The Benefits of Having a Well Nourished Child

You are what you eat. This applies to children just as it does to adults. The benefits of making sure that your child eats properly straight from age 0 to 19 are many.

Here is what you can accomplish for your child if you try to bring them up right and teach them to shop well and eat well —

• An emotionally balanced individual who is less likely to suffer from mood swings or depression because the proper nutrition has allowed their brains to develop correctly
• A physically healthier person who is less prone to diseases of all kinds (this is especially true of kids who were breastfed and not fed bottled milk all of their lives.)
• A person who is not likely to develop allergies or other disorders (also the result of being breast fed instead of bottle fed)
• A person who is less prone to obesity (because they have not been exposed to sugar at a young age)
• An individual that has a healthy self-image and does not need to resort to behaviors like bulimia or anorexia (because he or she has not grown up in a household where food is used as emotional blackmail or as a punishment or a reward)
• A calm productive person who does well in school (because a well nourished brain is one that is able to focus and does not develop problems like ADD)
• A richer adult who does not blow money on expensive junk food or impulse purchases at the grocery store (because he or she does not experience cravings)

• A person who can cook healthy nutritious meals and pass good lifestyle habits through to the next generation

Above all you will be raising an individual who is accountable for himself or herself and who is less likely to be a burden on the medical system! Obesity costs Canadians and Americans millions of dollars each year. The system is overloaded with people who think that food comes from a restaurant, box or package. Possibly the best thing you can do is teach your child to buy healthy produce and cook it. Teach them about the evils of too much salt, sugar and fat earlier in life so they do not develop a taste for it.

Furthermore any children that your children have are likely to be healthier as well – good nutrition is a gift that keeps on giving onwards through those who descend from you!

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Coloring Agents to Avoid When You Buy Food

Artificial colors do not occur in nature. Many are made from coal tar and can contain up to ten parts per million of arsenic and lead and still be approved by the FDA. Still they make food attractive. Babies and kids like brightly colored foods and it is easy for them to want these foods more than things that are healthier for them because they tend to be motivated to put things in their mouth that have visual appeal.

Still foods with artificial colors are terrible to feed any member of your family. They can cause allergic reactions, hyperactivity and ADD in children, may contribute to visual and learning disorders or cause nerve damage. The use of coloring in products normally indicates that other natural ingredients that may contain the color, like oranges, have not been used.

Here is a list of the worst coloring agents –
Blue #1, found in baked goods, candy, and soft drinks, has been shown to damage the chromosomes in a cell's nucleus and cause retardation in both kids and adults. Stay away from giving your kids those popsicles or Freezies that have this blue coloring. Jell-O brand products also contain it.
Blue #2, which is found in candy, may cause brain tumors.
Citrus Red #1 is sprayed on green oranges to make them look ripe so even if you are making juice or puree for your baby you could be giving him or her poisonous chemical additive that causes cancer. Wash and peel the skin off citrus fruit to be safe.
Citrus Red #2, used to color the skins of some Florida oranges, can cause cancer if the peel is eaten.
Red #3 is often added to canned cherry pie filling, maraschino cherries, baked goods and ice cream. Studies have linked this dye to nerve damage and to thyroid cancer.
Red #40 is found in soda, candy, gelatin desserts, pastry, pet food, and sausage, and is a suspected carcinogen. Be careful when serving Baby Jello.
Yellow #5 is the second most widely used colorant, and it contributes to behavioral disturbances in children, and can cause allergic reactions. It is found in gelatin desserts and baked goods.
Yellow #6 can cause tumors in the adrenal glands and kidneys. It is found in beverages, sausage, baked goods, candy, and gelatin.

If you want healthy kids, with good memories and attention spans that are happy and disease free then make sure you are reading labels.

Parenting Tips
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