Easy, Tasty Oatmeal

Oatmeal has a bad wrap! Most people view it as boring and bland.  Not only is oatmeal extremely healthy with loads of fiber but with the proper recipe it is easy to make and super yummy. I make a pot full and leave it in the fridge.  Then for breakfast in a rush, I just zap it in the microwave for a minute with a little milk and there you go, a healthy homemade breakfast in seconds.

Cooking Time: 15 minutes Servings: 4

Ingredients

4 cups 1% milk

1 tsp cinnamon

1 cup pitted and chopped dates or 3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 cups old fashion oatmeal

 

Cooking Instructions

1.      Put milk, cinnamon and dates in a thick based pot turn heat on medium and bring milk to a boil.

 

 

 

2.    Add oatmeal, turn heat down to low and let oatmeal simmer for 10 minutes.

3.    Once oatmeal is at the desired texture remove from heat, let it cool for a couple minutes and serve.

  

Vegan Crockpot Chili

As a parents we are always busy, running from one obstacle to another.  Whether you are a stay-at-home dad, an executive mom, or a homeschooling parent; we just cannot keep up with all the demands and delights of parenthood, not to mention cook a decent meal.  So in an effort to provide my growing children with a healthy diet and appetizing food, I began to embrace my crockpot.  In effort to live up to my dreams of feeding my family a clean cuisine in the shortest amount of time possible I came up with this vegan recipe.  We couldn’t get enough of it, and I made extra so there was enough left over for lunch for a couple days too.  If you are using dried beans instead of canned remember to soak them 24 hours in advance.  Dried beans are cheaper with less salt, chemicals and preservatives than canned beans.

 

Vegan Crockpot Chili

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Servings: 10-12

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon flaked basil

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups of dry kidney beans soaked overnight or 2 cans of organic PBA free kidney beans.

2 fifteen ounce cans low sodium tomato sauce

1 cup red or orange sweet peppers chopped (red or orange so the family will not know they are there)

Directions:

1.       Put olive oil in a skillet and sauté onions, garlic, cumin, basil and black pepper until onion start to lightly brown.

2.       In your crockpot, put the beans in first, then the tomato sauce and onion mixture then combine.  Finally put the peppers on top.  Cover the crockpot and turn to low if you want it to be ready in 8 hours or more.  Set to crockpot to high if you want it done in 4 hours.

3.       Once it is done, stir in the peppers and serve with a side of rice or crusted bread.  Most importantly, add a salad or some roasted vegetables as a healthy side.

 

Harvest Your Own

Walking down the streets of our neighborhood is like strolling through the different sections of a botanical garden. Lucious green lawns and flower beds more colorful than a rainbow are the reward of the hard work of the tireless gardeners. As I walk through the neighborhood, I frequently stretch my neck in hopes of getting a look at a vegetable garden here or there but unfortunately they are far and few between. But when I do get a glimpse at one, a bigger smile spreads across my face. 

All plants are beautiful and serve a purpose in this world but my favorite plants are those I can eat. We plant a vegetable garden every year and each year we get better and more courageous, willing to experiment with new varieties. Vegetable gardening is not only fun but it is healthy for more reasons than you think!

First off, it is a great work out. If you garden properly, it is not strenuous. In fact it builds strength and stamina. Whenever I garden the next day my legs are soar from all the squats I did mindlessly getting done to dig, plant, pick and weed. My arms get a great work out from all the lifting and digging. And I get some heart healthy walking from going back and forth from the garden to the garage, kitchen or wherever I have to go. 

In addition to the work out, gardening encourages people to eat more vegetables and fruits especially kids. Children get excited about the peas, green beans, lettuce or whatever they grow in their garden making them more willing to try new foods. 

Finally, it also a fun productive way to spend time with the family. It gives everyone a sense of accomplishment of what the family did together. Children like to show off their gardens to friends and family which help build self-esteem in their abilities to reach goals. At the end they have something to show, enjoy and share after all their hard work.  

There is still some time to start your own. Build a family with healthier bonds and bodies, now get out there and garden. 

Treats and Fun for Kids, More Damage than Good

The last couple weeks have been eye-opening for me in regards to children's nutrition.  Two distinct and independent events occurred opening my eyes to the severity of the presence of sugar, fat, and salt in our children's diets.  The first event came along during my son’s first soccer game of the season. He is not new to soccer, he has been playing since was three; he will celebrate his fifth birthday in a month or so. The second event was at my son's school for their end of the year party.

