We've all listened to the health care debate in the US. It's clear that the cost of health care in the US will exceed anyone and everyone's ability to pay very soon, as the baby-boomers start feeling the effects of old age. Yet this is nothing compared to the total disaster that is already appearing from the obesity epidemic among children.
One third of American kids are overweight or obese. These young people will need ever-increasing care beginning in their twenties and thirties as they succumb to diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. According to Dr. Mercola, "The very future of the developing world is at stake as a result of our exploding problem of obesity. . . . Research calculations indicate that by mid-century, the growing risk of serious obesity-related illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and cancer, could lower the current average life expectancy by as much as five years."
Will our children have a shorter lifespan than ours?
What is Really Making Your Child Fat?
The human body evolved over thousands of years to benefit from natural, organic foods. Processed foods, especially those with high-fructose corn syrup, refined grains, preservatives and artificial sweeteners do not provide the nutrients that are bodies demand. Our bodies are very intelligent; they know when they need nutrients. When we are fed processed food, our bodies know that they need more, so they call out, "Feed me!" but if we give it just more junk food with its empty calories and excess fats, sugar and salt, it will continue to call for more nutrition in a vicous cycle.
Soda is a major problem--it makes the body acidic. Your body is supposed to be alkaline. You'll remember from high school chemistry how important pH is in a chemical reaction. Now think of the thousands of tiny chemical reactions occurring in your body every second as your body processes nutrients, expells waste from cells, rebuilds cells and create hormones to send messages among organ systems. An acid body disrupts every chemical reaction to some extent.
Yet we spend 90% of our food dollars on processed foods and sodas!
Twelve Life-Changing Steps
- Drink pure water, not sugary juices and soft drinks. Children can easily cut down on the amount of sugar (calories) they eat by eliminating soda and juice.
- Learn your child’s Nutritional Type and plan meals that optimize their health. Parents must educate themselves.
- Learn about the glycemic index of foods. Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates or sugars generates a rapid rise in your child’s blood glucose level. High glycemic foods will cause your child to tend toward diabetes. They will build excessive fat and reduce the production of necessary growth hormones.
- Decrease or eliminate TV time and remove the TV from your child’s bedroom. Children should play much and watch little. The passive activity of TV is detrimental to the child's physical and mental growth.
- Increase exercise. A child should get 60 minutes of vigorous exercise per day.
- Help your child address emotional eating. Your child may be more stressed than you realize. Teach your child to manage stress without food.
- Be a good example to your child! Eat fresh foods, drink pure water, and exercise.
- Build your child's self-esteem. Don't make jokes about your child’s weight. Don't compare your child to others.
- Teach your child about the benefits of a trim, toned body and the dangers of junk food and being sedentary.
- Cook healthy meals for your family, and let your child be involved in making dinner.
- Encourage your child to make healthy food choices and praise them when they do.
- Don't use food as a reward of punishment. Either one will increase the psychological issues of food.
Creating health is simple: return to the basics of whole, fresh, organically-grown foods packed with all the nutrients your body needs; get adequate exercise and sleep.
