On Food & Health
Cooking for Kids
All parents know how challenging and frustrating it can be to feed their children. Kids will test, pull and push, especially their parents’ patience. It’s only natural and a very important part of their development. Yeah, right, but knowing this doesn’t make it easier when you come home from work looking for rest, but still having to contend with the daily house chores.
I often get asked how and what do my children eat and if I have trouble getting them to eat healthy foods. While I can’t claim supreme success, I can share with you some pointers and observations that my wife and I have made with our own kids that have been useful.
More...
Food For Thought
A consistent supply of good-for-you-food has always been the best policy, especially for growing children. With children of my own, I make sure that we know about everything they put in their mouths.
It is well established that foods have the capacity to alter a mood and behavior. Understanding how certain foods affect mood and behavior, and making nutritional choices accordingly, can help enhance the learning process and maintain a calm mood. You can make this happen through deliberate food choices that support steady energy levels while providing necessary hydration (water), protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals.
Water is essential. Natural, clean water is the best source. Water is a universal solvent that our body depends on to carry out the chemical reactions necessary for life. A minimally dehydrated individual will feel lethargic and less alert. Water taken often, throughout the day, will help you stay alert and keep your muscles functioning properly, making them less prone to injury. It will also help ferry toxins out. Keeping clear of metabolites or toxins is like keeping your home clear of garbage – everything moves about easier. Soda (sweetened or artificially sweetened) and/or alcoholic beverages are a poor source of hydration. Sugar-sweetened beverages (and non-caloric-sweetener-containing sodas) typically carry dissolved solids like sugar (or aspartame), acid, flavors, caffeine and coloring agents that create a burden for our internal organs. Caffeine stimulates the kidneys to produce urine, leading to further dehydration. Alcohol has the same effect. For clarity of mind and natural alertness, water or decaffeinated tea (un or moderately sweetened) is the best choice.
More...
Vitamins: a brief history and overview
The word vitamin was coined in the 1911 by a Polish-born biochemist named Casimir Funk. As a researcher at the Lister Institute in London, Funk discovered that adding or removing known ingredients to chicken’s diets would result in specific physiological ailments or improvements. The word vitamin is a union of two words “vital” and “amine.” Vital because he believed these were necessary to life and amine because of the type of chemical, though it was later discovered that not all vitamins are “amines” and so the “e” was dropped.
Vitamins were assigned letters according to the order of their discovery. The exception to this is vitamin K, where K stands for Koagulation, named as such by Henrik Dam the Danish-born scientist who discovered it.
Most physicians believe that supplementation though not always necessary, is helpful. Through personal and professional experience I have noticed tangible benefits through supervised supplement use. If you choose to use vitamin supplements, consult your doctor first. Some supplements should not be taken with certain medications.
More...
| NEXT page |