How to help Children Avoid Food And Beverage Dangers
Insecticide And Fungicide Residues On Fruits And Vegetables; Plant And Animal Growth Promoters In Food Possibly Linked To Children and Youth’s Development, Hormone Balances And Premature Puberty; Antibiotics In Meats; Chemicals Dangerous To Growing Children and Youth In Veggies, Grains, Fruits, Fish, Poultry, Livestock; Foods With Poor Nutrition Due To Manufacturer Ignorance; Foods With Poor Nutrition Due To Soil Depletion; Consuming “Diet” Foods and Colas With Chemical Sweeteners; Cravings/Addictions Especially Fats, Sugars, Salt, Chocolate; Diet Not Balanced; Drinks Sodas And Juices Frequently - Causing Blood Sugar Challenges, Mood Swings, Concentration Challenges; Malnutrition/Not Enough Nourishing Food; Not Drinking Enough Pure Water; Bacterial Infection Of Crops And Animals Due To Industrialized
Agriculture Practices–Animal Overcrowding, Poor Sanitation/Hygiene While Handling Crops And Food Products.
Foods that have poor nutritional value are dangerous when consumed more than occasionally. Foods that are high in salt, fats, sugars, and often lacking in protein and fiber are not nutritious. Food companies produce foods and beverages without nutrition because they are inexpensive to make and produces big profits. In addition, such food lasts a long time on the shelf. When children and youth consume these foods that have cleverly crafted, exciting tastes, they do not get the benefits needed from full nutrition foods and beverages. They cannot grow physically, intellectually and socially to their best without enough nutritious foods and water. Children and youth can become addicted to fats, salt and sugars and flavor enhancers, which are unfortunately placed in the foods by manufacturers to create addiction and sell more products. It is very important to read the chapters on Nutrition Education and Vitamin Mineral Supplements. Some children and youth are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of consuming too much fat, salt, sugars and chemicals found in highly processed foods and beverages.
Another eating danger involves fungicides, insecticides and growth promoters used in producing vegetables, grains, fruits, fish, poultry and livestock. Food activists consider that residues of these chemicals may be dangerous to some children and youth, perhaps most. Experts argue about the research. Parents have to make food choice decisions without that complete certainty. Many parents avoid these food dangers by reducing the amount of chemical exposure their children and youth experience, in case the food activists are correct.
Eating dangers can be due to and complicated by a number of factors, including: genetics; lack of parental information about nutrition; family patterns and habits; lack of meals eaten by the whole family together; food industries and advertising agencies’ managers and stockholders believing they need to make big profits at the expense of children and youth’s health (count the number of nutrition-empty food and beverage commercials); eating habits and addictions; children and youth learning to prefer foods that are not healthy; poverty and the cost and lack of availability of good food; power struggles with parents and family; tensions due to accidents and/or abuses of all kinds, resulting in self-medication by consuming tasty, nutrition-empty foods; bodily nutritional imbalances; exposure to environmental pollutants.
Some children and youth act out their frustration about other things with their parents by being picky eaters.
Insecticide And Fungicide Residues On Fruits And Vegetables: There is much ongoing debate about this. Organic food proponents feel that any chemical designed to kill insects or molds cannot be good for growing bodies in any quantity. The food industry position is that the chemicals do no harm at the levels that children and youth consume them. The food activists disagree and bring up the cumulative effects of these chemicals. Research is still mixed. Parents have to decide the risks but caution is called for.
Plant And Animal Growth Promoters In Food Possibly Linked To Children and Youth’s Development, Hormone Balances and Premature Puberty: There is much debate about this subject as well. Synthetic growth promoters are applied to grains, farm fish and meat animals to increase production and profit. The bodies of growing children and teens are not designed to consume these growth promoters in quantity. Many adverse conditions are now being suspected as being linked to growth promoters in foods. Research is mixed. Parents have to decide the risks but caution is called for.
Antibiotics In Meats: There is much debate and even lawsuits about whether antibiotics in foods cause challenges. More and more research is indicating that germs are developing that are resistant to antibiotics because people have so many antibiotics in their systems from eating commercial meat products. (See food challenges above.)
Insecticide And Fungicide Residues On Fruits And Vegetables: There is much ongoing debate about this. Organic food proponents feel that any chemical designed to kill insects or molds cannot be good for growing bodies in any quantity.
Chemicals Dangerous To Growing Children and Youth In Veggies, Grains, Fruits, Fish, Poultry, Livestock: There is again ongoing research on how chemicals dangerous to growing children and youth get into the food and into the children and youth when they eat the food. The United States government has lists of foods that have become dangerous and gives recommendations on how much of such food is considered safe. This can be very frightening information for parents and even more so for children and youth. Parents have to decide the risk of not knowing this information.
