The gifts we take home from Australia, include wisdom about raising healthy, active children

We are near the end of our year in Australia and our bags are filling up with items we have collected during the year. The gifts we take home from Australia, include not only fuzzy Koala key rings, brochures from the Opera house and memories of Roo cuddling but also the parenting wisdom modelled by our Aussie friends and promoted in the schools.

Aussies are known for being laid back and resilient.  This extends in so many ways to how they parent.  Their approach to children's sports is something to be modelled. Aussie kids are active, in part because Australian parents have created a relaxed environment for their children to explore physically while learning to be responsible and independent.

Our 10 year old and good friend on the top of Aussie's highest peak.  They were two of the 13 kids that hiked with us that day, the youngest of which was 3.

The push for kids to be self-reliant and active shows up at a young age with kids as young as 2 or 3 scootering, 4 and 5 year olds riding up steep hills without training wheels, kindergartners on skateboards or surfboards.  Obviously the beautiful weather in Sydney encourages an active lifestyle but this is enhanced by parents pushing kids to engage in challenging activities at a young age.  I noticed this the first time our 4 year old was in a stroller a shopping trip. I quickly realized that he was the only child over the age of 1 that was in a stroller.  It is very uncommon to see walking babies in a stroller and the are mostly on their scooters. This exemplifies the unspoken expectations that Aussies have for their kids and makes those expectations clear to the kids.

What is striking is not only how young the kids are but also the array of physical activities kids do and the amount of activity families engage in. Most of the kids in our area ages 4 to 15 were involved in multiple activities, including rugby, soccer, net ball, water polo, sailing, dance, cricket and more. Parents are more relaxed about injuries, competition, coaching approaches, etc., which makes it possible for kids to do so much and so many sports.  Families, also, prioritize team sports and athletic activities, which helps them maintain really busy weeks.

 The emphasis on activity is also supported in the schools with a lot more daily and weekly activity worked into the class schedule. At our local public elementary school there is a weekly gym class, an hour of recess as well as a morning outdoor break and several sports teams which compete during the school day.  There are several sport carnivals every year for swimming and running, which is a entire day devoted to the kids competing in those sports.  In addition each week on nice days the kids are walked down to a beautiful sports field to just run around or play a pick-up game.

My 5 year old running the 1K for the 'Athletics Carnival'. All Aussie kindergartners in the area run this race and the top three go to the district competition.  Avi came in 12th and didn't stop till the finish line.

Australians believe it is critical that kids are independent and resilient. This helps sustain all the physical activity they participate in. One father we know explained it the best when he said that coping with the 'scraped knees, bruised feelings and hurt arms that go along with team sports is critical to building a more resilient kid and thereby a more confident adult'.  We plan to take this Aussie wisdom home with us, along with all of the wonderful memories from our great year 'Down Under'.

The Best Diet Ever - because it is not really a diet.

Over the years, I have been asked to review diets either for clients or for other health professionals. There are so many varied diets out there yet they all share the same pitfalls, they are too narrow in their approach and are impractical for long-term application. This is true of diets written for adults and especially true of diets written for kids.

However, there is one diet that offers a practical approach for weight loss and that is the No S diet.  It is effective and practical because it is not really a diet at all.  I am writing about it because the No S approach (I will call it that b/c it is not a diet) is sensible not just for adults but also for kids who need to lower their weights.

The No  Diet ® 

The No S diet (http://www.nosdiet.com/) has three rules
no sweets,
no seconds
and no snacks, except on days starting with S.

Summary:

The beauty of this diet is how simple and pragmatic it is. It focuses on changing habits and the larger picture, rather than on calories or forbidden foods. The author aptly discusses how forbidden foods are often blamed for our woes and other diets suggest that merely eliminating various foods will lower our weights. The diet avoids calorie counting. Although appropriate for dieting, calorie counting (or GI index tallying) is ‘tedious and joyless’. Ultimately, as the writer of the No S diet points out, these other approaches fail and are not effective for the long term.

