dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Low GL foods do not cause this surge, take longer to digest, provide lasting energy and satisfy the hunger for longer which assists with weight loss. Consuming low GL foods means that your child’s overall calorie consumption can be reduced without them feeling hungry.

NOTE: A child should never consume food less than an hour before bedtime as this makes them more likely to store unused energy as fat.

If your child needs to lose weight then you need to understand the difference between glycemic index and glycemic load so you can provide them with low GI foods to satisfy their hunger for longer and stop them from constantly wanting to eat.

When it comes to the topic of good fat vs bad fat in your child’s diet, there are several things you should consider.

First of all, fats are required for optimal function of the human body. Fat plays several essential roles in the body including:

• Children require fat more than adults due to the fact that their bodies are still growing. Not only do children require a higher calorie consumption (compared to their size at least) they also need to be able to store fat as they grow.
• Provision of the essential fatty acids linoleic and linolenic acids which the body is incapable of producing. These fatty acids control inflammation, blood clotting, cholesterol levels and brain development.
• Provision of fat reserves for the body for survival during times when food is not available such as when we experience infections that cause nausea making it impossible for your child to eat.
• Fat stored in adipose tissue helps insulate the body against cold and heat and therefore helps maintain internal (core) temperature. A child’s body has more difficulty maintaining core temperature.
• Fat provides an important energy source. Children burn a lot of energy and once carbohydrates are consumed the body turns to fat for energy
• The oils required for healthy hair and skin are derived from fat.
• Fat solumble vitamins A, D, E and K require fat in order to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

What are fats? Fats are organic compounds consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Fat belongs to a family of substances known as lipids, and come in solid or liquid form. All fats are combinations of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

Fat is one of the three main components of food, the other two are protein and carbohydrates. These three components supply energy for the body. Fat provides around 9 calories per gram which is more than double the amount of calories provided by protein and carbohydrates.

There are several types of fat in food. Some are considered bad fats, while others are considered good fats. The types of fat are:

Saturated fat

Saturated fats are what are generally referred to as ‘bad’ fats. These fats are found in animal products like meat, dairy products. There are also a couple of vegetable sources of saturated fats which should be avoided or consumed prudently. These include

• Coconut (and coconut oil).
• Palm oil.
• Palm kernel (and palm kernel oil).

Fats and oil containing high amounts of saturated fats are generally solid at room temperature, regardless of whether they are derived from animal or vegetable sources.

Trans fat.

Another ‘bad’ fat is trans fat. Trans fat occurs during ‘hydrogenation’ which refers to the introduction of hydrogen to unsaturated fat molecules (eg. vegetable oils) in order to convert them into a solid. When this occurs, the molecules are effectively converted to saturated fats and begin to have the same effect upon the body as saturated fats.

High consumption of saturated and trans fats, which are frequently hidden in some foods, can cause weight gain and become obesity but more importantly, they can lead to cardiovascular disease, heart disease and stroke.

Unsaturated fat

Unsaturated fats are generally referred to as ‘good’ fats. This is because they are higher in essential nutrients and free of cholesterol which means they don’t contribute to atherosclerosis (fatty plaque deposits in arteries which cause heart disease and stroke). There are several types of unsaturated fats including:

• Monounsaturated fat
• Polyunsaturated fat
• Cis fat

Fatty Acids

Although they are not, strictly speaking, fats… fatty acids are another crucially important nutrient, including the omega fatty acids

• Omega – 3
• Omega – 6 AND
• Omega – 9

As mentioned earlier, these fatty acids are responsible for controlling inflammation, blood clotting, cholesterol levels and brain development. Rich sources of these fatty acids include vegetable oils and fish like salmon and tuna.

Polyunsaturated fats and monounsaturated fats are good for us and can reduce the risk of heart attack, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Maybe you think you don’t need to consider this with your child, but developing healthy eating habits now will help them continue them as adults.

To practice healthy eating habits regarding good fat vs bad fat follow these tips:

1. Give your child a diet rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrain, high fiber foods, and either low fat or fat free dairy products.
2. Maintain a total fat consumption of 25-35% of daily calorie consumption
3. Ensure that your primary fat sources are monounsaturated or polyunsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils.
4. Use natural, unhydrogenated vegetable oils like canola, peanut, safflower, sunflower or olive oil.
5. Check nutrition labels on processed food for saturated and trans fat content (0% trans fat is best) and use soft margarine rather than butter or stick margarine.
6. Reduce your child’s consumption of foods that have high saturated fat content like french fries, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes.
7. Reduce your child’s consumption of saturated fat in general.
8. Reduce your child’s consumption of ‘junk foods’ like deep fried foods, baked goods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. This will help reduce consumption of saturated and trans fat.

Summarizing good fat vs bad fat.

Good fats refers to unsaturated fats and fatty acids which are derived from vegetables and fish. Bad fats refer to saturated and trans fats which are primarily derived from red meats and dairy products. In all cases, consumption of fat should be limited but bad fat should be limited more than good fat.

Remember, children need fat more than adults but you still need to ensure that they don’t consume too much.