If Kate takes her China soapbox, I'm taking mine on nutrition. Not because I have great nutrition but because I want to.
I went to hear Leanne Gordon last night speaking on family health and she was very good. Here are a few things I learned, not to scare you, just to inspire you!! You probably have heard all this before but I had not and I was surprised.
I was talking with my friend before we got there, asking how she balances good nutrition with thinking we can live forever or not trusting the sovereignty of God. (I am a firm believer in enjoying the good things God has given us... like greaters ice cream!) I thought her reply was great. She said in all areas of life we do certain reasonable things to protect our kids (seat belts, holding hands while crossing the street etc.) but in this area of nutrition we fail to help them live healthier lives. God made our bodies to function a certain way and we can please him with our respect of his creation while still trusting his plan for the future.
After hearing some of the medical info from last night I agree. I think my bar could be set a little higher.
1.By the age of 12, an estimated 70% of our children have developed the beginning stages of hardening of the arteries.
2.In the last 20 years, Type 2 diabetes has increased ten-fold.
3. There are 27 grams of sugar in a serving of Coke and 2 1/2 servings per individual size bottle. We all know that's a lot of sugar (16 teaspoons per bottle) and if I were to go out to lunch with any of you and fill my tea with that many packets of sugar you would think I was nuts, but did you know that our immune system is suppressed by 85% for 4-6 hours while our bodies attempt to digest that!!
4. One high fat meal can close our arteries and slow blood circulation by 40-45% for 4-6 hours.
(I guess this explains why they say Thanksgiving is the most common day for heart attack patients in the ER... and Christmas is second.)
Her suggestions on helping us and our kids: Don't try to change everything at once, see what you can add instead of taking everything away. Increase their servings of fruits and veggies in order to give their bodies the ability to function properly, help them drink more water, eat whole grains and good fats.
So, I'll let you know what I think after I attempt the basics: getting Dora to drink something other than high sugar juices. :-) I plan to gradually cut the juice with water until she can take it with none. :-) Could get ugly.
Here is a interesting article called Nine Simple Steps to a Healthier Family Diet if you're interested. It's written by Dr. Sears who is one of the top pediatricians in the country. https://www.nsavirtualoffice.com/uploads/fckeditor/nsa/File/Prevention%20Plus%20%20Newsletters/PPjuly2006.pdf
I don't plan on cutting out all sugars or depriving my kids of all sweets and fats but I realize there are quite a few things I can do that I think will help both of my kids have healthier childhoods and me pay for less trips to the pediatrician. :-)
6 comments:
That's very interesting. Health is one of those areas (like money) where every year I discover new things that I should have been doing, but haven't been. I recently cut out juice for Elise too. Both for cost and health.
This week, we banned aspartame, last year hydrogenated fats. We are also using more whole wheats/grains. However, I'm sure I have a lot to improve upon - like the sugar :) I love my Graeters too. All the whole grains in the world don't make up for too much sugar, which is my problem.
Very good info, thank you very much for sharing. Sorry, I wasn't able to make it, but your post helps me rethink some of what I am serving (or need to be serving more of).
You're right Kate and that's something I've never really thought of... eating bad fats or crazy amounts of sugar seemed okay if the caleries balanced in the end but now I'm not so sure. Those things are not just nuetral, it's actually doing harm if it's a habit.
Ooh, this one is hard for me because I have such a restricted diet. I can't have gluten, dairy, soy or eggs. But, honestly, it's a little convicting...mostly because my diet is so restricting that I let myself eat a lot of sugar (in candy, mostly, because that's pretty much all candy is). But, it's more of the false mindset of I should treat myself, which isn't a problem, but then it turns into "I deserve this because I can't have the other stuff." Yikes. I've been thinking about all the sugar I eat and this gives me even more to consider. Thanks for posting.
Also, I'm in for the thing next Thursday, but depending upon what time Eric gets home, I may have to meet you there. Keep me posted on the info. Thanks!
Hey Kris - I'm not sure who the Joe Cool thing is, but it isn't my husband :) His site is nuelsen.blogspot, rather than doogie.blogspot.
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