The No S diet doesn’t recommend specific foods, because most of our fatty, sugary foods and excess calories come from snacks, which are discouraged 5 days/week. As the author points out “an analysis of USDA food consumption data by David Cutler at Harvard University indicates that 90 percent of the increase in calorie consumption in men in the United States since 1977 has come from between-meal eating. For women, it's 112 percent -- calories from meals have actually gone down”. 

Critique:

The No S approach is simple and sensible. It reflects what I often suggest to my clients, old and young, although in slower steps. It also parallels what has become known as the 'French Paradox'.  

The website keeps it simple, which on the whole is valuable with one exception. The No S approach should include an encouragement for 'whole' foods rather than processed meals.  For long term health, a discussion about processed foods needs to be included.  Processed frozen dinners, fast food meals are missing key nutrients, especially for kids. More and more of our meals, in addition to snacks, are highly processed.  Ideally there should be a some focus on meals that have not been frozen, canned, dried, or packaged for extended periods of time. Perhaps the No S diet should include an S for no Super-long-ingredient-list foods, meaning if it has more than 5 ingredients on the package put it back on the shelf.

If you want more information, consider getting the book. The No S diet book expands on the website discussion points and offers some good additional information. There is a discussion about why alternative sweeteners are to be avoided.  The diet book is written without a lot of science to back it up; however he never suggests it is scientific and his approach is very sensible. For instance, he suggests that artificial sweeteners lack calories but using them will sustain our love of sweets and the poor habits we have developed because we love sweet flavors. Artificial sweeteners will not help us develop long-term healthy habits. Had I written this book I would have talked about the research showing that Artificial sweeteners actually cause insulin rises and don’t quell appetite hormones. His practical thinking on the subject seems very reasonable and brings the reader to the same end point.  This is in part why I like this diet for my younger clients.

Which Milk Should be in my Shopping Cart - Part Two - Raw milk, Whole Fat, 2%, Reduced Fat or Skim

My last blog http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2013/03/which-milk-should-be-in-my-shopping.html
addressed which milk is best for your kids,
when to choose cow's milk or an alternative and
which alternative is best .........

The question still remains, if you are opting for cow's milk, which of the 20 that are in the store should be in your fridge.  If you are like other Americans, your fridge might contain 4 different milks:whole milk for the toddler, skim milk for mom, lactose-free milk for the Lactose intolerant father and even a chocolate milk for the picky 3rd grader resistant to drinking anything but juice.  Is it really necessary or could you all be drinking one kind?

Concerns:

The controversy over which type milk has to do with whether
-homogenizing milk fat ruins a lot of good nutrients
-pasteurizing denatures beneficial proteins, especially using UHT
-does milk fat play a role in cancer
-does the whole milk/full cream milk have more of the hormones that increase our risk for heart disease
-does fat free milk help us lose weight or maintain a healthy weight

Processing:

First, it is important to understand how these milks are different.  Raw cow's milk has roughly 3.7% fat. The milk fat is made up of circlets of fat known as micelles or globules. These micelles glob together and form a thick cream layer on the top of any non-homogenized milk. The micelles contain not only fat but also many other nutrients.

In dairy plants, milk fat is separated off mechanically, regulating the amount of fat kept in the milk, giving us the different fat percentages in milks.

Any remaining fat is homogenized into the milk to create a uniform product that doesn't separate.  Homogenization breaks open the fat micelles, compressing and denaturing the enclosed nutrients. The argument against homogenization has to do with the denaturation it causes and the loss of many nutrients. After homogenization milk products are pasteurized, either by a standard method or using UHT (ultra high temperature) pasteurizing to create boxed milk that can stay on the shelf for a long time.


Percent Fat- which is best?

The fat in cow's milk contains saturated fats, conjugated Linoleic acids, pesticides, possibly remnant growth hormones, Insulin like growth factors and more. Some of these are associated with health benefits and some are associated with health risks. In most Western countries milk is either full cream (whole milk/ 3.6% fat),  reduced fat (2%) or skim (1-0%).

