Teaching Your Children About Healthy Eating

Teaching Your Children About Healthy Eating

A healthy diet is essential for everyone – especially our children. As your child grows older and begins gaining more independence, it will become harder and harder for you to teach them about healthy eating. This is why it is so important to begin teaching your child healthy eating habits at a young age. By teaching your children about healthy eating, you can guide them on a healthy pathway to adulthood. Here are some tips to help you teach your children about healthy eating.

When it comes to teaching your children about eating healthy, you will want to give them options rather than dictate foods. Of course, you will need to guide them to make proper choices by keeping a variety of healthy foods in the house, but letting your child pick which food they would like to eat will help them learn how to make healthy choices on their own.

Also, try to eat meals as a family as often as possible. Remember – you are your child’s primary role model so it is important that you lead the way in healthy eating habits. If you are eating junky foods, they will want to eat junky foods too. So, be sure to set the example for your child at the dinner table, making healthy food choices for each your child, you, and the rest of your family.

Another great idea to help your child learn about healthy eating habits is to involve them in food shopping and the preparation of meals. This will give your child the opportunity to explore the world of food and learn which foods are healthy and which ones should stay on the shelf! It will also give your child a feeling of accomplishment, making them more willing to try new foods.

Of course, if you want to teach your children how to eat healthy and make healthy food choices, you will have to know how to eat healthy yourself. If you want your child to grow healthy and strong, a whole foods diet is the best way to go. Providing your child with a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, will provide them with all of the nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that their body needs to grow healthy and strong. The best part about a whole foods diet? Whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, are low in calories, carbohydrates, and fats so your child can eat large portions without worrying about weight gain or unhealthy side effects.

Finally, when teaching your children about eating healthy, remember that your child is still a child! While you want to encourage healthy eating and snacking, you do not need to deprive them completely of all the little goodies like chips and cookies. An occasional calorie filled snack will not harm your child, so allow them to be children and indulge every now and again.

Learn more about whole foods dieting today to teach your children how to grow up big, strong, and healthy!

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There are many easy ways to create healthy eating habits, and you will notice a big difference in how you feel! Visit our website to find recipes and learn more about how to use easy tricks to improve your everyday eating habits: http://EverydayHealthGirl.com

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Important Tips for Healthy Eating

Healthy Eating is a term that describes the eating habit that is beneficial to our wellbeing, we have heard about the benefits of a healthy diet but have not taken to consideration or asked ourselves, what it is all about and why it is important.

Eating healthy is simply eating the right combination of foods which contain all the seven classes of food (carbohydrate, protein, fat and oil, etc) that provides the essential nutrients your body needs. These nutrients help us to stay strong and healthy by increasing our immunity.

There are a lot of benefits for healthy eating and I will share with us 10 key benefits of eating healthy.

1. Eating the right combinations of food promotes good skin. Healthy foods when eaten helps to clean toxins in our body which results in a blooming and beautiful skin making us look younger every day.

2. Healthy foods when eaten help us to be physically fit at all times and very strong to go on doing our everyday activities which might bring about promotion in our offices and great success in our businesses.

3. Healthy eating boosts our immunity thus helping to reduce the rate of diseases and illness in our body system.

4. It is a very effective solution for weight loss and obesity. People who lose weight using drugs or starving themselves, etc, usually become fat again, if their diet has not improved. Eating Healthy meals will help reduce the chances of obesity even for young children.

5. Eating healthy foods helps you stay mentally alert even as you grow older. Mixed with a good exercise program you improve your chances of long healthy life.

6. Being healthy as a result of the right diet helps with your income because if you eat healthy, exercise regularly, you can save money on health care.

7. Most illnesses are caused by stress but when you eat healthy foods you can handle this stress much better. When the stress is under control you become more productive.

8. Healthy eating improves your sex drive and satisfaction. Eating healthy foods gives you energy and makes you strong. Thereby helping you have a better sex life.

9. You can rest, sleep better and feel refreshed when you wake up if you’re on a healthy diet. A healthy diet gets you physically more active, giving your body the comfort it needs.

