Avoid Over Eating

I am reading David Kessler's book "The End of Overeating". He has totally reinforced my motivation to convince parents to stop feeding their children an abundance of processed foods. Kessler's book focuses on why we over eat. He takes the reader through the way the brain can react to food cues, smells, and stimulus which then create memories and habits. He then discusses how most of our foods, all those that are processed, are scientifically manufactured to increase our desire and addiction for the food. Lastly he talks about how to break the habits of over eating.

Kessler's premise is that we are all fighting a battle against "Big Food" where food is manipulated to give us the most pleasure with the least effort. Many of the doctors and scientists that he interviews for this book, and the studies that he uses to support their findings are based not only on people who are over weight or obese, but on drug abusers, alcoholics, gamblers and smokers. Addictive behaviors all produce similar reactions in the brain. Foods are structured to melt away in our mouths with almost no chewing. The tastes of salt, sugar and fat are balanced in a way to produce the biggest WOW, and to last even after the food is out of our mouths, leaving us wanting more. As these foods melt away so quickly, we eat more and more, way before our brains tell us we are full. We become accustomed to eating large portions of foods. Habits are formed along with extra weight.

So the most important action you can take to teach your child how to eat is to avoid processed foods. This includes almost all chain restaurant foods (and many others), salty and sweet snacks foods, candy, soda, breakfast cereals and many ready to eat canned and frozen meals. Provide your children with real food: fruit, vegetables, whole grains (oatmeal, brown rice, corn, whole wheat noodles and breads), lean meats, eggs, cheese, nuts, seeds, beans, sea food, and baked goods with real food ingredients only (flour, sugar, butter).

Insist that your children sit down and eat, chew their food, and let their bodies, mouths and minds realize that they have eaten and are satisfied. Serve portions that are small so children see what an appropriate portion looks like, and then allow for seconds if your child still senses hunger. Read Kessler's book- it will really show you how to create a healthy eater in yourself and your child.

Consumer Gram Scam

Do you know what a gram is? Is it a measure of size, weight or volume? As the United States has yet to adopt the metric system of measure, I wonder why the nutrition label on food packages, supposedly a source of consumer nutrition information, uses grams as a unit of measure as know one knows what it means.

A gram is a unit of weight. This means that a gram of fiber may have more or less volume than a gram of sugar. Can you picture a gram of sugar? When a 6 ounce cup of yogurt says that there are 31 grams of sugar does this mean anything to you? What if I told you that there are 4 grams of sugar in a teaspoon (which there are). This would mean that there are 7.5 teaspoons of sugar in that 6 ounce cup of yogurt. Now think about this, would you put 7.5 teaspoons of sugar in your tea or coffee cup? Probably not. Granted, some of these sugars are naturally occurring from the milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose), but much of it is added sugar.

Look at some other foods you eat. How much sugar is in a bowl of cereal, 8 ounces of juice, a can of soda? Did you know that you were drinking 7-8 teaspoons of sugar for every 8 ounces of a soft drink you drink(keep in mind the can holds more than 8 ounces)? Is it OK with you that your child is getting 16 grams (4 teaspoons) of sugar in a 1 cup serving of General Mills Oatmeal Crisp:Triple Berry, or 19 grams (almost 5 teaspoons) in 1 cup of General Mill Oatmeal Crisp:Apple Cinnamon, or in 1 1/4 cup of Kellogg's Crunch:Cran-Vanilla or Toasted Honey? Quaker 100% Natural Granola:Low Fat has 4.5 teaspoons of sugar (18 grams) in only 2/3 cup, even though its name implies health.

So beware. As our children are more likely to become overweight than ever before, know what you are buying. Look at the nutrition label and learn what it is really telling you. Don't be fooled by the use of grams or the manufacturers assurances that their product is good for you.

Are You Feeding Your Child Too Much?