 

Let's start with the soccer, last summer the children would play soccer and at the end of the game they got a snack and drink. The snacks were usually sugary junk food like little Debbies cakes, Rice Krispy treats, gummy fruits stuff paired with even more sugar in a Capri Sun juice.  I did not care for that practice but I was expecting it. The new snack policy for soccer this year completely blew me out of the water. Now let me explain how soccer games for these little kids’ works, half of the team plays while the other half sits.  They play in 10 minute shifts and the game is 40 minutes long; most of the time the kids don't even break a sweat.  Even though the game is 40 minutes long, in reality each child only plays for 10 minutes at a time for a total of 20 minutes. Now this year they switched up the snack policy, halfway through the game the children get a snack for example a piece of orange or watermelon and some water or a juice box.  Then once they finish the second half of the game they are given a second snack usually an unhealthy one like a fruit rollup, cookie, or Rice Krispy treat with yet another box of juice.  Now let's be reasonable here little kids jogging around the soccer field for 20 minutes might burn 200 calories if they're lucky. Between the fruit, juice, and treat these children are given over 400 calories of food. Is that really necessary, is the US experiencing an epidemic of malnutrition or obesity?

The second horrific experience was at my son’s and of the year party. The teacher provided the goodie bags and she asked the parents to bring snacks for the children for the party. I took a cantaloupe expecting there to be lots of sweets but when I walked into the classroom that morning I was completely astonished. There were nine different cakes for only 12 students! On top of that, the goodie bags were full of Twix’s, Kit Kats, M&M’s, Cheeto’s and many other candies.  Wasn't the cake enough? Nobody brought a fruit or a vegetable except for me, why? And that was only one class, how about the bus driver, the gym teacher, and anyone else who visited the class on their final week? Every where they turned they were being showered with candy.

I understand that children like candy, I'm not a kid and I like candy too. Isn’t all that overdoing it? Is there no limit anymore? Why do we always have to tie happiness and celebration with food, especially sweets? If the children made their own kites, decorated them, then went outside and flew them, wouldn't that be a fun celebration for the end of the year? Or if their teacher gave them a free period to play outside or play board games in the classroom, isn't that fun too? Why must we shower them with sweets?

Not only are we turning our children into materialistic creatures feeling they must receive something in order to be happy or celebrate but we're teaching them detrimental habits. We are branding it in their brains that in order to celebrate or be happy food and candy must be available. Without sweets, fat, and sugar there is no happiness. Is this the message we want to send our children?

Teflon and Cancer

Health conscious individuals do their best to eat healthy, exercise, and cook at home.  But current research is showing what you cook in maybe as important as what you cook with.

There have been rumors about the safety of Teflon for a long time.  But the most stricking came out in 2006.  The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared one of the chemicals, PFOA, used to make Teflon a “likely human carcinogen.”  What makes PFOA even more dangerous is that it is an indestructible chemical so all the PFOA manufactured since 1950 will remain indefinitely in our soil, water and bodies [1].  PFOA can cross the maternal and fetal blood barrier which may increase the risk of birth defects [2].  All ten newborns tested by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) for PFOA had the pollutant in their blood.  A study conducted in 2007 in Demark found the higher the concentration of PFOA in the newborn’s blood the lower its birth weight [3].  This makes PFOA a significant public health concern [3]. Birth defects are not the only concern when it comes to PFOA, multiple animal studies have reported an increased risk of cancer, birth defects and other health problems [4].  In humans, PFOA has been found to increase cancer risk especially prostate cancer but these studies have been inconclusive [4]. Additionally, the American Council on Health and Science claims that the amounts of PFOA used in animal studies is much higher than what the general population is exposed to and research has not been able to make a definite link between humans and cancer induced by PFOA [2]. 

In short, PFOA is an everlasting, manmade chemical used in production of Teflon.  Although there are two sides to the argument both sides agree that PFOA has devastating effects on animals and may have side effects on humans.  More recent studies are showing that PFOA does have some negative impacts on human newborns but more research on cancer and other health problems is needed before any decisions can be made.

Teflon cooking ware is not a must in the kitchen.  Stainless steel, glassware, and iron pots and pans have with stood the test of time.  They are more expensive than Teflon but at least one can be sure they are safe for preparing food for family and friends.

 

1.            Environmental Working Group. EPA Science Panel Says Teflon Chemical 'Likely' Cause of Cancer.  2006  [cited 2009; Available from: http://www.ewg.org/node/21302.

