Significantly Enhance Your Children's Health With These 4 Tips
ByJennifer Minar-Jaynes

Can you believe that FEWER than 5% of the typical American child's calories come from natural foods?

Instead of eating fresh fruit, vegetables, beans, raw nuts and seeds, our children are eating mostly highly-processed pre-packaged foods. They're also eating an alarming amount of fast food.

In fact, french fries constitute the most commonly eaten vegetable by the time our children are just 15-months old.

 "Time and health are two precious assets that we don't recognize and appreciate until they have been depleted." - Denis Waitley

This might explain why American children are the heaviest worldwide. And they're getting heavier at a faster rate than all other children around the world.

According to Joel Furhman, M.D. author of "Disease-Proof Your Child," a diet that consists of predominately processed foods and little to no fruits and vegetables guarantees weakened immune systems, frequent illness, shorter lifespan-and a much higher risk for developing several cancers later in life.

What's more, being overweight during childhood and adolescence isn't only uncomfortable and embarrassing for many children, it also GREATLY increases their risk of developing high cholesterol, hypertension, respiratory ailments, orthopedic problems, depression and type 2 diabetes--problems that no parent wants for their children.

Dr. Furhman offers these 4 tips to make over your children's diets & significantly enhance their health:

1. Stock your home with a variety of produce-especially fresh fruits, raw vegetables, and raw nuts and seeds.

2. Replace most foods of animal origin with foods or plant origin. If using animal products, use only white-meat poultry and eggs a few times a week and2 other animal products more infrequently.

3. Limit sweets and remove sugar, salt and white flour from the home, as well as all products with these ingredients.

4. Serve a cooked veggie main dish every night.

I would go one step further and recommend serving at least one raw vegetable at each meal and one raw fruit with every snack. Raw plant foods still contain all of their nutrients-and are a very important part of a healthy diet.

Dietary changes are some of the most difficult changes we will ever make. But they are also some of the most important, especially when it comes to our children's health.

Our children rely on us for guidance. So let's guide them toward making good food choices and show them they can love healthy foods. If prepared and presented the right way, a lot of these foods taste as good and are as enjoyable as the unhealthy versions.

Jennifer Minar-Jaynes writes about childhood nutrition and shares delicious, nutrient-rich recipes for kids at www.ProjectJennifer.com. She also writes about building successful blogs at /www.WritersBreak.com.

Article Source:  Significantly Enhance Your Children's Health With These 4 Tips

National website helps NC nonprofit further its mission.

Be Active North Carolina (Be Active) announced today its partnership with GetSweeaty.com that will leverage the national website to help raise awareness and encourage kids across North Carolina to lead healthy, physically active lifestyles. 

 
“We are thrilled to partner with Be Active North Carolina to promote physical activity and health,” said Angel Cicerone, President, Getsweaty.com. “We’re glad to align with Be Active’s existing presence in NC schools and offer the fun, free tools from our website to kids, parents and teachers to help them get active and reverse the growing childhood obesity trend.”

The partnership comes at a time when the need is great. Childhood obesity rates are growing and the need to find innovative ways to engage children in physical activity is great. Getsweaty leverages the growing interest and reliance on technology to promote fun and exciting exercises and activities that kids can do alone or as a group. Utilizing these free videos and student led activities, Be Active will connect the growing number of schools who participate in the Be Active Schools initiative with this free resource.

“Nearly half of North Carolina’s children do not get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day,” said Be Active’s Youth Program Manager, Evie Houtz. “Be Active Schools is a school-based intervention that offers schools and communities the resources needed to get kids moving and ultimately reverse declines in physical activity, boost academic performance, and diminish health risks. We’re excited to offer GetSweaty.com as one of those resources.”
Be Active North Carolina, Inc. is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting physical activity and healthy lifestyles across the state. Since 1991, the organization has worked to increase public awareness of the effects of physical activity, build grassroots advocacy and volunteerism, create model statewide programs, and advocate for policies that create opportunities for physical activity. To learn more about Be Active North Carolina please visit www.beactivenc.org 

Get Sweaty is the first video-based website that promotes physical activity for kids. The site is a completely free resource with incentives for kids and teachers. Check out getsweaty.com.

http://www.medifasthealth.org/blog/2011/03/22/the-best-brain-exercise/