The best magazine
American children are more overweight than they ever were before.
The onset of adult diabetes is coming earlier and earlier.
A friend of mine was diagnosed with Diabetes during her freshman year in college and she died of a massive heart attack at 40 years old.
This does not have to happen to your children.
Children do not have to be allowed to chose the contents of the family cupboard.
They don't know what composes a healthy diet, nor should they have to care.
They should be safe in their own home.
The American food industry has asked their chemists to make products that are addictive and that block your normal indicator that you have had enough to eat.
The result is that when you sit down to eat a donut or a Twinkie, you have no sense that one is enough.
It is just as easy to eat two or three as one.
High Fructose Corn Sugar (HFCS) is one of the ingredients that blocks leptin, the fat-regulating hormone that lets your brain know that you're full.
Not only that, but when test groups are given either glucose or HFCS in beverages, they both gained fat, but the HFCS group gained more belly fat.
Belly fat has been shown to be linked to diabetes and heart disease.
So, HFCS puts your child's health at risk in two ways, adding extra fat by shutting down leptin, and adding that fat at your belly where it is more likely to cause diabetes and heart disease.
Finally, a child's stomach is about the size of one or one and a half of your fists depending on his or her age.
If you allow this small organ to be filled with donuts, cupcakes or even bread or Fig Newtons, then there is less room for the nutritious foods that he needs for health.
What Can you do for Snacks? Most children like yogurt, and this contains protein as well as the calcium that they need.
However, most store brands contain too much sugar and will feed their sugar addiction.
You can make your own by buying berries(frozen during the winter) or melon or banana.
These are delicious when added to natural low fat and unsweetened yogurt.
Additionally, you can add honey or truvia, Sun Crystals or stevia for sweetening that isn't addictive and that won't cause diabetes.
Walnuts can be a delicious addition if your child likes them.
And, if you want to make the meal more satisfying, add some soy flour to improve the protein content.
While we're on that subject, fruit cut up and available when your child comes home is always welcome.
When I worked with children who didn't like melon, or citrus, we found that a fruit cup with their favorite apple, banana and cut grapes worked fine.
That added enough of the flavor that was their preference that they would eat spoonfuls which also contained the fruit they didn't like.
And, walnuts and almonds are exceptional nuts to add as satisfying snacks in their lunch boxes.
Yes, it's easier to hand them a few cookies or crackers, but this is more likely to be the snack the school provides and provides no nutritional value.
The health of your children is up to you.
Source: ...