Healthy Living for Real People
Posts tagged kids
How To Get Kids To Eat Veggies
Dec 20th
It’s one of the worst fears of young parents who are new to The Hallelujah Diet.
“How am I going to get my kids to eat veggies?”
One of our employees said that he and his wife simply asserted their authority.
They reminded the kids that Mom and Dad make the decisions about food, not the kids.
Then they simply stopped buying meat, dairy, and packaged junk.
Of course, the kids whined for few days, got used to it, and now they’re fine.
Kids are resilient, the employee pointed out. And his kids are now much healthier both mentally and physically because of the diet change.
But what if your kids refuse to even try new things?
A new study from the U.K. suggests non-food rewards.
Three and four-year-olds were the focus of the study that were given a taste of a new veggie every day for 12 days.
The kids were enticed to try the new food with either verbal praise or the promise of a sticker.
Guess which method worked a whole lot better?
When kids were promised a tangible reward (ie. the sticker) they not only tried the new veggie but actually changed the way they graded the veggie — those initially described as “yucky” suddenly became “yummy.”
Mind you, not everyone agrees with the reward system.
But hey, if it will get your kids to develop a new habit that will benefit their health for the rest of their lives, maybe a sticker bribe for a short time isn’t so bad.
What do you think?
Your turn…
Have you ever bribed your kids to try new foods?
Click to comment!
Junk Food Diet Dulls Kids’ IQ
Feb 8th
New research from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children is suggesting that kids who eat a junk food diet prior to the age 4 end up with lower IQ.
The offending diet, identified as high in fats, sugars, and processed foods, shows a modest yet definitive link with behavior and school performance at a later age.
The study concluded that a highly processed food diet at the age of 3 was linked with a lower IQ at the age of 8.5. Every 1 point increase in dietary pattern score was associated with a 1.67 fall in IQ.
This makes sense to us, since the brain is the first organ to suffer due to nutritional deficiencies. This is because the gut (where all food ends up, of course) is inextricably linked with the brain. In fact, since the 1960s, brain-associated disorders such as schizophrenia have been routinely treated with diet and supplementation (especially niacin) to relieve symptoms.
A staff member here at Hallelujah Acres has noticed the brain-gut connection in kids, personally. Before adopting The Hallelujah Diet, his toddler son was an angry little boy. After shedding milk, meat, and especially refined sugar, his demeanor changed within a matter of months and today he’s a calm, well-adjusted, and loving kid.
Sound intriguing? You can start the process of better health for your kids right now. Check out this recipe for our Brain Power Smoothie!
ADHD – or – just kids being kids?
Aug 19th
A Michigan State University study has found that almost one million children in the United States are potentially misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), simply because they were the youngest and least mature in their kindergarten class.
The study researchers noted that “many ADHD diagnoses may be driven by teachers’ perceptions of poor behavior…but these ‘symptoms’ may merely reflect emotional or intellectual immaturity.” The study is exposing what many have argued for years: ADHD is not a disease, but just kids being kids (although excessive hyperactivity is due largely to a toxic diet).
Meanwhile, a study at UC Berkley has found that prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides was significantly linked to attention problems at age five, with the effects showing up more often among boys. Here again, toxicity is to blame.
Toxicity and deficiency are root causes of all disease – including the “disease” of ADHD. These studies reinforce the need for parents to be vigilant about what their kids are exposed to in ALL facets of life, including dietary, environmental, and spiritual influences.
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