A study just released by the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior has been causing headlines like “removing soda from the schools may not make a difference in teen’s consumption of soda”I am not sure what they are trying to imply with this study but teenagers are a pretty hard group to change habits.  These headlines are so misleading, are they implying we should put soda back in the school because it won’t make a difference?We don’t need a study to tell us that soda  IS NOT okay for children.  We know that one can has 10 or more teaspoons of sugar in it.  Who would give that to their child while they were in school?  We know that simple sugar gives us calories for some energy but no nutrition?  no vitamins, no minerals, no fiber…just calories.But regardless of all that, it speaks to one important key point. We need to help our kids form their habits  while they are younger.  Keep high fat and high sugary foods, including soda out of the house.  This is one of the best ways to limit the amount your child eats.  Help your child learn that these are not every day foods but once in a while foods.  Your actions can really send a strong message to your young child.The younger your child is the more impressionable they are to your ideas, thoughts and actions as they are beginning to form their own ideas and habits!  Show your child what foods you really value and love by keeping those foods in your house readily available for eating.And sometimes when you bite into your apple or whatever your favorite fruit or vegetable is, let out that “ahhh, this tastes soooo gooood!” So your child can not only see but hear how good those foods really are!  They are listening and learning…

The American Academy of Pediatrics has just released its new guidelines for Vitamin D. They have doubled the dose required for children from 200 units to 400 units. New evidence has shown that by increasing the amount of Vitamin D, children could see significant health benefits later in life.

Vitamin D helps our immune system fight disease, cancer and diabetes. It is also critical for children who need Vitamin D, in order for the body to absorb calcium, to develop strong bones.

But did you know that 3 out of 4 kids are not getting the recommended levels of calcium & vitamin D before the recommended increase! What makes it harder is that vitamin D is not required to be shown on food labels. And let’s face it, who can realistically calculate number of units for all the different vitamins and minerals your child’s growing body needs.

That is just not practical and not a realistic way for us parents to figure out how to make sure they get the vitamins and minerals they need.

The work has already been done for us. Follow the USDA MyPyramid and just make sure that your child is getting the number of servings per food group.

For example, if your child gets 1 serving of milk (1 cup) that equates to 100 units. So no worries, make sure your child is getting their proper servings from the milk group and your child is just about there. Depending on their age, they need 2 or 3 servings of low fat or nonfat milk or milk related products.

Use our meal planner to see what your child needs and create a meal that has the right number of servings.

FYI- here are some other foods high in vitamin D:

• Salmon, cooked (3.5 ounces) 360 units
• Tuna, canned (3 ounces) 200 units
• Milk (1 cup) 100 units
• Vitamin D-fortified orange juice (1 cup) 100 units
• Soy beverage (1 cup) 100 units
• Sardines, canned (1.75 ounces) 250 units

Focus on the well balanced meal and your child will be getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. Fish, nuts, fruits and vegetables and whole grain cereals pack that nutrition punch..and they taste good.

With the high cost of food, gas and general living expenses, we are all looking at how to economize a bit to get more for our buck. Back to school means buying food for school lunches or purchasing school lunches. I can’t tell you how many articles I have seen in the last month related to the increasing cost of school lunches. School cafeterias are experiencing the higher cost of providing school lunches and it is going to be passed down to the kids, or I should say parents. But that is to be expected.

What can parents do to try to control food costs, be a bit more economical and still provide their child with a nutritious lunch. This article shared a few ideas that some parents were doing with their children. It also pointed out the opportunity to teach your child about economics.

I do know you pay more for convenience. Here are a few off the top of my head suggestions:

• So one way to economize is to avoid the prepackaged lunches.
• Buying in bulk and packaging it yourself will save some money.
• Fresh fruits and vegetables are still inexpensive compared to high fat foods.
• Looking at what your child actually eats and minimizing the “throwing food away” will help.
• Having kids participate in the lunch making process, food selection will increase the chances that they will eat what you send.

Do any of you parents have other suggestions you can share?

Eating Mexican tonight!

Whole beans… did I say whole beans. This is one of the healthiest sides you can eat. Packed with flavor, packed with fiber and packed with protein! It’s the other stuff that goes into the burrito that you have to be careful about.

First and foremost stay away from refried beans! If you ever saw refried beans made you might gasp. I know I did. And it still is a memory stuck in my brain. I was probably about 15 when I was over a friend’s house (okay that was a while ago, but I still remember it like yesterday) and her mom was making refriend beans.

The top half of the pan was floating with about a good 1 to 1 1/2 inches of grease/oil. And the beans were buried under it and as the beans heated up, the oil slowly absorbed into the beans so you no longer saw the oil just the beans. If I had not seen it made, I would have never known how much fat was secretively hiding in each bite.

But, you say, I love refried beans. Well, here is a tip then. There are fat free refried beans, canned versions you can find.

If you make fresh beans, instead of adding the oil to fry it up, use the juice of the beans and smash it up. It will look like refried without all the extra fat.

Taking the kids to watch the local professional team is always a fun and memorable day. But what should you buy your child to eat that is healthier?

Hot dog or pretzel? well, a hot dog with bun has about 280 calories including the mustard. It is high in fat but it does provide protein.

