| The biggest difference between healthy eating for | | | | diabetes among children. |
| children and healthy eating for you is the serving size. | | | | When figuring out what is a simple carbohydrate or a |
| As obvious as this sounds, let me ask you this... | | | | complex carbohydrate you can look it up on the |
| How many times has your younger child complained, | | | | internet. Without going that route, let's simplify it. This is |
| "It's not fair, he gets more?" | | | | done by looking at how much sugar is in the food. |
| Kids can be competitive. Always keeping an eye out | | | | Then, look at how quickly the carbohydrates present |
| for what a sibling gets. Or the younger one may just | | | | would get turned into sugar. |
| want to be like his/her older sibling. They want to do | | | | Here are some examples of carbs that quickly digest... |
| everything the older child does. | | | | - white bread, including enriched white bread |
| When it comes to portion sizes, a smaller body just | | | | - fruit drinks |
| doesn't need the same amount of food. The excess | | | | - chewing gum |
| energy of calories would be stored as fat. | | | | - soda pop |
| Healthy eating for children still includes the three | | | | - candy and candy bars |
| components of food: protein, carbohydrates and fat. | | | | - ice cream/deserts |
| These three provide the vitamins, minerals calories and | | | | - pasta from white flour |
| trace nutrients that they need to grow and play. | | | | - chips |
| The protein should be from high quality sources. Go to | | | | Good carbs are complex in their structure and they |
| your local farmers market for your best savings on | | | | have fiber. They take longer to digest. Consequently, |
| eggs, meat and poultry. Seek out the producers that | | | | you feel full longer. Here are some examples... |
| use no chemical pesticides, no antibiotics and no | | | | - fruits and vegetables |
| hormones. Even better would be to buy organic if | | | | - juice not from concentrate and with pulp intact |
| available. | | | | - beans |
| Pesticides used on the farmland, get ingested by the | | | | - whole grain breads and pastas |
| animals. These get deposited in the animals tissues. | | | | Fats also have been given a lot of attention in recent |
| And for cows, the drugs and chemicals eventually | | | | years. Children should not be put on a low fat diet. |
| make their way into the milk. | | | | Challenge any one that suggests it. It is just not healthy |
| Carbohydrates and fat have both been given a bad | | | | eating for children to limit fat and their nutrients. Instead |
| rap. I say this because both are needed for optimal | | | | focus on the source or type of fat as contained in a |
| health. Yet, many diets limit these without | | | | balanced diet. |
| understanding their importance. | | | | Fats contain essential fatty acids. They are called |
| Carbohydrates will provide energy, nutrients and fiber. | | | | essential because (1) you need them and (2) they |
| With carbs, the important thing to know is the | | | | must be obtained from your diet because you cannot |
| differences in carbohydrates. | | | | produce them. |
| You have carbohydrates that digest quickly. These | | | | I stated that the problem with fat is with the type of |
| release a fast and quick amount of sugar into the | | | | fat. Hydrogenated fats should be avoided. This includes |
| blood stream. This sugar then demands insulin. | | | | Crisco(R) or shortening for baking. Hydrogenated fats |
| A diet high in these "simple" carbohydrates puts a | | | | are devoid of nutrients. The heavy processing has |
| strain on insulin production. Eventually this strain can | | | | destroyed the fatty acids. This can cause a craving |
| cause one of 2 situations. | | | | for fats because the nutrients have not been obtained. |
| | | | Instead, use organic cold-pressed safflower oil for |
| 1. The pancreas becomes exhausted and apathetic. | | | | lower heat cooking. For salads, use organic |
| This results in not enough insulin. | | | | cold-pressed olive oil. |
| 2. The cells become resistant to the ever present high | | | | Healthy eating for children is reinforced when you set |
| levels of insulin. Which means more and more insulin is | | | | a good example. If you avoid vegetables, then it would |
| needed to get any response. | | | | be harder to explain the need to your kids. |
| This provides an explanation to the increase in | | | | |