RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health?

RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (Full Version)

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RemoteUser -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 11:51:31 AM)
I've been counselled to avoid certain foods and ingredients for my son because of his autism. No red dye (#4 specifically, I think?); watch the sulfites, etcetera. These are mostly due to possible digestive issues, but they aren't food bans. Nonetheless, I minimize his contact with them as it keeps him healthier. He takes vitamin supplements every morning with his breakfast, his vyvance and his carbamazepine. The carbemazepine (also known as tegretol if that's more familiar) can suppress appetite, so every supper he has a generic-brand nutrient shake (chocolate only, he can't stand the vanilla). We eat out about once a month. Usually I let him have fast food then, as a treat for his taste buds; but I also talk with him about the ingredients and its relative health, so that he understands that it's not ok to eat fast food regularly. We only order in once every month or two, and that's usually pizza because the kid looooves his pizza. (Extra cheese, pepperoni and double bacon, if you please; with honey garlic wings. I love that the kid loves garlic because I do too!) I balance out the lunches I pack him for school to make sure he's got fruit or veggies, grains, meat and something dairy. A typical lunch for him is a yogurt, a granola bar, a small bag of carrots or an apple, a juice box, and a bologna sandwich. I also involve him in the supper decisions - not every time, but he likes to be given choices, so I let him choose about twice a week. Now that I'm not working from home anymore, suppers have to be planned a little further in advance, and can't take too long to make (so nothing fancy). I bake the meats we eat, I won't fry them. I will give him different sauces to try to expand his horizons, but for the most part I keep the food on the bland side. He knows he can have sauces and condiments and will ask for them if I don't provide; but he also knows he value of eating food as is to enjoy it on its own (something I practice myself). As for the cereals, I let my son pick his own. If he picks something sugary I'll usually tell him to put it back. Once or twice I've let him get it anyhow, and he learns the hard way how bad they taste to him (any cereal that is cocoa and heavily sugared makes him nauseous now; he never even finished the box and will never forget the lesson). He prefers grain cereals like crunchy maple almond. For snacks, my little guy will usually have things like apples, bananas, or some days he finishes what he didn't eat for lunch. I let him have potato chips on extremely rare occasions. Chocolate is mostly holidays only, like Easter. Gum is flat out not allowed. If he eats all of his supper then I will reward him with 1, 2 or if I'm feeling incredibly generous, 3 pieces of candy from the candy jar, his choice. He might be allowed "soda" (sorry, in Canada we call it pop; I'm translating for my American audience) once or twice a year in my house. He has it far more often at his mother's on the occasions where he visits her, but given how little he has at home I don't concern myself with it too overly. I do worry if he's at a good weight, so I check that regularly, and make him aware of it also (he's not obese, if anything it's the opposite; even with the nutrient shakes he doesn't gain much of anything...but then, neither did I). Parents should be very responsible with the examples they set. At some point though, kids do their own thing, which is what they are supposed to do, and why we have to set the right examples. I think my little guy will be ok when he gets older when it comes to food. Behavioural and emotional development is the bigger issue, especially for my aspie/adhd boy.

tazzygirl -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 12:00:49 PM)
quote: I know I can unequivocally say if I had a diabetic kid, I wouldn't feed him/her Lucky Charms, but then again, I don't have one, and I don't live in that household, and maybe people are just doing the best they can and I should mind my own business. I admit I got curious, since I am also diabetic and decided to look the following up... Carb count from Lucky Charms compared to Whole Grain Cheerios... both 1 cup servings.... Lucky Charms Total Carbohydrates 29.0g Multigrain Cheerios.... Total Carbohydrates 25.0g While LC isnt the best thing a child can eat in the morning, its not that much different, in diabetic terms, than what is supposed to be good for someone. In comparison, a bowl of oatmeal... Quaker Oatmeal... 1/2 cup uncooked. Total Carbohydrate 27g A banana smoothie.... Total Carbohydrates 27.0g I admit that, on occasion, I dont see the harm in giving a child Lucky Charms when looking at the nutritional information.

needlesandpins -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 12:05:37 PM)
a huge difference between refined, and unrefined carbs though and how they affect the body. given the choice i'd rather mine had poridge oats with a little honey than lucy charms full of crappy refined carbs. needles

