Back to School Health Tips, Part 2

To continue from last time, I have some more specific suggestions I've seen work in our practice, to help your family "raise the nutritional bar".

To teach your kids how to make the best food choices (this also works for grown-ups!), keep it real simple. We teach that your primary daily food choices should come from foods that "God grows": foods that can be grown in a garden, in an orchard or raised on a farm. Kids seem to get this concept pretty quickly. Let's not complicate it at this point by mentioning all the genetically modified crops, irradiated meat, hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, etc. that are regularly used in our conventional food industry! They may never eat again if you tell them all that now!

I think the first step just really needs to be REAL food. After you've accomplished that, then you can work on investing in the cleanest and most nutritious sources of that food that you can get your hands on (organic, fresh, local, seasonal, grass-fed vs. grain-fed beef & bison, free-range chicken and eggs, etc.)

Next, we work on empowering kids by teaching them to make healthy choices even when you're not around. In our family, we teach our kids to choose a healthy protein source first - like the 'clean' meats we purchase, organic free-range eggs, almonds, nut butters and limited organic yogurt and cheese. When they're not with us, &/or we're not in control of the food choices available, we usually don't expect to see the cleanest versions of these proteins made available. We don't sweat it too much... we know they eat amazingly well most other times! I do try to steer our kids away from conventional meats as much as possible - some health experts say that the muscle tissue that comprises meat really has an affinity for all the toxins (steroids, antibiotics, radiation, hormones, etc.).... and you can't exactly wash this out of the meat!

The very next nutritious choice to make is vegetables. That was plural! Our kids are asked to choose at least 2 veggie sources with their meals and snacks.

Next is fruit.

Finally, once they've done a great job filling up with the healthiest foods, then they can choose a starchy food. In our meals at home, we don't have a whole lot of these. But when they're at a friends house or a party, at least they understand that all the crackers, breads, potatoes, rice, etc. doesn't come before protein, veggies and fruit.

Of course, this doesn't account for all the sugary foods, snack foods, junk foods and 'treats'. Those have no place on the optimal health list! I understand that they do have a place on the real life list though! Just remember, all choices have consequences!

We never say never. We just make sure the top of the list has been completed first.... and we don't use sweets, junk or other fake foods as bribery. Kids need to understand the importance, and the lifelong benefits of choosing healthy foods. The reward is lifetime wellness, NOT toxic junk that harms them in the long run. If you want to splurge on sweets, like we certainly do from time to time, let's not confuse that with a choice that moves us toward health. And let's certainly not call it a 'treat' if it's actually harmful to our health! It's perfectly OK to CHOOSE a less-than-ideal food. Just be clear about it with yourself, and especially with your children.

Remember:

1) As much as you possibly can, provide real foods for your kids (food that is grown or raised). Then work on purchasing/growing the cleanest sources possible.

2) The hierarchy of healthy choices: protein, vegetables, fruit then starch.

Back to School Health Tips, Part 1

It's hard to believe that September is just around the corner... kiss these lazy, hazy days of summer good-bye!!

In our upcoming back to school kids' nutrition and performance workshops in our office, we'll be talking a lot about parenting "the wellness way". The first element to adopting a wellness lifestyle is mindset. It's how you think, what you know and your philosophy of health that will determine the actions you take with your health and your family's. You need to do your homework when it comes to health. We certainly can't believe what the savvy marketers 'teach' us on television. That's scary, and a surefire way to move away from wellness!

Next, as a parent, you've got to take back the reins! Your child's health is up to YOU! I understand perfectly well that you can't "control" them, or be with them 24/7 to monitor every morsel that goes into their mouth. BUT, you can lay down the law and help your child make better nutritional choices for life. Similar to teaching them morals, right from wrong, manners, etc. Teach them how to make the best choices... even when you're not around. But first, just like when teaching a toddler to say 'please' or risk not getting what they want, you'll need to establish clear expectations and then help your child stick to them... comfortable or not. Hey, it's about their HEALTH... as parents, we should see beyond any initial discomfort and anticipate a healthier lifestyle as a result.

In our practice, we teach that the easiest way to accomplish this is not by taking away the "bad", but rather by adding more "good". For example, instead of telling your child that he can no longer drink soda pop, you could start to provide more pure water for him to drink throughout the day. More on that in a bit.

Anyhow, if you're going to make improvements in your child's health this school year, some of this mindset shifting needs to begin now... before they're knee-deep in bad habits at school! I feel very strongly about your role as the protector/defender of your child's health. It's time to let your child know that it's your job to keep them healthy. We like to say it's time to "put on a different hat". Tell your child it's time for you to wear your "I love you and I'm going to help you stay healthy" hat! They may not always like it, but I'm OK with that! You wouldn't let them go out and use drugs or drink alcohol... right??!!! Sounds silly! Well, for me, it sounds silly, and equally dangerous, to let your child regularly consume toxic foods. It's OK - you didn't know! Once you know though, it's time to take action!

