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10 Healthy Eating Strategies for Your Child

1. Water Intake

Your child should take in ½ ounce of water for every pound of body weight. For example: a 40 pound child should take in about 20 ounces of water per day. Water should be reverse osmosis filtered or bottled from Aquafina, Sparkletts or Alhambra. There are many brands of bottled water that are more polluted than your tap water so be careful.
 

2. Reduce or eliminate dairy products from your child’s diet

Cow’s milk dairy can be very allergenic and if your child is prone to allergies or frequent colds, this is a must. Replace with goat’s milk which is much less allergenic or if still experiencing problems, eliminate milk altogether and replace with fortified rice milk. Dark leafy greens will replace the calcium in milk.

3. Emphasize complex carbohydrates in your child’s diet

Our society is plagued with obesity and type 2 diabetes both of which result from our culture’s obsession with sweets and carbohydrates. Examples of complex carbohydrates include whole grains such as quinoa, millet, brown rice, wild rice, amaranth, spelt, whole wheat, oats and barley. Have your child stay away from pastries, cookies, soft drinks, pasta, white breads and candy.

4. Reduce or eliminate soy products from your child’s diet

Unfermented soy products found in MANY foods can decrease your child’s absorption of essential minerals in their diet, lead to obesity through the suppression of the thyroid, lead to type 2 diabetes by affecting insulin resistance and can put your child at risk for various cancers. Fermented soy products such as tempeh, miso, naturally fermented soy sauce or natto are fine. Unfermented soy products that are of concern include soy milk, soy protein (found in protein shakes and protein bars), tofu, mayonnaise etc.

5. Reduce or eliminate Genetically Modified Foods (GMO) from your child’s diet

Genetically modified foods can lead to allergies and immune system suppression. Visit www.truefoodnow.org for a list of major brands and their use of genetically modified foods.

6. most commonly allergenic foods for children (and adults)

Wheat, soy, dairy, eggs, corn and peanuts. Allergies or sensitivities to these foods will affect your child’s immune system, and can affect their weight, mood, energy level, sleep quality, digestion etc.

7. Caution with shellfish and farmed fish

We know that eating seafood can increase your child’s intake of essential fatty acids including omega-3 oils. Caution should be taken to not ingest too much shellfish (crab, lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters, mussels) due to their heavy metal and pesticide contamination. Farmed fish are fed a diet that is not natural to the fish and therefore the benefit for eating the fish is negated, as there is very little omega-3 oil content in these fish.

8. Getting a good night’s sleep…


If your child is waking in the middle of the night and has trouble falling back to sleep, give them a protein snack 1 hour before bedtime to help them sleep through the night. Also, minimizing sugary desserts after dinner will help with this as well.

9. Fruits and vegetables with color

Many children are finicky about their fruits and vegetables. To maximize the nutrient content of the vegetables that your child takes in, have your child eat a varied and multi-colored fruit and vegetable selection. Due to the high sugar content of fruits, vegetables should be chosen over fruits. Favorite vegetables include kale, collards, broccoli, carrots, beets, swiss chard, turnip greens, arugula, watercress, sweet potatoes, yellow squashes. Favorite fruits include blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, black plums, black grapes, cherries, mangoes, papayas, kiwi.

10 Dilute fruit juices and minimize juice intake during colds and flus

Orange juice, a common staple during colds have too much fruit sugar for kids when they are sick. The simple fruit sugar will prolong the cold and lead to increased recovery time or relapse. It is recommended to dilute all fruit juices by half with water and avoid orange juice during colds and flus due to the mucous producing capacity of oranges. Lemon water, however will decrease mucous production during this time.