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Children's Health
Childrens Health Articles
Children's Health
By Brian Gokey, CFT, BSMET
Children’s Health
Children’s health is important to our families. Unlike with adults who may have not
eaten the correct diet, or exercised correctly and have gotten a sickness or disease, when it comes to children, it just seems different
if they get an illness. Generally, children do not get the long-term types of sicknesses that adults get. Therefore, when a child
is diagnosed with an adult type disease such as cancer or diabetes, it affects the whole family, and their lives.
What is Children’s
Health?
Your child's health includes physical, mental and social well-being. Most parents know the basics of keeping children healthy,
like offering them healthy foods, making sure they get enough sleep and exercise and ensuring their safety. Is there more that parents
can do? Yes, it is also important for children to get regular checkups with their health care provider. These visits are a chance
to check your child's development. They are also a good time to catch or prevent problems.
Other than checkups, school-age children
should be seen if they have any of the following issues:
* Significant weight gain or loss
* Sleep problems or change in behavior
* Fever higher than 102
* Rashes or skin infections
* Frequent sore throats
* Breathing problems
Parents can do even more though, ensuring they are getting the
correct nutrients, and not going for the "easy" meals of fast food and microwave dinners. We are starting to learn more and more that
the more processed our food is, the fewer nutrients it has for our bodies.
continued below.....
Keys to Children's Health
As we have written before on wellness4everyone, there are four main nutrients: carbohydrates, proteins, fats,
and water. These are considered macronutrients. A good diet consists of 50% carbohydrates, 33% proteins, and around 15-17% fats. A
good rule of thumb is to plan meals according to the presented percentages of carbs and proteins, and the fat will appear in the carbs
and proteins. You will most of the time not have to plan the fats, they will be there. Vitamins and minerals are also considered a
healthy part of a child’s nutrition plan. Vitamins and minerals are considered micronutrients. It is proven that our food and water
supplies are deficient in nutrients and we have to augment our intake with vitamins and minerals. A good children's multivitamin contains
at least the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of the main vitamins and minerals. A list of the main vitamins and minerals are below:
Vitamins
Vitamin
A
Vitamin B Complex
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
Vitamin B3 (Niacin, Niacinimide, Nicotinic Acid)
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic
Acid)
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin)
Biotine
Choline
Folic Acid
Inositol
Para-Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA)
Vitamin C (Absorbic
Acid)
Vitamin D
Vitamin E
Vitamin K
Bioflavonoids
Coenzyme Q10
This is a good start for your child: to limit processed food intake;
to eat freshly prepared meals including fruit, vegetables, nuts, berries, and fish; and to drink plenty of water.
Children’s
Health and Water
As stated above, water is one of the four main nutrients our bodies need. Children require water to aid in the process
of growing. Water is involved in and drives almost every body process including digestion, absorption of other nutrients, circulation,
and excretion. Water helps maintain body temperature and is essential for removing waste (acids) from the body. Many health issues
today can be related back to lack of hydration with water.
Soft Drinks and Children's Health
We cannot stress enough the fact
that so called "soft drinks" or "sodas" are linked to almost every illness we are experiencing in our culture today. There is no quicker
way to ruin a child’s heath than to allow the daily consumption of this acid ridden drink. These killer drinks are sweetened with
high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because of its lower cost and the fact that it is sweeter than sugar. However, HFCS has been criticized
as having a number of detrimental effects on human health, such as promoting diabetes, hyperactivity, hypertension, and a host of
other problems. It is just plain bad for children’s health.
More information on Children’s Health
You can find more Children’s
Health information in the Health articles section of www.wellness4everyone.com.
Minerals
Boron
Calcium
Chromium
Copper
Germanium
Iodine
Iron
Magnesium
Manganese
Molybdenum
Phosphorus
Potassium
Selenium
Silicon
Sodium
Sulfur
Vanadium
Zinc