A pretzel has about 500 calories and is full of processed flour. So lots of calories and that is pretty much it.

Surprised, that a hot dog won out over the pretzel? I was, but there you go, a little knowledge can go a long way in helping reduce the amount of calories your child could eat during one ballgame.

To be fair, if your child is active everyday, eats healthy meaning about five servings of fruits and vegetables on most days than the occasional out of balance meal is not going to hurt. But most kids, unfortunately, are not in this category so it’s best to know which foods are really high in calories and then limit to one.

Hot dogs, chips and a soda adds up to a lot of calories. So ask them to pick one. It will help your pocketbook also.

Don’t buy the pretzel and hot dog. Ouch…That is almost 900 calories.

Another idea is have a cook out before the big game. Tailgating is fun and creates special memories for the family. Plus, you can sneak in those healthy treats and they won’t be hungry during the game!

I know I am usually blogging about children nutrition but this number was too scary so I had to read the article. And since parents are the prime role model for children’s food habits…. there’s lot so reason to pay attention.

This study was based off an analysis of the weight gains in American since 1970’s. If the same trend line continues than we end up with the warning….nine out of ten Americans will be overweight or obese.

Currently, there are about 2/3s or 66% of American who are overweight or obese…and about 1/3 of our kids. There have been some recent studies that have shown some “flattening” of the trend, so perhaps some of us are starting to change our habits.

That is what is boils down to. Can we change some of our habits? Can we take the stairs instead of the elevator? Can we walk some places instead of drive? Can we grab a piece of fruit rather than a bag of chips? We can change our destiny by working on some key habits.

And the good news. Small changes do add up, so we don’t have to change everything all at once.

Certainly the prediction of stroke and heart attacks in adults is not surprising. But what is scary is the age. We are talking about young adults that are predicted to have these diseases in their thirties. It comes from being overweight for so many years, since childhood.

Two recent studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated that overweight children will have premature heart attacks and strokes as they age.
The first study done by University of California, San Francisco used a computer algorithm to model the likely effects of obesity as these children aged.

• 19% more likely to die from heart disease beginning at age 35

The second study, Institute for Preventative Medicine Copenhagen, Denmark looked at data from 276,835 people who had been examined in 1930. This study found:

• The higher the body mass index, the higher the risk of heart disease

As a nurse, I can emphasize how serious this is. We are talking about our children’s quality of life and life expectancy. Here’s the thing. We can make a difference. It is not too late for these children, if we begin to make life style changes now.

Each change will add up. Start by talking with your family and making the commitment to healthy eating and regular activity. That does not mean you change everything at once. Start with just one simple goal. We have agreements that you can use on the parents nutrition tools page that focus on one nutrition goal.

Just one goal at a time.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition has just updated its recommendations for cholesterol testing for children.  It used to be recommended for children 2 years and older whose parents had risk factors of:
Heart disease
High cholesterol levels
Disease and cholesterol levels of parents unknown

Now the new guidelines recommended cholesterol testing for all children who have risk factors starting at age 2 but no later than age 10.  These risk factors include:
Kids who are overweight
Kids who are obese
Kids with diabetes
Kids with high blood pressure
Kids that smoke

Why the change in guidelines?  Well, studies are finding changes in kids arteries that can lead to heart disease.  These changes are beginning in childhood.  By intervening during childhood through early diagnosis they can:
Start early education to change children’s eating habits, physical activity and some even need medicine.  This early intervention or treatment can possibly prevent heart problems later in life.

UCLA did a study and reported the top ten healthiest juices. After all, not all juice is created equal.

So here they are in order of healthiest:
1. Pomegranate juice
2. Red Wine (okay, this is NOT one for the kids)
3. Concord grape juice
4. Blueberry juice
5. Black cherry juice
6. Acai juice
7. Cranberry juice
8. Orange juice
9. Tea
10. Apple juice

So what makes pomegranate juice the best juice? Well according to the study, they took into account the vitamins and antioxidant levels (click here to get the definition), and pomegranate has the most different types of antioxidants to fight off cancer such as prostate cancer and heart disease.

As a good general rule, the more color, the more antioxidants it will have. So berries are another great fruit.

A study conducted in Boston analyzing infants and toddlers for vitamin D deficiency.

Okay, this is serious. The reason the study was initiated was because of a rise in vitamin D deficiency and rickets. The reports were coming from Alaska, Iowa, Nevada, California, North Carolina, Texas and Boston, among others. Vitamin D is necessary for bone and teeth development. Rickets is a disease caused by vitamin D deficiency with symptoms that include:

• bowed legs
• bowed arms
• bony bumps on ribcage
• seizures
• pain
• and other symptoms as well

According to this study, healthy infants and toddlers may have low levels of vitamin D,
1/3 of these kids appear to have evidence of reduced bone mineral content (on X-ray)
We are talking about vitamin D deficiency and rickets ( a disease that I have only heard about, never seen during my nursing practice)
The study involved 380 healthy children from the ages of 8 months to 24 months who visited their pediatrician during 2005-2007.

I think what was most concerning was the lack of symptoms. So the regular screen methods may not be enough.

So for you moms with young ones, this is something to talk with your doctor about. Here is the actual study, if you would like to review the methodology and conclusions.