tazzygirl -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 12:23:15 PM)
Oatmeal - Dietary Fiber 4g Lucky Charms - 1.6g Which is why I said... on occasion. Unrefined carbohydrate and dietary fibre in treatment of diabetes mellitus. Abstract Sixteen diabetics were studied over six-week periods on two diets--a conventional carbohydrate-restricted diet and a diet which excluded all refined (fibre-depleted) carbohydrate but which allowed unrefined (fibre-intact) carbohydrate freely. On the latter, there was a substantial increase in dietary fibre intake. Despite this, there was no change in 24-h urinary excretion of glucose nor in blood glycosylated haemoglobin concentration, and there was only a modest improvement in post-prandial plasma glucose concentration. We suggest that simply switching from refined to unrefined cereal foods without increasing total carbohydrate intake is unlikely to produce much improvement in diabetic control. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6262405 The need for unrefined grains has more to do with the nutritional value of the food, not the carb count. Refining grains tends to strip vitamins and minerals. Refined grains Finally, be smart about the type of grains you eat—and make your carbs count. Yes, you can cover 40 grams of white bread with insulin the same way as you’d cover wheat bread, but you’ll miss out on important nutrients. Because they undergo processing that strips the grain, refined grains like white bread, flour tortillas, and cake lack the important nutrients found in whole grains. So instead of foods made with white flour, it’s better to eat whole wheat. Or to choose grains that aren’t processed, like quinoa or millet. http://forecast.diabetes.org/magazine/features/the-balanced-diet I do know if I want a small slice of cake after dinner, I need to save some protein to have with it. Are there better choices? yes. However, sometimes just knowing I can give in to those cravings is a wonderful thing. Im sure, for a parent, knowing there are options for a picky eater can be a blessing.

littlewonder -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 12:54:05 PM)
I took responsiblity for my daughter's eating habits when she lived at home, even as a teenager. I think I did a good job because she really does not like sweets except fruit and a few fruit flavored candies. She has always eaten healthy as well and still does. She now wants to become a chef because of how I raised her to enjoy healthy, homemade foods. As she was growing up, I rarely bought junk food except once in awhile when she would get a craving but I never had to worry about it getting out of control. We both made sure we kept healthy, balanced diets. She still keeps a balanced diet and exercises and is a complete girly girl in that she keeps in shape and keeps her entire body in tip-top shape. She is better than I am which makes me jealous of her lol. So yes, you as a parent are responsible for your child's health. You raise them from the very beginning to eat a certain way. I see a lot of parents though who don't do this and so the children eat what their parents eat....fast food and junk food, fatty stuff, sugary drinks, etc.... Kids learn what their parent show them.

needlesandpins -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 12:58:35 PM)
i'm all for everything in moderation, but with the cereals i was thinking more the refined sugar levels. i wouldn't really know as far as lucy charms are concerned as i've never come across them, but they sound like something i wouldn't have allowed. my grandad has been told that he is now diabetic, but it's purely a diet led change not medicated as yet. most of my guys at work are the same. it's age related mostly. we do not dictate what they can eat, but we do monitor protion size. needles

littlewonder -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 1:05:02 PM)
I was always thankful that my daughter never liked cereals in the morning. She would instead grab an apple or a bag of fruit or something healthy like nuts or a healthy type of breakfast bar and eat it while walking the two blocks to school. If my daughter didin't like something that we had in the house, I would try to find an alternative that she might like instead and still healthy. Most times it worked. The only time it hasn't is with some fish and I love all fish. She won't eat catfish or oysters or clams but as long as she ate other seafood I was ok with that. If you don't keep the junk food in the house, they won't get to the point of only liking those bad foods. I even do that on my own. I refuse to bring some foods into my place because I know if they are here, I will eat them and I know it won't be good for me. I have been trying not to eat pastries and such so I've been trying really hard not to buy them but then Master comes over and wants them lol. I need to start coming up with healthier types of desserts for us.

needlesandpins -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 1:21:11 PM)
LW i am the same, if i need to cut something out i just don't buy it. some chocolate and nuts are my worst things. i don't get on well with cereals as i'm allergic to them. eating white bread, and paster are the worst things, but strangely i don't crave them although i perfer them to wholemeal. i know that if i eat a high sugar diet i crave it all the more. i also know that if i do a sudden cut out then two days later i'll have an almighty migraine. lots of families now in the UK feed their kids on processed crap that is full of fat and salt. it's simply because you can just shove it in the oven, stick it on a plate and leave the kids to eat the bland brown pap. the parents how no idea how to actually cook, or even how to budget plan a weeks worth of meals. it's appauling really on both the schools, and parents parts for not educating children correctly. needles

lmpishlilhellcat -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 1:29:04 PM)
Unfortunately, high schools and probably middle schools promote junk food. Maybe not intentionally, but unintentionally they do. When I went to high school we had pop and snack machines all over the place. Specifically coke, because they were buying the school a new scoreboard. The local bagel place delivered HUGE bagels daily, we had a frozen yogurt machine, and french fries, pretzels with cheese, and pizza were served everyday of the week. You smell it and you are definitely faced with it every single. Although more recently there has been a big push to make school lunches healthier. I don't know how much of that translates to the upper levels of school. College wasn't much better. The food was disgusting. In all fairness, I probably wouldn't have gained so much weight in college if I had a better role model as far as eating healthy. Most of the food was gross and therefore I lived on grilled cheese, cereal, and the salad bar. I'm pretty sure I wasn't getting nearly enough protein or what I needed on a daily basis.

kalikshama -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 2:08:17 PM)
quote: I admit that, on occasion, I dont see the harm in giving a child Lucky Charms when looking at the nutritional information. I'm looking at more than the carb count: [image]http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/clp09217/e-port/MSTI260/Nutrition%20Unit%20of%20Study%20260/lucky%20charms%20cereal%20food%20label.bmp[/image]

