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A Healthy Future Starts with Smart Eating
(Article from Herbalife Today)
The adult diseases that threaten overweight children.
There is a myriad of negative health results that accompany this trend,
including increases in diagnoses of conditions that were previously almost
unheard of in children and adolescents. Hypertension, osteoarthritis and
type 2 diabetes are among these, essentially caused by being overweight
and following diets that are too high in calories, salt, sugar and fat,
especially saturated fat. The same issues are facing adults, where now 60
percent of adults are overweight to obese.
Health traps your children face daily
How can we help prevent any worsening of these statistics and how can
we help bring the message of good nutrition. The story begins with parents.
It starts every day when we fix our children ’s breakfast. It continues
when we send them off to school with money for school lunches. After-school
activities that are sedentary, and eating on the run, compound the situation.
Everything is “super-sized ” now, from sodas to french fries. The result?
Fourteen percent (triple the numbers of 25 years ago) of our children and
adolescents are seriously overweight and are being diagnosed with disorders
that were until recently rarely seen under the age of 40.
The four essentials for healthy living
We must all, as parents, commit to “cleaning up ”our nutritional act,
at home and away from home. Herbalife is focused on teaching people around
the world how to implement the ingredients for wellness into our daily lives
–for the entire family. Having a healthy lifestyle includes four important
components –they form a continuous circle around us and are interconnected.
The results: a healthy life.
Nutrition-Fitness-Stress Management-Weight Control
Getting the balance right
We really need to focus on all four of these components to have a healthy
life. If we improve our nutrition, including a commitment to minimize fast
foods, we will have a much easier time with weight control. We will have
more energy for physical activity, which will in turn help with weight control.
And when we are feeding our bodies all the micronutrients we need and being
physically active on a regular basis, the stresses of daily life are more
easily dealt with and our bodies are less adversely affected by the “ups
and downs ”of life. Even our children are forced to deal with stress –a
coach or teacher yelling at them, something another child said or just keeping
up with homework and day-to-day family struggles.
Healthier living –meal-by-meal
Children love sugar-coated cereals and they are so easy for busy families
to use, especially on hectic weekday mornings. My children knew it wasn
’t even worth asking for those sugar-coated cereals –we had nothing but
the high-fiber varieties at our house. Once Herbalife came into our lives,
Adam and Heather began every day with a protein shake made with
Formula 1 Protein Drink Mix, non-fat
milk and fresh fruit (or orange juice on occasion). They were 11 and 7 then
and now are 22 and 18! They rarely missed a day of school due to the usual
colds and flus that result in many days out of school for most children.
It ’s important to send your children off with a balance of micronutrients
and a healthy amount of protein to help maintain balanced blood sugars so
essential to their concentration and learning.
Shake up to a healthier breakfast
Formula 1 Protein Drink Mix is a
healthy options for breakfast as well as after-school snacks. It’s a soy
protein-based. . Its fiber content and balance of macro-and micronutrients
make it an ideal meal replacement or is formulated to be taken as a snack.
Upgrade your child ’s packed lunch. Focus on sandwiches made with healthy
choices such as turkey breast, low-fat cheese or tuna salad made with more
mustard and less mayonnaise. Always use whole-grain breads. Bear in mind
that the intake of white flour and white sugar is associated with ultimate
development of insulin resistance and glucose intolerance. Pack veggie sticks
(carrots, celery) along with a reduced-fat type dressing. Instead of granola
bars, cereal bars or biscuits, consider a
Protein Bar.
The Herbalife answer to after-school munchies
After school is a problematic time for kids who have or are developing
weight issues. We must have easily available low-calorie foods for snacks
and increase their activity. Remember they have been sitting in the classroom
or five or six hours. They need to be outside (weather permitting) being
physically active for at least an hour before starting homework. If your
children are participating in sports; they really need a healthy snack to
keep hem going. Try another shake –two tablespoons of Formula 1 Protein
Drink Mix in juice. Add in half a banana, or other fresh fruit, blend and
enjoy. Adam and Heather always liked frozen blueberries and/or strawberries
mixed in their shakes. Use Chocolate
Formula 1 Protein Drink Mix plus and it tastes like a chocolate-strawberry
truffle!
Your child ’s future health is in your hands today.
What our children eat can determine whether they are active adults with
no weight concerns or overweight with all of the associated emotional and
physical difficulties. We need to help our children develop healthy attitudes
about their eating, their weight and their level of fitness. Herbalife is
not about dieting, but rather about lifestyle choices that will lead to
long, active lives. We must set the example by committing to nutritional
foods and Herbalife supplements that can help you and your children have
the healthiest lives possible!
Ns or getting good grades. Instead, choose something
more healthy.
Preparing our kids for good health
Let ’s make an effort to nurture healthy lifestyles that will lead to
healthy habits. As adults, it ’s up to us to work with our kids and help
them enjoy activity and nutritious foods. Here are just a few ideas:
Take walks with your children. Enroll them in a sports program and take
time to watch them when they compete. Play an active role in their lives.
Become active yourself. Lead by example. Again, I know that most of us work
and our time is limited, but we must be responsible for helping our children
grow healthy bodies. And by setting good examples for your children, you
will increase your health potential, too.
Getting kids involved
As far as the food side of the equation is concerned, teach your children
responsibility by letting them prepare one meal a week. That way, each child
can create a meal, learn to read recipes and prepare the food. Even the
very young can get involved in this way. Let small children stir. Take your
children to the grocery store with you and nurture interest by letting them
pick a vegetable one-week and a meat/protein the next. As the child grows,
so does the responsibility. Around age six, start introducing nutrition
information. As the child ’s reading abilities improve, help him or her
understand food labels and balance the meal with a vegetable, protein source
and a grain product. With early involvement in meal planning and food content,
children will grow up with a better understanding of how food not only pleases
the taste buds, but also feeds the body. . Herbalife products taste great,
are easy to take and can help provide children with essential nutrients.
(See pages 5 and 6 for other product suggestions.) Activity and nutritious
foods play a big part in growing healthy bodies –a bigger part than most
people realize –so we should try to focus on these essentials.
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