A large study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition closely looked at the relationship between milk fat and breast cancer. This study looked at 46 other studies that claimed milk had either a + and - associations with breast cancer.  Ultimately, neither the amount of dairy eaten or the percent fat of the dairy consumed increased or decreased a woman's risk of breast cancer.
Bottom line: No story linking milk fat and breast cancer; nor is the amount of milk eaten related to breast cancer.

Research into heart disease and colorectal cancer is also not conclusive. Studies trying to link whole fat milk and/or diets rich in milk products to heart disease or colorectal cancer do not have overwhelming data. If anything studies suggest that the conjugated Linoleic Acids rich in whole milk decreases our risk for heart disease.
Bottom line: Weight of evidence leans toward whole milk

Finally, the most common reason a dietitian suggests a switch in milk fat is to help a client lose weight.  However, many studies show that low fat milk is not effective in weight loss.

  A study last month in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, confirmed what other studies have found, women who replace their whole fat dairy products with reduced-fat dairy products do not lose more weight than women who continue to eat whole fat dairy products. Similarly, men in the study who switched to low fat products did not lose more weight. Unfortunately, they did decrease their dairy intake, as a result, and increased calories from other sources.

In two other studies, out of the Harvard Department of Nutrition, it seems that whole milk is even fine for a long term strategy. Their data confirms that men and women drinking whole milk do not gain more weight long term than those drinking low fat milk. Nor do those drinking low fat milk instead of whole milk, lose more weight.

In kids there are fewer studies but the data that is there is consistent.  Kids switching to low fat milk do not lose more weight and may even drink less milk.

Bottom line: Why risk kids drinking less milk when it is clear that they take in too little Ca and Vit D, already?  Drink whole fat milk, enjoy - it may lower your risk for heart disease and doesn't effect your weight.

Homogenization, Pasteurization, Raw Milk:

There are numerous blogs, discussions and articles about the benefits of Raw milk.  I, myself, have advocated for Raw milk in the past because it is a less processed food. However, there are no studies demonstrating the benefits of Raw milk and many documenting illnesses, even deaths, resulting from 'off' raw milk.  Raw milk can harbor certain types of bacteria that are kidney toxic and even lethal, especially in young children.

However, recently there is a body of evidence that suggests raw milk can lower allergy and asthma rates among farm children. Many Raw milk advocates site these studies to promote raw milk.  These studies document low numbers of farm kids suffering from allergies or asthma. The common thread among these kids is an early exposure to animals and the consumption of unpasteurized, non-homogenized milk (a great review of this is in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology,  2013 Mar;131(3):927).  

Bottom line: Theories promoting Raw milk are logical and appealing; but the risks associated with consuming tainted Raw milk are very high. If you are considering raw milk, do your research both online and on farm before you decide.

What should be in your fridge:

All the studies pulled together suggest no negative associations with whole milk consumption and possible benefits in heart disease prevention associated with drinking whole milk.  Low fat milk doesn't lead to weight loss in kids and may even cause them to drink less milk.  The best milk for your fridge may be whole milk, drink and enjoy.

Which Milk Should Be In My Shopping Cart? Part 1 - Cow's Milk versus Soy milk

Many people, seniors, parents, teens, friends with doctorates in Nutrition, ask me what is the best milk to drink. Generally they are asking about whether they should purchase Whole milk (4% fat), Low fat (2% fat), Skim (1% or less fat), or Soy milk.  This is a great question and the answers are so elusive because:

1. There is a lot of confusing, even conflicting press on this subject.

One day you will read that Cow's milk is unhealthy, unnecessary and allergenic as in the July, 2012, New York Times article, "Got Milk? You Don't Need It" by Mark Bitman.  But five months earlier the New York Times ran an article about a big study, 'Putting Numbers to Children's Milk Needs', which promoted the benefits of milk, especially for increasing kids' Vitamin D and calcium intakes.

Livestrong.com, the popular health and nutrition blog, published an article in 2011, "The Dangers of Soy Milk to Kids' Health' by Owen Bond.  The article talked about the allergenicity of soy, the danger in the estrogen-like compounds it contains and the negative behavioural associations with soy intake. Same year, same blog had just run an article extolling the health benefits of soy milk in young girls (by Steph Barnard).