RemoteUser -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 2:10:31 PM)
Some schools in the States sponsor junk food because the corporation(s) give kickbacks to the school in the form of funding. A former sub of mine had problems with that in the high school her son attended (they lived in Texas). I also see it to some degree up here. My son's primary school gets "funding" from a few places and one of them, a pizza company, provides a "lunch alternative". I pack my son's lunches, he doesn't eat the pizza. The food pushed on kids through the schools can be problematic. I still have to have a talk with the principal at my son's school; they had a turkey lunch you could pay for, but I packed him a lunch instead. When I picked him up from daycare at the school his lunch box was full. I asked him why and he said they told him he had to eat the turkey with everyone else. The gesture is nice but it's not their choice. If this was the first time it's happened I might not be so, ahem, prone to getting after them; however, it's the third incident of its kind in two years.

JstAnotherSub -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 2:20:16 PM)
It is a whole grain, vitamin fortified cereal. There are better things to eat, and there are much worse things to eat. No sat fat or trans fat. 1.5 starches on the ADA suggested daily intakes, when I would guess the child is on the 1600-2000 calorie a day diet, which allows for up to 8 starches per day. Also re: school lunches, no more soft drinks are allowed to be sold, only the G2 I think it is, (low sugar Gatorade) sold at secondary levels. No fried foods, sweet potato fries instead of white potato, many more fresh fruit and veggie choices, all whole grains, I could bore you all night with the wonderful changes that we have made.

JstAnotherSub -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 2:22:26 PM)
quote: The gesture is nice but it's not their choice. If this was the first time it's happened I might not be so, ahem, prone to getting after them; however, it's the third incident of its kind in two years. It absolutely is not their choice to tell you what to feed your child, and, it can in fact make them lose federal and state funds for their lunch and/or breakfast program. Hearing shit like that just chaps my ass.

kalikshama -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 2:42:58 PM)
quote: Carb count from Lucky Charms compared to Whole Grain Cheerios... both 1 cup servings.... Lucky Charms Total Carbohydrates 29.0g Multigrain Cheerios.... Total Carbohydrates 25.0g While LC isnt the best thing a child can eat in the morning, its not that much different, in diabetic terms, than what is supposed to be good for someone. In comparison, a bowl of oatmeal... Quaker Oatmeal... 1/2 cup uncooked. Total Carbohydrate 27g What's the deal with the effect of glycemic index on diabetes? I see that rolled oats are 42 (low) and have not been able to find the exact count of Lucky Charms, except that it is over 70.

tazzygirl -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 3:23:26 PM)
Is the GI a better tool than carbohydrate counting? There is no one diet or meal plan that works for everyone with diabetes. The important thing is to follow a meal plan that is tailored to personal preferences and lifestyle and helps achieve goals for blood glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides levels, blood pressure, and weight management. Research shows that both the amount and the type of carbohydrate in food affect blood glucose levels. Studies also show that the total amount of carbohydrate in food, in general, is a stronger predictor of blood glucose response than the GI. Based on the research, for most people with diabetes, the first tool for managing blood glucose is some type of carbohydrate counting. Balancing total carbohydrate intake with physical activity and diabetes pills or insulin is key to managing blood glucose levels. Because the type of carbohydrate does have an affect on blood glucose, using the GI may be helpful in "fine-tuning" blood glucose management. In other words, combined with carbohydrate counting, it may provide an additional benefit for achieving blood glucose goals for individuals who can and want to put extra effort into monitoring their food choices. http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/glycemic-index-and-diabetes.html#Is_the_GI_a_better_tool_than_carbohydrat

tazzygirl -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 3:29:33 PM)
Didnt they just pull whole milk out of schools?

JstAnotherSub -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 3:37:55 PM)
Not sure about other districts, but we have been offering 1% and skim only for years. I think they may have had 2% when my son was in elementary, he is 24 now.

littlewonder -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 4:28:54 PM)
When my daughter was in high school, my daughter and her friends had their own little "clique table" where her and her friends would do stuff like bring a tablecloth and each one would bring some kind of food they all could share at the table lol. I thought it was kinda cute. The reason was because they hated the school food and they liked being known as the "kewl cafeteria kids" who brought healthy homemade stuff in with them. heh I thought it was a great idea to introduce into the school like they did. I had always hoped that they had reflected onto the other students who would start doing the same or at least on the cafeteria and school staff who would learn something from them.

kalikshama -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 4:36:17 PM)
quote: Based on the research, for most people with diabetes, the first tool for managing blood glucose is some type of carbohydrate counting. Is it the first tool because it is both the simplest and does not require the patient to make real change? I'd want to know what was the best tool for improved health, not the best tool for insuring compliance.

tazzygirl -> RE: How much responsibility do we bear for our own and our children's health? (12/23/2012 4:59:56 PM)
Studies also show that the total amount of carbohydrate in food, in general, is a stronger predictor of blood glucose response than the GI. Im really not sure what you are wanting. The first thing they tell you is to cut carbs because so many people eat far too many of them to begin with.

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