2.            American Council on Health and Science. Teflon Contains a Cancer-Causing Chemical PFOA. Top Ten Unfolded Health Scares of 2006 # 6  2006  [cited 2010; Available from: http://www.acsh.org/publications/pubID.1438/pub_detail.asp.

3.            Fei, C., et al., Perfluorinated chemicals and fetal growth: a study within the Danish National Birth Cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2007. 115(11): p. 1677.

4.            Steenland, K., et al., Predictors of PFOA levels in a community surrounding a chemical plant. 2009.

 

What is Clean Eating

When grocery shopping, the perimeter of the store is my comfort zone. I go down only a few isles: the frozen section for frozen veggies and ice cream (yes I do eat ice cream), the pasta isle, and the Mediterranean isle. But as I talk to more people and they learn I am a nutritionist, people have been asking me about numerous different products. So I decided to take a journey down the treacherous isles of the super market.

No goal in mind, I wondered around with my cart picking up different products and reading the ingredient; most of them looking like the chemical gibberish from my chemistry books. I kept asking myself why people intentionally ingest chemistry experiments. I am not alone with this thought. Many health conscious individuals share the same feeling. They do not want to eat chemicals, preservatives, food coloring and numerous other things added by manufacturers to the foods.

Clean eating is eating food that does not contain foreign substances. Ingredients for the products would be recognizable food names like olive oil, whole wheat flour, sugar and other whole foods. Food is prepared using only food grown by nature; this includes red meats, chicken, fish, shrimp and many other unprocessed meats.  Baloney, pepperoni and fish sticks are not on the menu at clean eating households. People eat foods with no artificial anything. This entails cooking from scratch sometimes but that does not mean it has to be a lengthy practice. You can find numerous clean eating recipes on the Healthy Plate 5 blog that take about 30 minutes to prepare.

 

Processed foods contain high quantities of hidden sugar, salt, high fructose sugar, saturated fats and other unhealthy substances.  Clean eating limits the amount of these unhealthy ingredients because you know what is in your food and you know how much of it you put in your meals. This aids in weight loss, diabetes, hypertension, renal disease, gluten free diets and numerous food intolerances people suffer from because the cook controls exactly what and how much goes into the meal.

Just like most other diet choices, clean eating does not have to be an all-or-nothing regime.  You can try to eat clean as much as possible but when you are traveling, sick, busy or just do not feel like cooking there are other options.  Making the change to eliminate as many chemicals possible is a healthy step that can benefit both you and your family.

 

Basil

Greek cuisine is known for being one of the healthiest, especially since hundreds of studies have been published about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet [1].  One of the unique traits of the Mediterranean Diet is it’s richness in fresh herbs such as basil.  This amazing herb has been shown to be a potent antioxidant and an anti-carcinogen as it detoxifies mutations in the cell [2].  Basil also has antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral properties [3].  That is not all; basil is also an anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating herb [3], which help induce cardiovascular health and rid the body of sickness respectively.  

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/healthy-basil

 

In order to harness all these health promoting properties, it is best to consume the basil leaves as soon as possible.  An easy, cheap way to do this is to grow your own basil plant. It can be grown in a pot in a sunny window or in the back yard.  You can grow it from seed or buy a potted plant at a local famer’s market.  Basil is easy to maintain and grows like a weed.  Just water it every day and make sure it gets adequate sun light.  Then when you need some fresh, fragrant basil just snip some off, chop it up and add it to the dish.

 

1.            Sofi, F., et al., Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 2008. 337(sep11 2): p. a1344.

2.            Tapsell, L., et al., Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future. Medical Journal of Australia, 2006. 185(4): p. S4-S24.

3.            Lee, J. and C.F. Scagel, Chicoric acid found in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves. Food Chemistry, 2009. 115(2): p. 650-656.

 

Meatless Monday Menu

Wondering what and how to cook a Meatless Monday meal?  But first, what is it? Meatless Monday is a nationwidemovement to help encourage person to eat healthier and preserve the environmentat the same time.  Mass meat productiontakes a big toll on the environment and by avoiding meat even for only one daya week can help reduce the carbon dioxide levels in the environment and loweryour cholesterol levels too.  This fitshand in hand with Earth Day being on Monday, making it the perfect way tocelebrate Earth Day this year.

 Here is an easy,healthy, fast dinner to prepare in celebration of Earth Day: Roasted Asparagus,Cherry Tomato Sauce and Pasta. 

First start with the cherry tomato sauce since is takes thelongest.