2. The number of milk choices in stores is mind boggling.
In addition to all the conflicting information out there, the number of milk and milk products is growing. There are the standard milks that I list above and right next to them are the lactose-free versions followed by the almond milk, hemp milk, goat's milk, milk with added protein and unhomogenized choices. In addition, around the corner from all of those are the heat-stable milks that are boxed and on the shelves for months.

3. There is little good science making it through all the noise.

There is a vast amount of poor information on the web about milk and specifically which milk is best to consume.  This is in part because the research that holds this information is hard to understand and very limited.

I will use this and my next post to address question of milks. I hope to put this issue to rest for all us milk (lactose-loving and otherwise) consumers out there.


Part One - Cow's Milk versus Soy Milk or other alternatives

The most common reasons to avoid cow's milk include adhering to a Vegan Diet (diet that excludes all animal products), having a cow's milk allergy or lactose-intolerance or a belief that Soy milk or other milk alternatives are superior foods health-wise.

Obviously, if your beliefs dictate that you exclude animal proteins, cow's milk would not be on the menu and soy, hemp, almond, hazelnut, rice, oat or coconut milks would be fine.  However, all these milk-alternatives are not nutritionally equal.  Soy milk is superior among these choices. It offers more protein and other nutrients per ounce than any of the others.  If you don't tolerate Soy milk, then try some of the others but be sure they are fortified with calcium, especially if the youngsters in your household are drinking the product. After Soy milk, hazelnut or oat milk offer more fiber and protein than the others.

If you can't drink Cow's milk because of an allergy then consider the alternatives but note that some individuals have a cross-over reaction with Soy products.  If soy is tolerated than that is the superior alternative milk because it has much higher nutrient density than the other milks. If you don't drink cow's milk because of lactose intolerance try the Lactose-free milks.  Lactose-free milk is simply milk treated with enzymes that breaks the Lactose into digestible sugars.  It is a better choice than soy milk, because it still retains a lot of the fatty acids and other desirable nutrients that only occur in animal milks.  It is also less processed than soy milk.

However, many lactose-intolerant friends have reported that they don't tolerate the lactose-free milks and still have GI pain with those milks.  If you really want cow's milk and you have not found a product that you tolerate, try adding your own Lactase supplement to Lactose-free milk.  It is sometimes the case that there is residual lactose in these milks that can be digested using another squirt of enzyme.

But it may also be that what you thought was lactose intolerance is actually a cow's milk allergy and then no amount of enzyme will enable you to tolerate the milk.  Just as a side note, for those that are lactose-intolerant and are not keen on drinking milk, they can try Greek yogurt. Greek yogurt is made by eliminating a lot of the whey and lactose, making it creamier, less sweet and often tolerated by the lactose intolerant.



If you avoid cow's milk because you believe that there are healthier alternatives, you need to rethink that choice.  The fewer ingredients listed on a food label means that food has had undergone less processing and contains less preservatives.  In the case of cow's milk versus soy milk debate, many would argue that cow's milk has been pasteurized and homogenized, and therefore highly processed. I will discuss this more at length in part 2 of my blog on this topic, but even with these treatments cow's milk (or goats) is still a less processed

Soymilk production machine

than soy milk.  Soy milk production requires soaking, homogenizing, heating, pressing, filtering and pasteurizing. In order to be sold in US stores soy milk also has to contain calcium requiring a chelating agent like polyphosphate and many soy milks also contain preservatives to extend their shelf-life, along with sugars and colorings.




Lastly, if you are drinking milk to increase your calcium intake, the calcium in cow's milk is much better absorbed than the calcium in any of the other milk-alternatives. Not only does the lactose in cow's milk help increase calcium uptake in the body but other components in cow's milk help increase calcium absorption.  This is true of not just cow's milk but all animal milks.

Bottom line...cow's milk is a better option, if you are not vegan and you tolerate cow's milk.
Cow's milk offers the best calcium absorption and is actually a less processed product than the current milk alternatives offered in stores. If you are vegan and/or can't stomach cow's milk the next best option is soy milk, just look for the soy milks with the fewest ingredients on the label.

