Follow-up to Master Alvas’ “Raising Children” Tune Up
Part I: Are We Unknowingly Making Our Children Sick?
As parents, we want what is best for our children. We are, as Master Alvas has pointed out, the custodians of their future, even if preparing them for the world at large means enforcing rules. We take the role of protecting our children very seriously, and we would never intentionally harm them. We read to them at bedtime, insist that they wear their seatbelts, but when it comes to food, somehow we falter.
In fact, we have failed so significantly to nourish our children that the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has predicted that this is the first generation of children that will NOT outlive their parents. We notice that our children are frequently ill, suffering from recurring ear infections, runny noses, stomachaches, headaches, allergies, asthma, strep throats, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADD or ADHD), and even autoimmune diseases. The doctor prescribes yet another round of antibiotics. All this is normal for children —right?
Wrong! Our children have gradually become “picky eaters” and only eat pizza, pasta, hamburgers, chicken fingers or candy and chips. The busyness of today’s world overwhelms us; we shuttle kids from school to activities, trying to get the homework done and find ourselves with no time to prepare proper meals. We rely on fast-food or frozen foods instead of providing our children with the nutrition they need without realizing the effect that food can have on a child’s developing body. As a result, the number of obese and overweight children has tripled in the last thirty years, and the number of cases of type 2 diabetes (a disease once called “adult onset diabetes”) has increased at an alarming rate.
But what if our children are not overweight? Is this pattern of eating junk food in place of fruits and vegetables really setting our children up for disease? The results reported by the 1992 Bogalusa Heart Study, which studied autopsies performed on children killed in accidental deaths, confirmed that most children and teenagers already had significant plaque buildup in their arteries! Unfortunately, heart disease often goes undetected, giving it the common label, the silent killer. American children consume less than 2% of their diet from natural plant foods such as fruits and vegetables. Amazingly, about 25% of toddlers between ages one and two eat no fruits and vegetables at all. By the time American children are 15 months old, French fries have become their most commonly consumed vegetable! They move into adulthood eating 90% of their calories from dairy products, white flour, sugar, and oil.
While we have educated our children about the dangers of smoking cigarettes and the use of recreational drugs, we just don’t realize how damaging eating foods on the kids’ menu really is! In fact, The World Health Organization (WHO) has recently stated that more people die today from eating a diet full of junk and processed foods than from cigarette and illegal drug use combined. We wouldn’t allow our children to sit at the table, smoking and drinking, but we don’t think twice about regularly giving them cola, fries and cheeseburgers, foods that are shockingly more harmful. Many parents do not grasp how detrimental these eating patterns really are. Although we would never mean to do anything to hurt our children, every day we are unknowingly causing significant harm.
Because the modern childhood diet creates an environment for cancer to emerge at a later age, trying to prevent breast, prostate and other cancers in adults may not be possible. In other words, childhood diets create adult cancers. That’s right: when our children don’t eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and instead eat processed foods and junk food, the groundwork may be laid for cancer and other diseases.
The good news is that scientific research has demonstrated that humans have an extremely powerful immune system. Our bodies are self-repairing, self-defending organisms. Ear infections, strep throats, allergies, attention deficit hyperactivity disorders (ADD or ADHD), and even autoimmune diseases can be prevented by sound nutritional practices early in life.
However, WE have to take control. We must realize that making excuses such as “my son only eats chicken fingers and French fries” is a form of negligence on our part. Children’s eating habits are DIRECTLY influenced by our own and are completely dependent on what we feed them, because—remember—they don’t do the food shopping. As the guardians of our children’s health, we are also the guardians of their eating habits. We have the power to save our children from a life of disease if we choose to provide them with food that will nourish them properly. The truth is that all of our efforts to give our children the best of everything will be in vain if they lead lives of poor health. We need to transfer the passion, discipline, and love that we put into rearing our children to the breakfast, lunch and dinner table.
Stay tuned for Part II:
10 Secrets to Get Your Kids to Eat More Fruits and Veggies
About the Contributing Authors: Frustrated by the lack of a healthy, smart, cool role model for their five and six year-old children, Hillary Feerick and Jeff Hillenbrand created the Mitch Spinach children’s book series. They decided to combine their expertise (Jeff holds a BS in Exercise Physiology, and Hillary holds a BA and MA in English) to teach kids about the importance of eating healthy foods and reduce the number of children struggling with weight, chronic colds, ear infections and other nutrition-related problems.
The Secret Life of Mitch Spinach was written in collaboration with renowned, board-certified family physician, Joel Fuhrman, M.D., who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutritional and natural methods.
To get kids on the right track with healthy eating, pick up a copy at USK Karate. You can also learn more nutritional information and order online through this link: http://www.MitchSpinach.com/.