Cherry Tomato Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 pint baby bell mushrooms

1 tsp dried onion

A pinch of corn starch

Salt to taste

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in apan and turn on heat until warm then add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet andcover.  While the tomatoes warm, wash thebella mushrooms and halve the bigger mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are all washed add them to the skillet.  Also add the dried onions and a dash of salt,put heat on medium and cover skillet. Now cook the pasta of your choice accordingto the package.  Make enough for 4serving.

2.      Next start the Roasted Asparagus.

Roasted Asparagus:

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1        pound asparagus

3.      Rinse asparagus and chop off bottom fibrous inchof the asparagus stocks.  Put theasparagus on a cookie sheet drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle on salt andpepper. Now mix it all up with your hands and put the cookie sheet in theoven.  It should be ready in about 15minutes.  Now go set the table.

4.      Once the mushrooms and tomatoes are soft add asprinkle of cornstarch and stir the vegetable juices to thicken up the sauce.It should take the vegetables between 30-45 minutes to soften.

5.      Your food is done and your table is set, now godig in.

Healthy Snacks for Kids

Every mom experiences the question of, what do I feed my kids? We all look for the perfect snack, fast easy, healthy and most important of all: the kids will eat it without complaining.  Ideally, a well-rounded snack will contain three main nutrients: protein, whole grains and fiber.  What options are available? How do we get our kids to try it? Here are some of our favorites:

1.       My kids favorite snack is avocado with whole grain tortilla chips with a cup of milk.  The avocado is rich in vitamins, healthy fats, and fiber.  The whole grain tortilla chips obviously have whole grains and fiber while the milk provides the protein.

2.       Greek yogurt spread on a whole grain tortilla or pita with an apple.  If your kids are old enough do not peel the apple as the skin is the rich in fiber and nutrients.  You can try pears, grapes, peaches or any fruit your child likes.

3.       Veggies with hummus and whole grain crackers, the kids can dunk their veggies in the hummus which is healthier than ranch dressing or they can spread it on the crackers.

4.       Edamame pasta salad made with whole grain pasta.  Choose vegetables your kids like and if they are not fond of edemame try another kind of bean like kidney beans, black beans or garbanzo beans.  This is a versatile salad, try different combinations until you find the best match for your family.

5.       Another favorite in our house is a grilled cheese sandwich with a fruit side.  Of course if they eat the whole sandwich it can be a meal or you and the kids can split the sandwich for a yummy snack.

6.       Talking about meals that can be snacks, scrambled eggs on half a whole grain English muffin with a tangerine.

7.       If your children can eat nuts, they provide protein, healthy fats and numerous other nutrients.  A homemade oatmeal cookie containing walnuts, raisins and half the amount of sugar the recipe calls for coupled with a cup of milk makes a snack most children love.

Tuna Salad with no mayo paired with whole grain crackers.

 

These snacks are all great for home but what about when you are on the run or in the car.  What can you give your kids that is healthy, easy and does not make a mess?

1.       Low fat string cheese: if you have a cooler this makes a great snack for the park or the car. 

2.       Granola bars: I love these for the car.  I always have a box hidden in my van somewhere.  Yes, they are high in sugar but most are made with whole grains and nuts or peanut butter (beware if your kids are allergic to nuts, make sure to read the ingredients carefully).  Some of them even have dried fruit.

3.       Fresh fruits: tangerines, grapes, strawberries and blue berries go with us one most of our trips.  Just wash them in advance and stick them in a small cooler.  These fruits keep well, do not change color (like sliced apples), do not need much preparation in advance and kids love them. 

4.       Fresh veggies: carrots and cucumbers with a hummus dip work well with us.  As I give a vegetable stick to my kids I dunk it in some hummus, so they do not make a mess in the car.  Downside is someone else has to be driving.

Send us your kids favorite snacks.  We are always looking for fun, healthy ideas.

Carbs: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One day carbs are bad, the next they are good then bad again. What is it about carbs and what exactly is a "carb"? Carb is short for carbohydrate which is just a smarty-pants way for saying sugar or energy. Where do carbs come from? You can find carbs in almost everything. Unless you are eating pure fat and protein i.e. corn oil and steak, your food contains carbs. Fruits, vegetables, dairy and most sources of protein other than meat have carbs. The foods with the richest amount or carbs are the grains food group.