Coming soon....
See part two of this blog for which cow's milk you should put in your cart - skim, 1%, 2%, or full-fat.

Seeds...A tablespoonful each day helps boost your nutrition

Thanks perhaps to the 'Foodie' movement or 'Heirloom' movement it is a great time to be a seed advocate.  Grocery store shelves used to offer sunflower seeds and maybe poppy seeds but today's grocers carry flax seeds, chia seeds,  hemp seeds, varieties of sesame seeds (including black sesame), pumpkin seed, and some even have acacia seed (wattle seed).

I am drawing a distinction here with nuts, which are the singular seeds to a fruit while the seeds I am referring to are the propagating part of the plant. The distinction is important because seeds are nutritionally distinct and less allergenic.

Given that many schools have made nuts off limits on school grounds, seeds offer parents a way to give kids lots of fiber, calcium and omega-3's (see Seed Chart below).


Dietary Fiber....
There is a lot of data indicating that Western diets have too little fiber, increases one's risk for Diabetes, heart disease, Obesity, Irritable Bowel Disorder and GI problems.  Obviously whole fruits and vegetables offer large amounts of fiber but many seeds are also rich in fiber. In only two tablespoons of seeds, you can get up to 6-15 grams of fiber.  The recommended daily intake is 14g/1000 kcal eaten (grown ups need around 28g/d and kids need 14-28g/d).

Seeds are rich in soluble dietary fibers which form gels in our digestive system. This is beneficial if you have a family member who are diabetic or pre-diabetic.  It slows the sugar release from foods making it easier for the system to respond with insulin. Soluble fibers are also 'Heart-Healthy' and consuming these are associated with lower rates of heart disease.  Soluble fibers are heavily used by many in the US to help regulate our bowels - otherwise known as Psyllium seed husks or Metamucil.  While 2 tablespoon of Psyllium husks provide 19g of fiber, unlike chia, wattle, poppy or flax seeds, the Psyllium husks don't offer Ca or other nutrients along with the fiber.

Seeds can easily be added to dinners, sandwiches, salads or morning cereals. They are an easy way to increase one's fiber intake without a large bulk of intake.  Just two tablespoons of chia or flax seeds in your oatmeal or yogurt can take care of a 1/3 to 1/2 of your fiber needs.

Calcium
Several seeds (like many nuts) are rich in Calcium, the stand outs are chia, wattle, poppy and sesame seeds. Every year I torture my kids by speaking in their classes about the importance of calcium.  Children around the world are drinking less milk, exercising less/ moving less and getting less sun.  All of this means that there are a lot of adolescents out there building their bones with less Calcium, putting them at risk for very poor bone health later in life.

Increasing your calcium is easy if you tolerate dairy. Dairy offers concentrated calcium (290mg/cup of milk) and calcium that is well-absorbed because of the lactose around.  However, many cannot tolerate the proteins or lactose in dairy (my family being among those).  Of course we should all be getting more activity, more sunshine but the cow's milk-intolerant need to eat other calcium sources like almonds, pistachios, leafy greens and SEEDS.  Just two tablespoons on our fish or even into our Bolognese sauce will up the calcium 170 mg.  I often bake with different ground seeds, just adding small amounts to scones, muffins or morning pancakes.  Careful you don't add too much b/c all that  fiber can make baked goods a bit gelled.


Omega 3's
Western diets are too low in Omega-3 fatty acids. I talk about this in detail and why it is important in the blog "How Do We Get Those Omegas?".
http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2010/05/how-do-we-get-those-omegas-in.html

Western diets are high in Omega-6 fatty acids.  Omega-6 fatty acids compete with the 3's for absorption. We can fix this by rebalancing our diet and eating more omega-3's and less 6's.  Some seeds can help redress this, Chia being the star.  Two tablespoons of Chia seeds have only 139 calories, lots of fiber and a great ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 (about 3 to1).  Flax does also, but flax seed is harder for the body to breakdown. *Flax seeds produce a mucilaginous exterior when they are eaten, making them resistant to digestion and harder for the body to extract nutrients. When flax is ground it oxidizes really quickly, so that often the fatty acids are no good in the store bough ground flax. If you are willing to grind your own flax immediately before you use it then it is a great source of many nutrients.

