Raising Healthy Children in a Junk Food Culture
by Brian Chan, B.Sc. Nutrition
What did your children eat today? If they ‘re school age, you probably don’t know. You may cook them balanced meals but, when the kids are out of your care, the chances are they snack on chips, crisps, sweets and fizzy drinks. And they may be malnourished.
Children are ignorant but they are our future, our most precious gift from God. Raising a healthy child means much more than avoiding illness. It means having the ability to use all God’s given talent and energy, the intellect and strength – to one’s greatest potential. True health is about nurturing a child’s whole being, beginning with what he/she eats, day after day, year after year. No time in a child’s life is more important than the formative and growing years.
For many parents, helping children develop healthy eating habits is a struggle. Coupled with the ever-growing intensity of the marketing and media frenzy, junk food has never invaded our lives as much as today. With the hectic pace of many families’ lives and with more working mothers than ever, even the health conscious succumb to the conveniences of life, turning towards fast, preprocessed junk foods which are devitalized. In addition to newly acquired poor diets, many news reports about nutrition contain conflicting information. No wonder people are confused, especially if they are not acquainted with natural health knowledge.
Just as our national income rises, so do obesity and its related diseases. Recent surveys indicate that childhood obesity in Brazil has jumped 239% in a single generation. In many places in the world, obesity and related illnesses such as diabetes are growing fastest among children. The biggest danger of developing diabetes at a younger age is that it allows more time for other complications. A diabetic child’s expected life span is 15 years less than average. Neville Rigby, head of policy and public affairs of the International Obesity Task Force, puts it bluntly: “Some of these children are going to die before their parents.”
Surveys conclude that children are eating too much fat. too much sugar, too much salt, too much refined, and processed food and on top of that, they are malnourished!
As parents, what can we do to guard the health of our precious children in the midst of the junk food onslaught? The best place to start is with our own life since children learn by example. Thus, a healthy lifestyle is one of the most valuable habits that a parent can pass on.
While you cannot control what your children eat outside the use, you are in full control of the type of food that is available at home. Make sure that the food is wholesome, toxin free, and nutrient rich living food. Ideally, children should eat five portions (a portion means the size of a person’s fist) of fruit or vegetables a day. Unfortunately, many children nowadays usually do not find such healthy food palatable. Many parents use the alternative of freshly made juices in this situation. Be aware of nutrient robbers like sugar (which robs the body of calcium and lowers its immunity), salt (which robs the body of valuable potassium), friendly” evils like hydrogenated fats or trans-fat, artificial flavors, coloring, and preservatives.
Encourage your children to become involved in their own healthy food preparation. These may be moments which they will treasure for the rest of their lives! If you sometimes wonder what food you should eat and what food you should avoid, always remember what Dr. Lynn said – “Always compare it with nature. Go for the form of food which God originally designed for us to eat. The more men try to “improve” the food, the further away it is from nature. Such food you should avoid.”
Is it really possible to raise truly healthy children who fully depend on their God-given defense mechanisms which result from good nutrition? Yes. the proof is in the example of Dr. Lynn Tan’s family. Her two youngest sons (now age 13 and 16) have never taken a drop of medicine in their life. Through the channel of NewLife International, quite a number of otherwise mothers have raised their children healthily and happily this way too.
The following are some of the essentials used by Dr. Lynn and other like-minded mothers:
- NEWLIFE ORGANIC APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (ACV) – This is loaded with nature’s goodness, and is high in potassium and other minerals. Make ACV cocktails, combined with raw honey as a daily drink in your home. Alternatively, you may use ACV as a healthy salad dressing together with raw honey and Flax Seed Oil in the proportion of 1:1:3
- FLAX SEED OIL – This helps build immunity, strengthens lungs, blood vessels, the heart, and is good for skin health & development of brain cells. Best taken with yoghurt or Spirulina.
Recommended Dosage:
Bottle fed infant – ½ teaspoon mixed with milk daily.
[Birth -1 year old]
Breastfed infant – Obtained from the mother’s milk. (Nursing mothers should take 2 tablespoons of FSO daily.)
1 – 2 years old – ½ teaspoon daily.
2 – 6 years old – 1 teaspoon daily.
6 years onwards – 1 tablespoon daily. - SPIRULINA DRINK – Supplies rich nutrients and helps immunity.
Bottle fed infant – ½ teaspoon in milk 2 X daily. (0-3 months)
(3 months – 6 months) – ½ teaspoon in 4 oz. of distilled water 2 X daily.
(6 months – 12 months) -1 teaspoon in 8 oz. of distilled water 2 X daily.
12 months onwards – 1 teaspoon of Spirulina + 1 teaspoon of raw honey (if sweetness desired) in distilled water 2 – 4 X daily. Instead of Spirulina drinks, older children may prefer Spirulina capsules or tablets.
Note: In times fever, take a glass of Spirulina drink every hour and avoid solid food. Take goat’s milk yoghurt instead of cow’s milk. - IMMUFLORA – This contains 10 billion viable cells of Bifidobacterium Longum, 1 billion viable cells of Lactobacillus Acidophilus, and 200 mg Fructo Oligosaccharides (bacteria food). It helps digestion & elimination while building immunity.
Bottle fed infant – ¼ sachet. (0 – 6 months)
6 months – 2 years – ½ sachet.
2 years onwards – 1 sachet.
Note: May increase dosage if experiencing diarrhea or taking antibiotics treatment. - PROPOLPLUS – A natural food for increased immunity. Excellent to use in times of fever, sore throat, flu, cough and cold.
1 – 2 capsules daily – for health maintenance.
1 – 2 capsules every 2 hours – during times of sickness.
Note: Crack the capsule and allow the contents to flow down the throat - ZINGER TEA – Soothes coughs; drink as desired.
- YOGHURT – A replacement for cows’ milk, which is the main cause of asthma, allergies & skin problems.