I recently read a study discovering that by age 5 children tend to eat what is on their plate, regardless of how they feel. Perhaps by this age children have heard "clean your plate" so many times that they just do. Or perhaps because when they are given a portion of food they assume this is how much they should eat. Ideally, a child should never be made to feel that they must eat, especially to please others. To create a healthy eater we must let children eat how much they need to eat to become sated ( a feeling of having enough). We can do this by either allowing children to serve themselves or by giving them very small servings (1-2 tablespoons) of foods. Let the child know that if they are hungry they can ask for more.

Sometimes a child allowed to self serve will serve too much. This may be because it is fun to move food from the serving bowl. If this is the case, feel free to step in and remind the child that we serve ourselves what we plan on eating. Let them know that they can practice serving after dinner, perhaps with a scoop in sand or dirt. Other children serve themselves too much food because they are very hungry and believe they will eat all the food on their plate. This happens often at my home. When we see extra food on a child's plate we remind them to take less next time, and that there will be more available if they need seconds. This is a trial and error process, so be patient.

Restaruants are notorious for serving us too much. "Single" servings are becoming so large, 20 years ago they would have been called extra large or jumbo. A hamburger with cheese plus fries may contain as many as 1600 calories; the total amount of calories needed per day for many women. As both children and adults regularly see these inflated portion sizes, we assume they are normal and eat them. Many studies have shown that the larger the portion the more we eat. We don't stop when we feel sated. People eat more chips from a warehouse store bag of snacks than from a grocery store bag. We even eat larger portions when we have large quantities of the food in the house.

I bring all of this to your attention as large portions make for large children and adults- not tall, but overweight or obese. One of the major changes you can make to help avoid obesity is to serve small portions at home or allow family style serving. When dining out, share entrees. Order 3 entrees and an extra plate for four people. Don't let the restaurant decide how much you need to eat. If you buy at warehouse stores, repackage the foods into smaller containers and put these smaller containers in your kitchen. Store the remainder out of sight. You'll save calories and money too.

Screen Time Most Often a Detriment to Children's Health

This past week, the National Institute of Health and a nonprofit advocacy group called Common Sense Media presented the results of a study on media use and children's mental and physical health. They chose 173 studies from 1,800, from 1980 until present, that met the study's criteria. They concluded that "In a clear majority of those studies more time with television, films, video games, magazines, music and the Internet was linked to rises in childhood obesity, tobacco use and sexual behavior. A majority also showed strong correlations — what the researchers deemed “statistically significant associations” — with drug and alcohol use and low academic achievement."

Will this finally stop the debate? We now have long term scientific evidence that too much media time leads to undesirable characteristics in our children. Either from content or just sitting around too much (most likely both) our children are not benefiting from the vast majority of their screen time. We also know from many other studies that children who eat at least 3 meals a week with their family, with no other distractions such as radio, TV, or reading materials, eat healthier in and out of the home, have better grades, are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol, and have better self esteem.

So why can't we turn off the TV and actually talk to each other? Why can't we eat together? If a child has time to watch 45 hours a week of media, they certainly have time for a family meal. Make it a priority to have at least 3 family meals a week. There is no financial cost to this. You will actually save money now and in the future. Individual servings of frozen or boxed foods are expensive, usually loaded with salt or fat, and are each cooked separately. One family meal eaten by everyone saves food and power costs. Having the whole family in one room means that the lights in all of the other rooms are off, as are electrical media gadgets, TVs and computers. In the long run you can save money on health care, avoiding fees to doctors, nutritionists, counselors, psychologists and therapists.

If you don't know what to talk about, there are several products that help families learn to have conversations at the table. But to avoid that cost, just ask each person at the table to recount one really good or even one really unpleasant moment of their day. Once everyone gets used to talking, dinner conversations can be fun, educational, and give you invaluable insight into the lives of those you live with. (If that seems too controversial, just talk about the food.) Watch what happens when there is no screen distraction in your home. I believe you will be amazed.