Breakfasts...
Add seeds to oatmeal, straight into cereals, grind them for pancakes or put some in a yogurt.

Lunches...
Consider putting seeds to use in kids' lunches. We often offer the kids sesame stick treats in their lunches, sunflower seeds or pumpkins seeds for snack, and if I make a wrap for their sandwich I put some chia seeds in it.

Dinners...
Add sesame seeds to your salad dressing or sunflower seeds directly to any salads.  Many pastas taste great with the addition of roasted seeds.  Or tuck ground seeds into soups and make them heartier.

Any other ideas?  Let me know.

The number crunching details....

Seed Nutrient Profiles for Two Tablespoon Servings

Seed Type Protein (g) Fat (g) Fiber (g) Kcal Ca Omega-3 (mg) Omega-6 (mg) Acacia Seeds/ Wattle Seeds (for my Aussie friends) 6 1.7 15.2 79 117    n/a   n/a Chia Seeds 4 9 11 137 177 4900 1600 Flax Seeds 5 12 8 150 71 6400* 1700 Hemp Seeds 10 13 1 162 20 9 27 Poppy Seeds 5 12 5.5 147 400 76 7900 Pumpkin/Squash Seeds 7 13 1.1 150 12 51 5800 Sesame Seeds 5 14 3 160 273 105 5980 Sunflower Seeds 6 14 2 164 22 21 6450

Ca = Calcium

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

(image from realfoodforlife.com)

The New York Times #1 most emailed article right now is "Gluten-Free: Whether You Need It Or Not" by K. Chang.  Obviously, this is a hot issue and a new publication clarifies why we are all so interested in Gluten-free diets.  Published last year, a research group in Australia, found clear signs of Gluten-sensitivity in a population of men that did not have Celiac disease nor any amount of circulating "anti-gluten" antigens (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21224837).

Up until this study, most practitioners were skeptical about patients avoiding gluten and suggesting that a gluten-free diet had reduced signs of inflammation, decreased their arthritic-like symptoms, lessened their GI difficulties or increased their energy. Many practitioners believed Gluten-free diets to be fad-diets and the reports of symptom-relief were merely due to the placebo effect. However, this study took 30+ men off Gluten.  They then provided half of the group with gluten-free breads and/or muffins every day while the other half got regular bread and/or muffins every day (meaning with Gluten).  The men in the Gluten-free group had less pain, bloating, tiredness and had normal stools.   This is without any signs of inflammation or Celiac disease.

There are many theories about the rise in Celiac disease in our population and this newly recognized syndrome of Gluten Sensitivity.  What is interesting about this study is it puts to rest one of those theories.  It was thought that Gluten-free diets, typically lower in sugar and higher in produce, were alleviating symptoms not by eliminating Gluten but by lowering the sugar in their diet and increasing the produce.  In this study, the diets were all Gluten-free except for some bread products that only differed in gluten content.  Therefore, the men that had reduced symptoms of inflammation and less tiredness because of a decrease in Gluten and not because another food item was eliminated.

Is Gluten-free eating the way to go for everyone?  There are lot of aspects to a Gluten-free diet that can make it healthier than our standard diet. This could be especially true in a family that has a history of Gluten-sensitivity, irritable bowel issues or inflammatory illnesses.  However, it is only healthy if Gluten-rich foods are replaced with fruits, vegetables and whole grain gluten-free grains.  There are a lot of Gluten-free products on the market that sabotage all that makes Gluten-free diets good for us.

For  a more detailed answer to this question read my post: Is Gluten-Free the optimum diet for the US, what about kids?
http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2011/06/is-gluten-free-optimum-diet-for-us-what.html

2013 Resolutions for Healthier Kids and Healthier Families

In the spirit of the New Year's Season, I have been thinking about resolutions for my family for a healthy year and for all the HealthykidsHealthyFamilies readers.  Some of these are new goals for our family as our kids get older. Many are items that I have written about previously.  All of these top goals are supported by research out in the past couple of years. 