Are carbs bad? Should you avoid them? No. But why do they have such a bad wrap? Because some carbs are bad for you but the carbs are not to blame the method in which the food was made or other ingredients make it unhealthy. What do twinkies, white bread, and white flour have in common? You guessed it, refined grains. When wheat undergoes a long process of beginning peeled, polished, bleached, and ground white flour or refined grains are produced. This flour becomes so lacking in nutrients due to rigorous production methods manufacturers must add nutrients back. Then they call the product enriched making it sound like they are doing the consumer a favor. These refined grains have negative impacts on your health. People who eat products rich in refines grains are more likely to gain weight, be diagnosed with diabetes and suffer from high triglycerides and elevated cholesterol.

On the other hand, whole grains provide numerous nutritional benefits. Particularly whole grains not ground into whole grain flour for example quinoa, bulgur, freekeh, wild rice and many others. These grains provide fiber, and B complex vitamins, while some supply iron and even calcium. New research shows whole grains are also rich in antioxidants. Due to the high fiber content whole grains result in a more controlled blood sugar compared to refined grains, in others words whole grains generally fall lower on the glycemic index. The fiber content also promotes satiety so you will feel full longer which aids weight loss and weight control.


Want to add more whole grains to your diet? Have oatmeal or granola for breakfast, throw a handful of barley, oatmeal or buckwheat into a soup. Make wild rice, bulgur or quinoa instead of white rice or pasta. Experiment with freekeh as a side dish, soup or stuffing for your chicken. Remember Nation Nutrition Month is about 'Eating Healthy, Your Way, Ever Day,' find out how you like your whole grains, exploring new dishes can be quite fun.

Astonishing Asparagus

Spring is here; and along with it comes the warm weather, beautiful flowers and sunny afternoon walks.  But more importantly, the fresh produce starts coming in soon.  Finally, after a long winter of frozen vegetables people can start buying fresh from the farmers market and enjoy the true flavor of “fresh.”  One of the vegetables native to March is asparagus.  These tasty stalks are from the lily family, which also arrive in April. 

In addition to bursting with flavor and texture, asparagus is packed full of nutrients and stripped clean of calories.  Four asparagus shoots are only 13 calories with 12% of the Daily Value of vitamin A, 38% vitamin K and 22% folate.  This wealth in folate is important because many scientists believe folate deficiency to be one of the most common deficiencies in the USA [1].  Folate deficiency increase ones risk for heart disease and causes megaloblastic anemia which could result in depression, irritability, forgetfulness and disturbed sleep [1].  Additionally, the fetuses of pregnant women who do not consume enough folate are at risk for neural tube defects [1].  Getting enough folate before pregnancy can prevent such mishaps.  Fotunately, asparagus is high in folate and other vitamins while it is low in calories and easy to prepare.

The good stuff does not stop there; asparagus is also called a prebiotic food.  Everyone has heard of probiotics, the beneficial bacteria found in yogurt that promotes digestive health, but what about prebiotics.  Prebiotics nourish the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.  Prebiotics not only nourish the good bacteria which reduce pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella and clostridia while beneficial microbiota also decrease carcinogen activity in the gut [2].  So on top of being packed with healthy goodies, asparagus also promotes good digestive health.

With all these benefits, eating asparagus is a no brainer but preparing it properly may be tricky.  Asparagus, like many other vegetables lose a significant amount of vitamins during preparation because they dissolve in the cooking water.  In order to preserve the greatest amount of vitamins steam, bake or grill your veggies.  My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to cut off the woody bottoms, rinse them with water thoroughly, then place them in a baking pan.  Drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil, sprinkle on some salt and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bon Appetite!

References:

1.            Insel, P., E. Turner, and D. Ross, Nutrition. 2 ed. 2004, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

2.            Mahan, K. and S. Escott-Stump, Krause's Food, Nutrition, & Diet Therapy. 11 ed. 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Saubers.

 

Simple Salad

All of us could use to eat more fruits and vegetables. Even if you do fill your plate half full of vegetables; eating a few more serving a day will not hurt. In celebration of National Nutrition Month we will talk about ways to incorporate more veggies and fruit into our diet. One of the easiest ways to introduce a selection of new fruits and veggies is through salad.

I love salads; light, crisp, crunchy and fresh. But chills flow down my back when people smother them with salad dressing. Most dressing a full of fat, emulsifiers, dyes, preservatives and flavors just to mention a few. On the other hand, salad can be dry and difficult to swallow without some dressing. Which is why I make my own. Homemade salad dressings can be full of taste and free of the chemicals and concoctions in store bought dressings.