10. Another very important reason why you need to eat healthy is that you set an example for your younger ones and your kids to follow.

Eating the right food and fruits will guarantee long life, one free from depression making you a happier and healthier person. You have to remember that eating healthy meals is not enough if you are not balancing it with a good exercise routine.

Healthy eating will help you increase your metabolism and reduce the chances of future weight gain.

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For a free report on the healthy eating and recommended diet recipes to jump-start your healthy life visit http://www.benefitsofeatinghealthy.org

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Heart Healthy Eating Recommendations

The NCEP recommends a diet low in saturated fats, trans fats and cholesterol. Complex carbohydrates are suggested in place of simple carbs.

Meat should become a very minor part of your diet. Replace fatty beef, pork and lamb with lean cuts or skinless white meat chicken or fish. Fat should be trimmed from all meats.

Always choose low fat or non-fat dairy products over whole milk or cream. Pretzels, carrots, popcorn, dried fruits and fresh fruits are a much better option than candy and potato chips. Store purchased bakery goods should be excluded from your diet.

Avoid butter or margarine when cooking and choose baking, broiling, steaming, roasting or stewing in lieu of frying. Stay away from coconut and palm oils since they are mostly saturated fat based.

Steer clear of all trans fats, they raise LDL and lower HDL.

The diet cholesterol connection

The first step in lowering your cholesterol should always be adopting a diet tailored for lowering cholesterol. Healthy eating habits should include the avoidance of saturated and trans fats. Those who have been regularly eating high fat foods and fried foods can lower their cholesterol levels as much as 25% by switching to a diet of lean meats, fruits and vegetables and whole grains. Always consider replacing a bad diet choice with a substitute. Instead of choosing a bacon cheeseburger and fried potatoes, select a lean grilled chicken breast or lean piece of meat 4 ounces or less and a baked potato, corn or salad.

Try to restrict your diet to include no more than 25% of your calories from fat. The NCEP guidelines also suggest consuming less than 200mg of cholesterol from food. Saturated fats are particularly dangerous because they stimulate the production of LDL cholesterol. Saturated fats can be identified by their appearance. They are solid or semi solid at room temperature. These include the fats found in eggs, some vegetable oils, meat, dairy products, coconut oil, cocoa butter, palm and palm kernel oils.

The opposite consistency is true for unsaturated, they are liquid at room temperature and are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Some examples of polyunsaturated fats are fish oils, olive oil, cottonseed, safflower, peanut, canola and sesame. Where possible replace saturated fats with monounsaturated fats since this can help lower LDL cholesterol.

There are a number of people who do not respond enough from dietary changes. For these people it is recommended to increase intake of dietary fiber and increase intake of plant sterols and stanols.

There is a wide fluctuation in how different people respond to cholesterol in their diets. For some, high cholesterol diets have a direct causal effect on the amount of cholesterol in their blood stream. Others who consume high fat, high cholesterol diets have low levels of cholesterol in their blood streams. Since there are no reliable tests to know your individual profile, it is recommended that you adopt healthy eating habits and a low cholesterol and low saturated fat diet. If this helps, you know what you need to do. If not, seek alternatives to help.

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For more information and similar articles about lowering your cholesterol and Heart Healthy Eating Recommendations, please visit http://cholesterolinstitute.net

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Seven Reasons Why Healthy Eating For Weight Loss Is For You

Healthy eating for weight loss doesn’t just consider your weight problem, as the phrase suggests. It is also concerned about your health. Many common diets lack this consideration.

Everyone knows that carrying too much weight is unhealthy. Therefore, by default, a loss of weight means better health. Although this is true to some extent, it is by no means the whole story.

Excess weight puts a strain on your body and especially your heart. Excess weight means you have less energy, less motivation. Excess weight means you have a lower immunity so can succumb to infections and virus’ much more easily. This becomes a vicious circle as you are tempted to eat more.

So by losing weight you will definitely improve your health, to some degree, depending on where you were to start with.

