Posts Tagged ‘attention deficit hyperactivity’

Nutrition and Your Child

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Are you one of those parents who are overprotective of their kids? Do you feel like you have to shield them from all the harm and dangers in life? Well, much as we want to be our kids’ superheroes, we can not be their beck-and-call 24 hours a day. While superman can smell danger way before it happens, we are powerless to know when our children are in danger until something has already happened to them.

Smart parenting does not stop in preventing your kids from falling down on their knees when playing, or in warning the neighborhood bully to stay away from them. Introducing them to proper nutrition for children early on can be your biggest challenge as a parent.

Basically, all parents know, and probably the kids too, that veggies are very important in nutrition for children. However, veggies are not as tempting to the taste buds as pizza or hamburgers, so getting your children to eat their share would probably take longer than the time you prepared the meal.

Parents should start introducing veggies as early as possible. Letting your older infant or your toddler eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables will help them eat more as they grow up. Also, serve veggies with those low-fat dressing or mix the vegetables with some other dishes that your children like to eat.

Aside from veggies, there are other issues on proper nutrition for children. One traditional belief that has earned scientific contradiction is that all children should have a vitamin-mineral supplement. Contrary to what is commonly believed, most children do not need this supplement. If your children are exposed to healthy eating habits, then they will get all the necessary nutrients from their food. Remember that a child’s health is not dependent on a single meal but his eating pattern in general.

Another myth that parents have always seriously considered is that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is allegedly a result of too much sugar intake. Misconception on the effects of sugar has been longstanding. Candies, gums, cake, ice cream, and other foods high in sugar content are said to have caused children to become hyper and irritable. However, there is no scientific evidence that proves this claim.

Parents always want the best for their kids. Proper nutrition for children has taken a backseat for some because parents give in to their kids’ whims rather than enforcing to them what really need to be done. Setting a good example especially during mealtime may get them to eat the kind of foods that they need. Make them learn from you. After all, shouldn’t you know best?

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Article Source: Nutrition and Your Child

The Consequences of Poor Nutrition

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

A person’s weight is not the only way to assess poor nutrition. The more dangerous indications are not those that can be seen physically. There are numerous health-related and social issues resulting from a person with poor nutrition. Well naturally, poor nutrition leads to poor health. But is it the only consequence?

Poor nutrition can be risk factors of many dreaded diseases. Heart Disease is one major health risk resulting from poor nutrition. Eating foods high in fiber but low in saturated fat, coupled with exercise may eventually lessen the risk. High Blood Pressure and Strokes are very much related. Over time, high blood pressure may lead to the building up of clots on the walls of the arteries which lead to stroke. Proper diet and physical activity should be regularly practiced to lower the risks. One out of three cases of Cancer is due to poor nutrition. Diabetes is also a result of an improper eating pattern and sedentary lifestyle.

A good nutrition is composed of the following: carbohydrates, fat, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. A lack on any of these or too much of one of the components may result to a deteriorating health and other complications as well. Scientific research has gathered that poor nutrition early on in a child’s life brings about social problems. The child develops an antisocial and aggressive behavior which he will have to live with till the end of his adolescent years. An equally shocking result of the research pointed out that poor nutrition influences the brain development. A deficiency in the nutrients associated with brain development has been said to lead to low IQ which later on brings about the antisocial and violent behavior.

Some experts have linked poor nutrition to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). An opposing party has argues that there are no scientific proofs that confirmed the association of poor nutrition to ADHD. However, the social aspect of a person has been known to have been influenced by poor nutrition. An antisocial and aggressive temperament caused by malnutrition may not exactly be ADHD but let’s not wait and become the proofs that ADHD is indeed a result of nutrition deficiencies.

Let’s spare our children all the complications caused by improper nutritional practices. While there are a lot of things that are beyond our control, our eating habits are within our power. Let us not modify our eating patterns simply to look good. What our body tells us is far more important than what people say about our looks. Let us take control. Changing what was once a poor nutrition practice can actually make us look and feel good inside and out.

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Article Source: The Consequences of Poor Nutrition