Foods With Poor Nutrition Due To Manufacturer Ignorance: Some children and youth get so addicted to sugars, fats, and nutrition-empty fast foods that they throw tantrums when they are presented with alternatives, and if they are allowed to have their way, they end up not eating the protein they need for healthy growth, calm behavior and clear thinking.
Foods With Poor Nutrition Due To Soil Depletion: The United States Congress has determined that modern agricultural practices have depleted soils in America of minerals that are necessary for children’s and youth’s growth. This important information is largely ignored. Fertilizers appear not to contain a wide enough range of mineral supplements for healthy soil. Ideally, these minerals should pass from the soil into plants which are then consumed by children and youth.
Consuming “Diet” Foods and Colas With Chemical Sweeteners: Again there is much debate about the quality of the research about the long term effects of chemical sweeteners. Some research maintains that sweeteners are harmless. Some people think they are dangerous. Again, parents should exercise caution.
Cravings/Addictions Especially Fats, Sugars, Salt, Chocolate: Children and youth get addicted early by the interesting taste and mood enhancing results of eating fats, sugars, salt, chocolate. These addictions can often be due to nutritional imbalances.
Diet Not Balanced: Sadly, so far, corporations and media advertisers are more interested in selling products than in being concerned about children and youths getting the habit of eating balanced diets. Many parents do not know what constitutes a balanced diet.
Drinks Sodas And Juices Frequently - Causing Blood Sugar Challenges, Mood Swings, Concentration Challenges: Corporations and advertisers have not yet awakened to the challenges caused by sugars and chemicals in drinks. Few people have the research skills to find out. The flavors are designed to taste better than water so that children and youth will crave them.
Malnutrition/Not Enough Nourishing Food: There are levels of malnutrition. There are levels of under–nutrition. Many children and youth get enough food to keep going and to do okay. However, research is showing that children and youth’s learning capacity goes up, emotional calm increases, emotional outbreaks and anger go down when children and youth get good nutrition. This is why so much of this book relates to nutrition. Vitamin supplements of a good quality can make a huge difference.
Not Drinking Enough Pure Water: This is another one of those areas of great concern. More and more research is coming in suggesting that pure water may be one of the most important things humans can consume. While challenges can happen from drinking too much water, far more challenges happen from not drinking enough, including dental cavities. Children and youth can get so addicted to commercial tastes that they do not know what thirst for water feels like.
Bacterial Infection Of Crops And Animals Due To Industrialized Agriculture Practices–Animal Overcrowding, Poor Sanitation/Hygiene While Handling Crops And Food Products: Since federal budget cuts have reduced the number and effectiveness of food health inspectors/inspections, extra care must be made to ensure hygienic food. Food workers getting low wages and no health care means workers who are sick often bring their illness to the food they handle. Make sure all foods are checked thoroughly, washed carefully and are well cooked. Cooking can help reduce bacterial content.
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First, We Would Investigate |
Second, We Would Investigate |
For Long Term Support |
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On Our Own We Would Try: • Replace sodas, juices, sugars, fats, fast foods with water, veggies, whole grains, nuts, protein, fruit, slow food • Family Dinners • Long Walks/Hikes • Bedtime Stories and Chats • Wholesome Pleasures • Back Rubs and Foot Massages • Nature • Pets • Less or No TV, Movies, Video/Computer Games • Grow as much organic food as you can with your children and youth • Shop at your local farmer’s market or join a community supported agricultural co-op. |
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For Parents: • Get support from other parents who have the same concerns. • Expect resistance when you begin to change the family eating habits. • Expect withdrawal symptoms of crankiness, mood swings, headaches from caffeine withdrawal and power struggles. • Plan carefully. • Learn how to make good-tasting alternatives. • Reduce or get rid of TV and exposure to advertisements selling refined foods. |
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• Purchase foods as fresh and pure as you can. Local seasonally grown organic food is less expensive. • Fresh, organic food usually costs extra money; however, it saves money in the long run since it is a good protection for growing children and youth as they develop. • If you cannot afford or find organic foods, follow the US Food and Drug Administration’s advice to thoroughly wash all vegetables, fruits and berries. This does not help in all cases. • This will remove residues, but not chemicals embedded in the cells of the food. • If you can, grow and cook you own food as a family. • Make meals from scratch using basic ingredients. • Keep in mind that going up against mainstream culture’s food addictions is not easy. • Your local health food store will give you one set of information. Supermarkets will give you another. Your local health department can help. • Parents must decide. |
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Check out: www.Medlineplus.gov/childnutrition. |