But once the weight is off, then you need to keep it off. And remain healthy. These factors are both important and difficult to maintain. Not many common diets have enough consideration for this permanent ideal that everyone should aim for.

Let’s look at why healthy eating for weight loss is the plan for you:

First and foremost it considers you and your needs. Your choice of food is normally moulded by your family background. This is important to consider when deciding on the best foods for you.
There are no rigid rules to apply other than avoiding the unhealthy foods and eating the healthy foods, all of which are explained in great detail.
There is nothing complicated to follow, no calories to count, no charts to follow.
It is one of the most inexpensive food plans to follow. Most people find that they pay less when eating according to this method, than when on their previous diet.
Your long term health is considered as a priority. If you are really healthy, you will always have an ideal weight.
You are not expected to starve. In fact, you can eat as much as you want, as long as you only eat the healthy foods.
All the suggested foods are readily available.

Healthy eating for weight loss is a revolutionary concept that looks beyond your current needs. You need to look at the deeper picture of why you are overweight. The causes of weight gain are also more often than not the causes of ill health. Make sure your weight loss plan is primarily about your on-going health and the weight will fall off on its own.

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Madeleine Innocent is a full time natural health consultant specialising in diet-for-health and homeopathy. She treats both people and animals within these two disciplines. She also coaches people both on- and off-line, on these subjects. For more information, visit: Healthy Eating For Weight Loss

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Benefits for Healthy Eating: Steps to Lower Cholesterol

What is Cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in the body. The body needs a small amount of cholesterol to function, produce hormones, and make vitamin D. Too much cholesterol in the blood, also called LDL, can stick to the walls of arteries – this is called plaque. Plaque can narrow or block arteries, leading to heart disease and stroke.

When coronary arteries become narrowed or clogged by cholesterol (atherosclerosis) and cannot supply enough blood, oxygen, and nutrients to the heart, the result is coronary heart disease (CHD). If the blood supply is cut off by blockage of a coronary artery, the result is a heart attack.

Cholesterol levels rise as you age. There are usually no signs or symptoms that you have high cholesterol, but it can be detected with a blood test. You may have high cholesterol if members of your family have it, if you are overweight, or if you eat a lot of fatty foods. Every adult should have their cholesterol levels checked at least once per year. The test shows total blood (or serum) cholesterol level, HDL (good cholesterol) level, LDL (bad) cholesterol level, and triglyceride level.

A total cholesterol level below 200 mg/dL is considered good. A level from 200-239 mg/dL is a borderline level, and a level over 240 mg/dL is high risk; indicating twice the risk of coronary heart disease is indicated.

Triglycerides are a form of fat. A normal level is less than 150 mg/dL, borderline is 150 to 199 mg/dL, high is 200 to 499 mg/dL, and very high is 500 mg/dL or over. High triglycerides are caused by excessive weight, lack of exercise, and a diet high in carbohydrates.

Proven Procedures to Lower Cholesterol

Here are proven procedures to lower your cholesterol:

1. Eat a heart healthy diet by limiting your consumption of simple carbohydrates, such as rolls and white bread, and increasing your consumption of complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain bread, fruits, and vegetables.

2. Control your weight.

3. Get regular exercise.

4. Limit alcohol consumption.

5. Stop smoking.

Visit your doctor at least once per year for a physical exam and fasting blood tests to determine your cholesterol levels. If your cholesterol is normal and you are under 40 years of age, your doctor may decide to test for cholesterol less often. If you cholesterol is not normal, you and your doctor should prepare a treatment plan to lower it. If diet and exercise do not lower your cholesterol, since diet affects only 20% of your cholesterol level (the rest is determined by our heritage and other lifestyle factors), you may need to take medication.

Using these proven procedures to reduce your cholesterol will lead to a longer and healthier life for you!

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Vianesa Vargas is a recognized weight loss expert and former fitness trainer with over 15 years’ experience helping individuals to make better food choices for life. Sign up for her newsletter at http://www.CapitalFoodCoaching.com now and get your free weight loss planner.

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