1. Give Vegetables and Fruit a Starring Role

For us this means a salad course first or cut raw veggies on the table while I am cooking dinner, carrots/cukes/etc. This also means veggies and/or fruit in each meal. There are veggies in lunch boxes and even veggies in our pancakes (see camping pancakes for tips on including veggies in your breakfast http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2012/12/healthy-kids-on-road-eating-well-while.html.  )

Remind kids that 1/2 of their plate should be vegetables or fruit.  For more tips on this see http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2011/07/veggies-whens-wheres-and-hows-of.html .

2. Get Kids Involved in Athletic Competitions

These could be the competitions that occur with their regular sports, like the soccer championships that their leagues are participating in or they can be local bike tours, fun runs or ocean swims (yes, we are trying an Aussie Ocean swim with the kids).  Numerous 10k runs offer kids' runs or 2k fun runs. Generally the kids' runs are short enough a toddler could run it; but some of the fun runs are 1 mile or more and perfect for older kids.  Bike tours and open swims can challenge kids to complete a longer distance in good company. 

Competitions are really valuable in growing a child's sense of self-confidence.  They provide a sense of accomplishment that weekly or even daily practices cannot match.  Children often need competitions to help appreciate how much their bodies are capable of doing.  

3. Increase Omega-3 Consumption

Omega-3 fatty acid content is too low in the modern Western diet and children have some of the lowest intakes of Omega-3's.  Omega-3 is a polyunsaturated fat that is critical to healthy brain and ocular development, important in immunity, inflammation, and more. Increasing your intake is one approach to increasing circulating Omega-3 levels.  Easy foods to get Omega-3's from are fish, some plant oils, certain nuts and seeds, algae and, interestingly, organic vegetables .

Another approach is to improve the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids.  This has been a controversial topic, since a study by Walter Willet  and other big wigs in nutrition suggested the ratio hasn't proven to be that important. However, a closer reading of their meta-analysis led me to the conclusion that balancing this ratio is valuable to maintaining health and preventing illness.  To look more closely at this issue see http://www.mamamianutrition.com/2010/12/omega-3-fatty-acids-part-2-what-does.html

or the Nutrition Diva's post on this topic http://nutritiondiva.quickanddirtytips.com/is-the-omega-ratio-a-myth.aspx.

Bottom line.... to have a better Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio, eat less processed food especially limiting the refined grains.  Not a bad bottom line no matter what the goal is.  Which leads me to the next resolution.


4.  Eat Whole, Fresh Food Whenever Possible

All roads lead to this point. The most nutrient rich foods are those that have the least processing. This doesn't refer to the cooking or baking it may receive in your home but to the more extreme processing that happens before it gets to the grocery store. Wherever you can try to switch to whole foods and limit the boxes and tins that go in the cart.


5. Include Active Family Time That Gets Everyone Outside

 It is great to model healthy living for your kids and even better to enjoy it with them.

6. Increase or Introduce Probiotic Foods

 Historically, people used to eat a much greater quantity of fermented foods, just because of preservation techniques.  One consequence of this was children had a lot more healthy bacteria in their gut and consistent source of prebiotic and probiotic food.

This past year studies have been published showing the benefits of increasing probiotics in kid's diets. These benefits go beyond the known benefits of decreasing diarrhoea and gastroenteritis.  Studies have found probiotics beneficial in decreasing allergies, asthma, allergy symptoms (such as skin problems, wheezing, and more), yeast infections, and limiting the effects of Chron's disease and ulcers.

The data indicating the benefits of probiotics in adults is more extensive.  Research suggests that fermented foods and probiotics are necessary to good health, especially for maintaining a healthy gut and immune system.

7. Enjoy, Enjoy and Enjoy

Fundamental to parenting healthy eating habits is modeling them. If we want children to enjoy food (especially to develop a palate that can enjoy diverse foods) we need to share our enjoyment with them.  

Eat slowly, take small amounts, savor the food you have been given, talk about what you taste, what you like, linger and encourage them to share what they can taste.

All the Best for a Healthy 2013!