Homemade salad dressing is not a one size fits all deal. Try experimenting with different oils, spices, citrus and vinegars. Olive oil, lemon and plain salt and pepper are my favorite. Using herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary and dill add an exciting kick to fresh spring salads. When making dressing with your own dressing you know exactly what goes in it, not to mention the nutritional benefits of the healthy oils and fresh herbs.

Simple Salad Dressing:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Juice one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon of the fresh chopped herb of your choice (optional)

Put all the ingredients in a jar and shake it well. Pour contents on your salad. It makes enough dressing for 6 servings of salad.

Celebrate National Nutrition Month

March has arrived and so has National Nutrition Month. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics choose an excellent theme this year 'Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day'. Personally I find this refreshing because it recognizes all different types of eating regardless of culture or ethnicity. Being of a mixed background myself I enjoy different types of eating; those of my own ethnicities and new acquired tastes.

 



Middle Eastern My Plate

'Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day' highlights the reality that every diet regardless of culture can be healthy. For example, just because an authentic Middle Eastern diet does not include broccoli does not make it unhealthy.  On the contrary the Middle Eastern cuisine utilizes numerous healthy fruits and vegetables not common in the American diet like grape leaves, olives, figs and persimmons.  It may be different but it is still healthy.

 

My Plate which was launched in 2010 makes healthy eating easier than even.  We just need to follow these simple guidelines:

 

1.    Half of your plate should be vegetables and fruits.  And no, potatoes do not count as a vegetable here.

2.    One quarter should be starches and grains, preferably whole grains whenever possible. In this quarter include foods like rice, whole grain bread, bulgur, freekeh, potatoes (yup you got it, potatoes belong here), quinoa, etc.

3.    In the final quarter pile up on lean and plant based proteins.  Good protein sources such as chicken breasts, lean steaks, beans, and nuts.

4.    Have a low or fat free dairy product with 3 of your meals.  A cup of skim milk with breakfast, low fat yogurt for dessert or an ounce of low fat cheese with a fruit for a healthy snack are just a few options.

5.    Finally, when preparing your food make smart decisions about the fats you use.  Choose healthy sources like olive oil, canola oil, flaxseed, avocado, or other monounsaturated or polyunsaturated healthy fat sources.

 

Use these generalized tips to make your own choices based on your cultural cuisine and personal preferences.  Let’s celebrate National Nutrition Month together! Let’s pave to road to health for ourselves and generations to come.

 

Vitamin D and Our Children

Do you think your children get enough vitamin D?  Think again!  According to a study published in 2008, fifty-two percent of infants and toddlers in the USA have vitamin D levels below optimal and 12% of them have vitamin D deficiency [1].  Unfortunately, rickets, bowing of the legs due to vitamin D deficiency, is not only a early childhood problem, new cases in adolescents are being documented [2].  Vitamin D deficiency is more serious than it was once thought to be.  Current studies are reporting that vitamin D levels below optimal increase an individual’s risk for infection, autoimmune diseases, some forms of cancer and type 2 diabetes [2].  This is a growing problem in the USA and many other countries around the world; the good side is it is preventable.

In order to prevent vitamin D deficiency children need to get enough vitamin D, easy enough.  But what are good sources of vitamin D?  The number one source of vitamin D is direct sunlight.  The skin makes vitamin D when exposed to UVB light.  Fifteen to twenty minutes of direct sunlight a day can be enough for the body to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D, but unfortunately children spend about 93% of their day inside [2]. The seven percent they spent outside, they are smothered with sunscreen that inhibits vitamin D synthesis. As for food sources of vitamin D, they are limited.  Fatty fish, fish oils, liver and fat from aquatic animals and eggs from chickens fed vitamin D supplements are the few sources with any amount of naturally occurring vitamin D [2].  Fortunately there are fortified sources of vitamin D like milk and recently some orange juices are being fortified.  Even with fortification infants especially breastfed babies [1], children and adolescents are not getting enough vitamin D.

In hopes of reaching optimal vitamin D level in children, experts recommend that breastfed infants, children and adolescents take a supplement with 400 IU’s of vitamin D daily [2].  Additionally, spring and summer are the vitamin D making seasons; children should get 15 to 20 minutes of unprotected, sunscreen free, exposure of sun daily.  With adequate sun exposure first, consumption of fortified milk and supplementation hopefully we can overcome vitamin D deficiency and all the tags attached.

References:

1.            Gordon, C., et al., Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among healthy infants and toddlers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2008. 162(6): p. 505.

2.            Wagner, C. and F. Greer, Prevention of rickets and vitamin D deficiency in infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics, 2008. 122(5): p. 1142.