Your Kids Are What They Eat

The cliché phrase is — 'You are what you eat!'  This is absolutely true, however to refine the phrase a little more it should perhaps be revised to 'You are what you digest.'   

This is true for both you and your kids. Vitamins don't quite cut it when it comes to your kids overall health (and yours too.)

The reason you can't replace food with pills is because very few people (especially older people) have much success digesting vitamin pills. They simply pass through the intestines undissolved.  It is a very common problem. The point is that having a good diet is not the same as dieting or popping vitamin or herbal supplements. The food choices we make throughout our lives can help prevent the many diseases that cause premature death or disability, including heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes.  S

ome natural doctors even go so far to insist that diet is the cure for certain kinds of ailments and can go so far as to reverse certain types of ailments and conditions.  To prevent your kids from having dispositions to getting these ailments you need to start them off early. However, the relationship between a good diet and anti-aging is not just speculative in the scientific community.

Nutritionists and doctors are much less skeptical about food as a cure for aging then they used to be.  This is because three long-term studies being conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health have examined the lives of 300,000 people and the findings suggested that a a diet rich in vegetables may help prevent breast and prostate cancer. Another finding was that colon cancer is more common in those who eat red meat and that high fat diets increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and cancer. Furthermore a diet with too many refined carbohydrates increases the risk of obesity, heart disease and diabetes Another thing about this study is that an effective healthy diet was not specific to any age.

In other words, what is considered a healthy diet at six years old will still be a healthy diet at age sixty or seventy.  The fact that this type of diet is anti-aging is a given so it is never too late to start rehabilitating the diet through changing your eating habits. This is because it is all about eating in a manner that will prevent the oxidization of cells by free radicals in the first place. 

Yet another important finding of this Harvard Study is that those that those who sat down at a meal and enjoyed it by sharing it with others were more likely to be healthier than those who ate their dinners alone, in front of the television or in a less formal fashion (such as eating on the run.)  This principle focuses the eater to pay attention to what is going into his or her mouth as the center of attention is the meal and not the television set!

Yoga for Pregnant People

Should you do Yoga while you are pregnant?  Absolutely. Pregnancy Yoga is a great way to prepare yourself for birth. This physical regimen, which includes a lot of breathing rituals helps ground you both physically and psychologically so that you have a less stressful birth.  It can help calm you so you have a peaceful and happy pregnancy. Yoga can also help with such symptoms of pregnancy as sore feet, aching back, morning sickness and shortness of breath. Also yoga is a known cure for anxiety so it may help any nervousness that you might be experiencing about giving birth.   There are special yoga programs for pregnant women and these are called prenatal Yoga. You can probably find announcements for when this type of Yoga is taught at your local YWMCA.  These classes are deliberately designed to be gentle for you. Prenatal yoga is considered to be generally harmless but when you are pregnant you should first consult with your doctor. Your pre natal yoga instructor will also be able to tell you quite a bit about the specific risks that come with doing yoga while pregnant but your doctor is the ultimate expert when it comes to informing you about the health of your baby and your body. The main issue when it comes to yoga for expectant mothers is that is a risk for babies that are not in the right position in the womb by the third trimester. In that situation it is wiser not to practice prenatal yoga. Consulting with your physician should reveal whether or not your baby is in the proper position in your womb or not. Most doctors however will perceive prenatal  yoga as being a safe and healthy way to prepare your muscles for giving birth. Many of these ancient yoga postures have been specifically developed throughout the ages to strengthen the back and stomach muscles of the mother. As pregnancy yoga also helps the mother strengthen and align her spine she will suffer less from the backaches that develop as the result of extra pregnancy body weight and having to carry a child. The mental and meditative components of doing yoga might also allay the anxiety and pain associated with labor. Yoga also significantly increases one's stamina and patience in general which is a good thing while lying in a hospital waiting to give birth.  Another physical benefit is improved circulation to the entire body (including the umbilical cord!), which helps keeps the baby healthy. There are also many social benefits to joining a prenatal yoga group. It offers you a chance to socialize with other mothers to be and develop a support group.  Also the fact that every single other person working out is as round as you means that you don't have to be embarrassed about your body in the same way as you might be working out in a fashion conscious gym.  In a nutshell, joining a prenatal class is a great way to bond with other mothers and make friends!