Eating For Health

Why is Vitamin D Gaining so Much Public Attention? By Melissa Mackey      Today vitamin D deficiency is an unfortunate problem rising in many young children.   Children in today’s times do not drink as much milk and eat foods that have vitamin D, nor do they go outside and play as much.   Children are drinking more fruit drinks, sodas, watching T.V. and playing video games.   But doctors have found that children are in much need of vitamin D and that it is an extremely important vitamin.   Vitamin D not only helps build strong bones, but it also been found to increase the body’s immune system.   According to healthychildren.org, “A vitamin D deficiency can lead to rickets, a bone-softening disease that continues to be reported in the United States mostly in children in the first two years of life.”   Some say the children should take a vitamin D supplement, but it is also very important for children to get more outside play, a...

How many times have we heard a parent say, “If you’re good, you’ll get some candy.”   “If you are good, you will get a dessert.”    Or how many parents withhold food as a punishment? "Food Bribes Backfire" writes Jennifer Motl, a registered dietitian.     Why?    She notes that rewarding kids good behavior with sweets and other food can lead to weight problems and overeating.   She cites examples of parents rewarding kids with ice cream if they eat their broccoli.   Or reward them with French fries if they behave.   Some reasons a parent should not use food as a reward:        1.     Fullness vs Hunger:   A child may not be hungry for that candy bar or ice cream but when offered as a reward they may eat it anyway because they have been “good”.   But overeating can lead to becoming overweight.   And too many kids in the U.S. are overweight and obese. But withholding food as a p...

I remember growing up and playing outside was an everyday thing.   All children played outside every day.   We couldn’t wait to get off the bus, change into play clothes and head outside.   Weekends were spent outdoors the entire day.   When my children were growing up they would spend hours outside playing with their friends in the neighborhood.    Today, it is mostly silent outside.   Luckily, some kids still get the pleasure and health benefits of playing outside every day.   Sadly, many children are kept inside, hour after hour, day after day.   One organization now says kids have a vitamin N deficiency.   Or a nature deficiency as they never get to play outside and enjoy nature.   These observations are not just borne out by looking around one’s neighborhood, they have also been confirmed in a recent study in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine (April 2, 2012).     The researchers studied ...

Many parents worry about their child's eating habits. Children go through food jags, refuse foods and often reject good, healthy foods like vegetables. An interesting article appeared in our local paper with the title, "Market Veggies to Your Children" (Free Lance Star, Nov. 28, 2011). Surprisingly, the advice to get kids to eat more veggies comes from an economist, Brian Wansink, at Cornell University. Some of his suggestions include:      Focus on the good – such as saying a vegetable is a relatives favorite. Aunt Joan just loves green beans cooked this way.      Focus on some aspect of the vegetable : These green beans are grown in North Carolina. Have you been to North Carolina?      Give kids a choice : do you want peas or corn with your meal? Kids then think they are the ones making the decision to eat the vegetable.     Or focus on the health benefit of the food and give it a fun name. Mr. Wansi...

We all know that exercise is good for us. But how much exercise do we need? If you are a Minimalist : if you hate exercising and want to do the least possible to get by, how much exercise do you need for at least some health benefit? Well, you are in luck Some research just out of Taiwan indicates as little as 15 minutes of exercise a day can provide some health benefits. We are not talking about being fit and trim at 15 minutes a day but some exercise is clearly better than no exercise. In the Taiwan study, they wanted to know if exercising less than the recommended 30 minutes a day, had some health benefit. They studied 416,000 Taiwanese adults, asked them how much they exercised the previous month and followed them for 8 years. Those who did little exercise, only 15 minutes a day, did cut their risk of death by 14%. They also extended their life by 3 years over those who did no exercise. What does this research say for all of us: Some exercise is better than no exercise. Get ...