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Seven Tips to Get Your Kids to Eat Healthy

As a preventive health-care specialist, Dr. Bodo encourages patients to make nutrition a priority. Healthy eating is especially important for young people. Scientific research revears that children's diets influence their future risk of a wide range of disorders including Alzheimer's disease, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. A mounting body of evidence also indicates that a child's nutritional status has a direct influence on his or her cognitive ability, attention span and school performance. Unfortunately, most children are not consuming adequate amounts of disease-fighting foods. Of 168 preschoolers who took part in a recent weeklong study, none ate the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of five servings for fruits and vegetables per day (The New England JournalofMedicine 1991;325:606-12). However, for many parents, encouraging their little ones to eat healthful foods is an overwhelming venture. It's difficult to address that plea to swing by the fast food drive-in when a refusal may spark a tempertantrum. To help parents surmount this challenge, Dr. Christiana has compiled seven tips that have been shown to effectively foster nutritious habits in youngsters. 1. Look to Your Chiropractor for Nutritional Advice Nutrition is a key component of a wellness-oriented lifestyle. But keeping up with the current onslaught of nutritional research can be challenging. That's why, each month, Dr. Christiana presents a new Optimal Health UniversityTM handout on a specific nutrition-related topic. By clearly and concisely discussing one issue at a time, patients easily learn about late-breaking research and how to separate fact from hype when it comes to nutritional information. In addition, by taking one step each month toward better nutrition, over time patients enjoy significant improvements in their general health status and energy level - and learn to transform their entire family's eating habits! 2. Set An Eating Example As with most child-rearing issues, when it comes to nutritio actions speak louder than words. Experts agree that the single most effective strategy for parents who want their kids to follow nutritious diets is to adopt a wholesome diet themselves (Journal of the American Dietetic Association 1998; 11: 1282-9). In one analysis; scientists at Boston University School of Medicine tracked 92 youngsters (aged 3 to 5 years) for six years. Findings showed that children whose parents watched their own caloric intake were unlikely to develop obesity. In contrast, children whose parents flipflopped between dieting and impulsive eating were at a high risk of becoming overweight (International Journal of Obesity 2000;24: 131925). Another study looked at 270 fathers, 309 mothers and 347 15-year olds. All of the 15-year olds also chose a friend to participate in the study. Through data collected from questionnaires, investigators found that family - as opposed to friends plays a much more significant role in cultivating eating habits (Preventive Medicine 1998;27:645-56). Besides setting an example by munching on wholesome foods, it's also vital for parents to exemplify a healthy food attitude. While stressing that eating in moderation is important, it's just as essential to steer clear of labeling certain foods as "good" or "bad." Parents who associate guilt or negative feelings with eating, or who "sneak" foods, eat obsessively, use food as reward or punishment, or diet constantly can pass destructive habits on to their kids - setting them up for long-term eating disorders. So, if you're struggling with harmful eating behaviors get help before you affect your children's long-term wellbeing - ask your doctor of chiropractic to refer you to a qualified eating disorders specialist in the community. 3. Create a Nutritional Oasis You may not be able to control what your family eats while they're away from home, but you can ensure that their at-home diet is superlative. Transforming your house into a nutritional oasis is simple: stop buying "junk" foods altogether. Instead, stock your cabinets and - refrigerator only with wholesome items. This way, any snack your child reaches for will be a healthy one! 4. Makeover Mealtime Psychologists have long advocated family dinners as a powerful tactic for promoting communication and togetherness while preventing conflict. Now, recent research reveals that family meals may also ward off disease. The analysis enrolled 8,677 girls and 7,525 boys, aged 9 to 14 years. Subjects answered questions about the number of meals they ate with their families, overall food intake and lifestyle factors. Results revealed that more than half of the nine-year olds shared daily dinners with family. On the other hand, only one-third of 14-year olds partook in regular family meals. Compared with children who did not dine with family, those who did polished off significantly more fruits, vegetables, fiber, folic acid, calcium, iron and vitamins B6, B 12, C and E. Children who shared meals with loved ones also ate fewer saturated fats, soda, fried foods, processed meats, red meats, snacks and foods that raise blood sugar levels (Archives of Family Medicine 2000;9:235-40). So, you know that eating together is a good idea - but today's hectic schedules make this goal difficult to implement. However; even the busiest families can make family meals a priority. How? First, start slowly. Choose a few meals a week to eat together. (Even one family meal a week is far better than none!) Rather than dictating what meals you'll share, hold a meeting to choose times that all family members can commit to. If your schedules don't allow for any family dinners, consider waking up a half-an-hour earlier a few days a week to share breakfast. Involve the entire family in meal planning and preparation. Ask your little ones'to design one meal a week using nutritious foods. Encourage youngsters to sample new foods by scheduling "theme" meals, which highlight dishes from specific countries or regions. Dividing preparation and clean-up tasks also makes family meals less daunting. 5. Vitamin Lesson Do you wish to teach your children about nutrition? Then first do some research of your own - check out a nutrition book from your local library, or ask to borrow one from the clinic's library. Make a list of the vitamins and minerals contained in common fruits and vegetables and the benefits specific nutrients have for physical wellbeing. Hang this list on your refrigerator and ask your kids to look up the advantages of certain foods you prepare. 6. Offer Fun Foods Variety is key to instigating kids to eat fruits and veggies. Be creative! Your youngsters may turn up their noses at apples, peas and broccoli but they may gobble up more exotic produce such as kiwis, papayas or sweet potatoes. Can't get your little ones to crunch down on salad? Try concocting a kid-friendly dressing by combining olive oil with strawberry vinegar. 7. Don't Give Up! Children often refuse certain foods in an attempt to assert themselves not because they don't like the dish. Never force a child to consume a food they don't want to eat. Rather, after a few weeks or months, re-offer your youngsters foods they have rejected. Recount instances when you changed your mind about certain food preferences and make it clear that it's OK for them to change their minds too. Use positive reinforcement - avoid reprimanding children when they make poor food choices. Instead, flood them with positive messages when they pick nutritious items. Most of all, be patient. Children's eating habits change slowly - but if you set a good example, offer nutritious foods and attack the situation with love and respect, your little ones' eating habits will eventually change.

Our purpose is to educate and adjust families toward optimal health