Category: health

How Important Eating Breakfast Is for Children?

momblogger
Nov 3 |10:46

One of the most difficult tasks of mothers is encouraging children to eat, and not just eat, but eat healthily. Many children dislike eating, among them is my own. I am a living testimonial of thousands, or probably millions, of mothers out there who find it challenging to make theirchildren eat, much more, eat healthy food.

If children are not basically fond of eating, it’s more difficult for moms to encourage them eat breakfasts, especially those kids who go to school early. It may seem a simple matter, to allow our kids go about their daily activities on an empty stomach in the morning and just feed them early lunch.

Children skipping breakfasts are prone to health and emotional issues which should alarm parents. See these risks:

  • Nope, not Weight loss! Contrary to the erroneous belief of some teens and even adults that skipping breakfast may  help them lose weight, truth is, more likely, it will make people eat snack (possibly unhealthy or junk food) throughout the day and eat larger meals for lunch and dinner.
  • Can you imagine, Tooth Decay? Oh yes,  skipping breakfast actually leads to dental problems, particularly the deterioration of a child’s primary primary teeth. This will be hurting the household budget in the long run as dental care is not cheap.
  • Low cognitive performance. People who set aside breakfast lose the required nutrients providing energy to the body, thus, they lack alertness, and concentration. Wondering why your child scores badly during exams or is labeled as slow, maybe its about his bad breakfasteating habits.
  • Prone to obesity and insulin resistance syndrome. Study revealed during the American Heart Association’s 43rd Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention  people who does not  eat breakfast are more likely to become obese and acquire diabetes compared those who religiously take them.
  • Low energy metabolism. Kids who skip breakfasts burn fewer calories all through the day than those who did.
  • Increased risk to heart disease. Study conducted by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition indicated that those who skip breakfast are more prone to experience heart problems.

For parents like me, the following potential hazards of not eating breakfasts forchildren sounded absolutely alarming. Both our children’s mental and physical capacity will be affected if they skip what considered to be the “most important meal of the day” and this may eventually lead to insecurity and self-pity.

In an administered test, it was found out that children who skipped their morning meals generally scored lower than those who have eaten theirs. Furthermore, children, like adults, have tendency to consume more high-fat and high-sugar junk food all day if they skipped their breakfasts.

Encouraging our children to eat healthy morning meals have a lot of good benefits and it’s up to us parents to cultivate such habit in them. Aside from protecting them from the risks previously mentioned, children who are fed well in the morning perform much better in the following areas:

  • They score better on standardized tests
  • They have fewer behavior problems in school
  • They will earn improved math grades
  • They will attend more in-school and out-of-school activities punctually
  • They do better on mental tasks
  • They play better with their improved eye-hand coordination
  • They are not hyperactive, irritable and anxious

Always-on-the-rush working moms are usually having problems preparing good morning meals for their kids so here are quick fix meals and healthybreakfast ideas from Coldwater Community Schools that will provide kids their daily boost and sustain them throughout the day:

  • Cereal with strawberries and milk
  • Oatmeal, orange and milk
  • Pancakes topped with fruit and milk
  • Bagel w/peanut butter, banana and milk
  • Granola bar, apple and yogurt

No matter how busy we moms are at work and at home, on top of our priority remain the health of our children. If we simply allow them go to school or hit the playground with an empty stomach or serve them a doughnut or instant noodles for breakfast, our children are doomed. We must ensure that our kids get nutritionally complete diets that are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals.

Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day and it’s among our motherhood roles to ensure our kids take them, and eat them healthily!

(photo from tlc.discovery.com)

 

Smart Moms Read the Labels

momblogger
Jun 28 |14:00

There are varied concerns when we mommies buy food products for our babies and kids. Among the top consideration is the price or cost of the product for parents who have limited or constraint budget. Admittedly, I used to be guilty about this. When I gave birth to my first son, our tendency was to give him the best – expensive milk, popular vitamin supplements, pricey cereals… When he started schooling though, expenses shoot up and so, there was a need to tighten the budget. 

We began considering inexpensive medicines and milk brands; we also tried low-priced fruit juices and other food products for his school snacks. Our belief, these products are all the same, they only compete in terms of marketing and packaging. We were wrong. Thanks to a television commercial which promoted the importance of ‘reading the nutrition labels’ of food, beverage, and drugs. It opened my eyes about smartly reading the nutrition facts written on food and other product brands for children before deciding to buy them.

The food and drugs authority of any country mandate that companies manufacturing foodstuff and medicines put the nutrition facts food labels on the packaging of their products. Usually, these labels can be found at the back, side or bottom part of the wrapping.  The labels contain information such as the serving information, the types and amount of vitamins and minerals enclosed, and other chemicals used in the formulation.

If adults who are into healthy lifestyle avoid products with high calories, fat and carbohydrates contents like a plague, here are some of the chemical ingredients mommies should try to avoid (or give thoughtful consideration) when buying juice and liquid products for children: 

  • Artificial flavoring. While manufacturers tend to boast that their products came from a natural source, it may lose its natural flavoring in the process so they use (or add) artificial ones to retain the taste. Read the label to find out about this, it would be best to buy ones with labels ‘100% All Natural’ and ‘No Preservatives.’
  • Sunset Yellow FCF also known as Orange Yellow S, FD&C Yellow 6 or C.I. 15985. This chemical sure keeps a lot of namesakes, an advantage for manufacturers to confuse consumers. This is added to food to induce color change (like dyes and food coloring) but it may incite allergic reaction and was linked to causing hyperactivity in children. It was long banned for use in many countries long time ago.
  • High Fructose Corn Syrup. Since this sweetener is sweet, it is preferred by manufacturers for low-cost production. Sad thing is it was found to have mercury contamination.
  • Potassium Benzoate. The potassium salt of benzoic acid is a food preservative that inhibits the growth of mold, yeast and some bacteria. Fruit juices and other acidic food and beverages may be preserved with potassium benzoate and most countries in the Canada, US and European countries approved its use. However, in Europe, food with this content is not recommended for children.
  • Aspartame. It is an artificial sweetener which approval for use in US became a source of controversy. It is linked to obesity in children and other alleged disorders such as birth defects, cancer, diabetes, among others.
  • Sodium Benzoate or E112. This chemical is often used as a softdrink preservative and was said to cause damage and inactivate vital parts of a person’s DNA. Some illnesses related to the aging process such Parkinson’s, are said to be related to DNA damage.

Children’s consumption are different from that of adults, they are more prone to allergic reactions and their young bodies may not stand the harmful effects of chemicals and additives found in food and drug products. It’s up to us parents to protect them from such by being ‘smart moms who knows what’s best.’

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