Childhood Obesity Linked to Fast Foods

The President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Dr. Neal Barnard, stated that the blame of  the increasing rate of childhood obesity seems to be linked to the increase in unhealthy foods  rather than  decreased exercise.

Dr. Barnard analyzed food availability data from 1909 to 2007 and found that during that period of time the food availability increased  from 35 to 87 lbs per person per year of oils, from 124 to 200 lbs per person per year of meat, from 4 to 33 lbs per person per year of cheese and from 1.5 to 25 lbs per person per year of frozen dairy products.

Also from 1970 to 2007 the availability of sweeteners increased from 119 to 136 lbs per  person per year.  This increase in caloric sweeteners reflects the increase in high-fructure corn syrup, which in part may be related to the sharp availability of carbonated beverages which increased by 15 gallons per person per year when comparing data from 2007 to 1980.

Lets stop and think about this  for a minute. This increase alone in sweeteners i.e. mostly high-fructose corn syrup in the last 27 years has had a dramatic impact on rather new childhood illnesses  such as  diabetes, obesity and not to mention ADHD?!

Do you think a growing child with a growing brain should be bathed in so much sugar?!

The consumption of bad fats is what is increasing so we must educate ourselves on the good fats.  Overall I believe Dr. Barnard is stating that we eat too much and so it follows that our children do the same.  To quote Dr. Barnard, “Our analysis of USDA figures shows that the big increases over the last century have been in the amount of meat, cheese, oil, and frozen desserts that people are consuming.  While people tend to blame a lack of exercise, it appears that meaty, cheesy diets are largely to blame.”

Annette Cartaxo, MD

Please visit me at http://www.cartaxo.isagenix.com

Feeding Mexico’s Children with Good Nutritious Foods and Isagenix

For many of us, no matter where we live  feeding our children is a daunting task between the darting and dashing from getting them to school, working at our jobs, picking them up and taking them to after school activities, homework, and then  bath and bedtime (all at a reasonable hour!).

We as parents have an instinct to provide for our children and we do in so many ways. I believe the most important  way is to feed them good nutritious foods!  After all isn’t food the  first thing mentioned when we say “food, clothing and shelter”?  When you are hungry nothing else usually matters.

Children usually like to eat often (i.e. snacks) and providing good  meals and snacks was always a chore for me.  It seems when my children were growing up  that all I did was prepare meals and snacks for them.  Good food is not an option on weekends but must be provided everyday!   Often I would see parents driving their children to sports and other activities with them driving through fast food restaurants and getting meals that come in a bag.

I have had the privilege to work with parents and children with special needs and nothing is more rewarding than creating overall health and watching the improvements happen. As a developmental pediatrician it seemed obvious to me that if a child is not eating healthy then they aren’t healthy and their performance in school and behavior  were not going to  allow that child to be reaching their potential.  It is necessary that all children get the right nutrition to optimize their development and potential.

I have been writing for over 20 years on this subject and it continues to excite me.  I have analyzed through sophisticated blood and urine tests how we as humans get healthy as I say ‘from the cell up’ .  Firstly if your cells are healthy you are healthy.  Think of a city using too much power and a brown out happens.  There is still electricity running but not optimally and finally a black out!  Then a halting of all energy.  Our cells are the same.  Our cells do get nutrients from junk food and can work but this is the brown out effect not so great!

I want to cut to the chase  and tell you what I think good nutrition means to me:

#1 Buy healthy foods and cook! You can always make large quantities of things like healthy muffins, meatballs, breads and freeze them.  I invested a long time ago in a deep freezer beside my refrigerator freezer to buy healthy meats (free range), cheeses, even frozen organic vegetables.  Plan ahead and take frozen food out especially meats in the morning before you go off to work.  Also invest in good pots – no aluminum it is toxic to the brain!!!!! Stainless steel, carbon steel woks, enamel pots, clear glass and corning ware and others are safe to use. ( I will do a separate blog on healthy kitchenware in the future). Teflon coated pots are a no no as well as microwaving food.  Pans can be soaked overnight if necessary to clean easier.  Look for my book “Healing Autism in the Kitchen” on Amazon.com.

#2 Learn what fats are healthy and what ones are not. Fats  are the most important substance for the brain of a healthy developing child.  If the water is taken out of our brains it will be comprised of 60% fats.  There are fats called “essential fats” or essential fatty acids that we as humans must get from our diet and cannot manufacture ourselves.  We can make some fats but these are used for energy and many other functions too numerous to mention.  The “essential fats” help in crucial cell functions such as immunity and brain function.  You literally can increase you smarts by eating good fats in foods and taking supplements with these precious types of fats.  Fats provide saiety  or that feeling of fullness so important in cutting down overeating and craving refined carbohydrates.  Good fats slow down digestion, giving  time for the for blood sugar to rise slowly so no getting all revved  up and then crashing down.  Essential fats cannot be heated so they should be added to already cooked foods.  Hemp oil is one of natures healthiest oils in the correct ratio of types of essential fats ( omega 6 and omega 3) that humans need.  These come in the form of oils and must be refrigerated.  It is easy to disguise them in shakes, smoothies, drizzled on top of meats, and in salad dressings.  They can be added to pasta sauces and soups provided they aren’t too hot but most children wouldn’t consume hot sauces or soups so that is not a problem.

#3 Protein is a must and I found many young children start with the habit of not eating meat or other forms of good protein. For many of my patients, the only source of  protein they ate was one particular fast food chain’s chicken nuggets.  Protein and fat should be included in every meal.  At least 3 meals should be consumed and 2 snacks should be provided for growing bodies.  There will be more in upcoming blogs with specifics about how to incorporate a healthy diet in resistant children.

To Eat Healthy

Annette Cartaxo, MD

http://www.cartaxo.isagenix.com