This kind of thing just really gets me thinking...
I've just finished reading a story about the failure of a program that gave fresh fruit to school children. It appears that the people trying to instill better eating habits in children are banging their heads against a wall. It's really too bad that these things don't work and after thinking about it for a while, I think I've figured out why. It's because, once they leave the schoolyard, they go back to the old habits.
Let's face it. Nowadays it's a struggle to get kids to eat any fruit or vegetable. Why? Because many of them have been brought up on a diet of mostly processed foods, due mostly to the fact that it's just easier. Easier because it's supposedly time-saving. Easier because both parents work and they don't have time to cook meals let alone have family dinners with every family member in attendance. Unfortunately, this also means that all of those chemical additives and sugar that make the food "taste better" are poisoning us all. Including our children.
And, because kids are used to that crap, they certainly aren't going to go out there and eat anything healthy.
A while back I was watching the "documentary" about Jamie Oliver trying to make more healthy school lunches. He seemed to be fighting a losing battle and that was really unfortunate. I remember one scene where he was demonstrating - in a very crude way - how chicken strips are made and I have to tell you that it made me want to vomit. I haven't eaten one since.
The trouble is that it's great to try and feed kids healthy food, however, if their diet at home doesn't change, then there won't be a whole lot of benefit. They'll still be eating the same old crap. If these people want healthier children, they will have to work with their families and have a concerted effort.
Maybe if every parent had to participate in a program like that of the BBC program "Honey We're Killing the Kids" there might be better results. This show is where they take a look at a child's lifestyle and then project what that same kid will look like when they turn 40. The photos are devastatingly horrid and perhaps it's just a clever view created with Photoshop however, we really are killing our kids by feeding them this crap. Not only that, we're killing ourselves.
I hated lots of foods when I was a kid but thankfully, my parents made me eat it. Now that I'm an adult, most of my dislikes have gone away (with the exception of fish, water chestnuts, and things like cooked onions, cooked cabbage and a series of other cooked vegetables - I prefer the raw versions of these). With the exception of white bread, all of that food was really healthy.
People say that eating healthy is just too expensive. Not true, I say because local produce and even some organic stuff does not cost a mint. And besides, it's not cheaper to eat convenience foods... Have you thought of the health costs to this as well? Crap begets crap, as far as I'm concerned. If we eat processed crap, we're only setting ourselves up to "pay" later in life with all sorts of ailments.
I'm a firm believer that this is why there are so many depressed people out there as well. If you eat unhealthy foods, then your body isn't going to be in peak condition and that means you're susceptible to feeling bad. How can I say this? Because I've been treated for depression twice in my life and it wasn't until I started eating better that I began to stop feeling bad. And, I know that when I do fall off the healthy-eating bandwagon, I start to feel bad. I can't tell you how much better it is to be in control of your life than to have some drug keeping you from feeling the natural highs and lows that we have in our lives. (By the way, I am not advocating throwing your antidepressants out the window but looking at ones diet and the way that it affects you could be an indicator of where the imbalance is coming from). I even wonder if pregnant women who are eating unhealthily are passing the "results" down to their children.
Here we are back to the subject of children... I think it's a great ideat to take a look at these kinds of healthy eating programs and perhaps a look, as well, at how we can get the families to "buy into it" as well. That's the only way to ensure that children will eat well, exercise more and not become huge slugs that have no energy.
After all, it won't kill any of us to eat more healthy...
I've just finished reading a story about the failure of a program that gave fresh fruit to school children. It appears that the people trying to instill better eating habits in children are banging their heads against a wall. It's really too bad that these things don't work and after thinking about it for a while, I think I've figured out why. It's because, once they leave the schoolyard, they go back to the old habits.
Let's face it. Nowadays it's a struggle to get kids to eat any fruit or vegetable. Why? Because many of them have been brought up on a diet of mostly processed foods, due mostly to the fact that it's just easier. Easier because it's supposedly time-saving. Easier because both parents work and they don't have time to cook meals let alone have family dinners with every family member in attendance. Unfortunately, this also means that all of those chemical additives and sugar that make the food "taste better" are poisoning us all. Including our children.
And, because kids are used to that crap, they certainly aren't going to go out there and eat anything healthy.
A while back I was watching the "documentary" about Jamie Oliver trying to make more healthy school lunches. He seemed to be fighting a losing battle and that was really unfortunate. I remember one scene where he was demonstrating - in a very crude way - how chicken strips are made and I have to tell you that it made me want to vomit. I haven't eaten one since.
The trouble is that it's great to try and feed kids healthy food, however, if their diet at home doesn't change, then there won't be a whole lot of benefit. They'll still be eating the same old crap. If these people want healthier children, they will have to work with their families and have a concerted effort.
Maybe if every parent had to participate in a program like that of the BBC program "Honey We're Killing the Kids" there might be better results. This show is where they take a look at a child's lifestyle and then project what that same kid will look like when they turn 40. The photos are devastatingly horrid and perhaps it's just a clever view created with Photoshop however, we really are killing our kids by feeding them this crap. Not only that, we're killing ourselves.
I hated lots of foods when I was a kid but thankfully, my parents made me eat it. Now that I'm an adult, most of my dislikes have gone away (with the exception of fish, water chestnuts, and things like cooked onions, cooked cabbage and a series of other cooked vegetables - I prefer the raw versions of these). With the exception of white bread, all of that food was really healthy.
People say that eating healthy is just too expensive. Not true, I say because local produce and even some organic stuff does not cost a mint. And besides, it's not cheaper to eat convenience foods... Have you thought of the health costs to this as well? Crap begets crap, as far as I'm concerned. If we eat processed crap, we're only setting ourselves up to "pay" later in life with all sorts of ailments.
I'm a firm believer that this is why there are so many depressed people out there as well. If you eat unhealthy foods, then your body isn't going to be in peak condition and that means you're susceptible to feeling bad. How can I say this? Because I've been treated for depression twice in my life and it wasn't until I started eating better that I began to stop feeling bad. And, I know that when I do fall off the healthy-eating bandwagon, I start to feel bad. I can't tell you how much better it is to be in control of your life than to have some drug keeping you from feeling the natural highs and lows that we have in our lives. (By the way, I am not advocating throwing your antidepressants out the window but looking at ones diet and the way that it affects you could be an indicator of where the imbalance is coming from). I even wonder if pregnant women who are eating unhealthily are passing the "results" down to their children.
Here we are back to the subject of children... I think it's a great ideat to take a look at these kinds of healthy eating programs and perhaps a look, as well, at how we can get the families to "buy into it" as well. That's the only way to ensure that children will eat well, exercise more and not become huge slugs that have no energy.
After all, it won't kill any of us to eat more healthy...
1 Comments:
Every day, I see the effects of a poor diet on the kids I work on. Maybe it's because of my dental background, but I have no idea how parents don't realize that feeding their kids tons of sugary processed foods will rot their teeth. I'm tired of parents saying "Oh are my child's teeth weak or something? Maybe it's genetic?" when I think it only takes a modicum of common sense to figure out that eating cookies and drinking coke every day is going to give you cavities. Grr...
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