Let your child know that in order for them to be ready for school... to be stronger... to have more energy... to build their immune system, (whatever works for them!), that you need to help them build some health in the weeks remaining before school. Some examples we're using with parents in our practice are:
- add daily fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids) to build a strong, healthy brain and nervous systemadd - daily vegetables and fruit to strengthen the immune system and give energymake sure to eat - lean and clean protein to build strong, lean muscles - add more pure water to keep their bodies clean, energetic and hydrated

If you're feeling a little adventurous with this process, go ahead and work with your child to decrease (or eliminate) some of the most toxic nutritional habits they have, like pop, fast foods, junk food, processed/factory foods, excess sugar, high fructose corn syrup, conventional dairy products, etc. Yikes! Some change is not for the timid! We'll talk more about this in upcoming blogs. For now, work on re-establishing your authority (if you've lost a bit of it over the years!), and gain the respect of your children by demonstrating that you are knowledgable when it comes to nutrition. Also, let's not forget to state the obvious... your children 'hear' your actions much louder than your words. If you need to get back on track with your nutritional health, go for it! The September back to school season is the perfect time to make a fresh start and turn things around.

The Guilt of Motherhood

Yesterday at swim class with the kids, I ran into a mom who is on my newsletter mailing list. She turned to me after class and confessed, "I feel SO guilty everytime I read your health tips for kids... like I'm a horrible mom!" I think I actually felt the arrow hit my heart as she spoke these words.

The last thing I want is for moms who are simply doing their best to feel guilty about their child-rearing decisions. I truly believe that moms will do whatever they feel is best for their children. The problem I plainly see is that most moms are never given enough truthful, unbiased health, nutritional and medical information to base their decisions upon. That's MY job to help fix that.

So moms, we're together on this journey. We each do what we can to give our children the best. We all experience different limitations or challenges at various points throughout mothering. Sometimes, we may not financially be able to 'swing' buying all natural insect repellant and sunscreen... BIG DEAL! Do your best in other health-related areas and let go of the guilt. You're making a choice. As long as you remember the consequences of your choices, you're on the right track for creating optimally healthy kids.

I recently had a discussion with a mom who told me she couldn't afford organic foods, let alone all the body care products I recommend. During our chat, she realized that the money she spent every week on fast food meals, "designer" coffees and soft drinks could easily pay for several improvements in her family's lifestyle choices. When I consult with parents, it's usually much easier than they think to add healthier options for their family.

Remember... this is a NO GUILT ZONE! Moms have enough on their plates... there's absolutely no room for wasting energy on useless guilt!!! So there.

Birthday Party at OUR House!

Parents, mostly moms, have asked me, "Ok, so what do YOU do for YOUR kids' birthdays???" I laugh and say, "NOTHING! There will be NO fun in our house - only strictly enforced health rules!"

My daughter celebrated a birthday last week and had a big, loud, fabulous party over the weekend. What a great time!

To keep it healthy and simple, I served a tray of organic fruit (strawberries, blueberries and red & green grapes), a tray of organic veggies (carrot sticks, cucumber wheels, broccoli and grape tomatoes -really a fruit, I know!), organic blue corn chips with organic salsa and mexicali dip, organic potato salad, organic chicken hot dogs and organic chicken brats with organic buns and condiments. For drinks we had bottled water and organic juice boxes. Since it was a very hot day, I also encouraged the kids to drink the water before they had juice. They all agreed.

We had all the aformentioned food out for a good 2 + hours before we ever served birthday cake. I watched the kids - they had several servings of fruit and veggies early on in the party. BINGO! That's all I'm lookin' for! As I've said before, if you fill up with health first (give your body what it needs to be healthy), then I say if cake is what you want... go for it! Those kids were overflowing with healthy food by the time we brought out the cake! So many of them were too full to eat even half of their cake... oh, so sad! They left a nice big piece of NON-organic, completely delicious cake for ME! Hey, I ate plenty of broccoli first!

All the parents were surprised at the party favor bags I had prepared for the kids. I just can't stand the junk that has crossed our threshold in those cute little baggies! I stuffed the gift bags with individual size bags of organic chocolate chunk cookies, organic animal crackers and organic Clif bars for kids. Sure, they got an overdose of starchy carbs... but I feel a TON better about what was going home in that bag than what I've previously seen.

The kids were lovin' it! I heard a couple dicussing their excitement and surprise by the fact that there was such a thing as "healthy" chocolate chip cookies! (I may have created some monsters!) I was stunned by the number of parents who said, "I just never even thought to give the kids something healthy in there!" Wow. My purpose in life has been reaffirmed!