Perhaps no where is this more important than in the food and nutrition area of our lives. I know, you would probably say I am biased given the line of profession I am in. However, I would like a moment of your time to explain.
A few questions to ponder:
1-What is the first source of nutrition and food for us as fetuses?
2-What is the first source of food for us as babies?
3-What is the first source of food for us as children?
4- Who prepares the meals for us as teenagers and young adults?
5- Who teaches us what we know about our food and food habits?
6- Who instills in us the «dos» and «don’ts» of foods, eating and
the «know how» when it comes to nutrition?
If your answer to the above questions is: our mothers, then I have made my point. For the first two to three decades of our lives, it is our mothers that are primarily responsible for our nutrition. Interestingly enough, these same decades are the ones where we establish our nutritional identity and prepare our bodies for our later years. These are the years where we build our bones, learn to eat proper foods and exercise, develop food habits that are healthy or unhealthy, learn to like and dislike certain foods, and so much more. These years are the years that are the most vital to us, the ones that would determine if we are to have a healthy older life or suffer from diseases like diabetes, heart disease, obesity, high blood pressure, cancers and others.
So, to put things into perspective: our mothers are responsible for our nutritional life throughout our lives, and a good education in that arena leaves us well built and well prepared to take on the challenges of our lives. Allow me to explain some more.
In my clinic, I am often presented with overweight children and the parents want me to help their children lose weight. That is extremely achievable, but is futile unless the parents also know and understand the dynamics and the science of food and proper nutrition. You see, it is far more important to educate the parents sometimes, rather than the child. That is why it is of extreme importance that people who take care of our children (mothers, fathers, daycare centers, schools etc) are educated about proper nutrition. The following will be some important statistics and data for you to read and think about. To even think of being able to list all that is necessary as proper nutrition in one article is ridiculous.
Throughout my articles, I have tried to impress upon you the importance of proper nutrition. Here are some other reasons why.
1- More than half of all child deaths are associated with malnutrition. Malnutrition weakens the body's resistance to illness. Poor diet, frequent illness, and inadequate or inattentive care of young children can lead to malnutrition. If you are malnourished during pregnancy, or if your child is malnourished during the first two years of life, then his or her physical and mental growth and development may be slowed. This will affect the child for the rest of his or her life and cannot be rectified when the child is older.
2- Maternal knowledge of food and nutrition is one of the most important factors in determining the health of our children. The rule is simple: Research has shown that the more moms know, the better the chances for nutritionally healthier children.
3- Obesity is considered to be one of the most dangerous health problems facing children today. As the rates of obesity continue to rise, children are now suffering from diseases that were once thought to only plague adults. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, arthritis, fatty deposits in the liver, and type 2 diabetes are all common findings in overweight children.
4- Only 2% of school-age children meet the Food-Guide-Pyramid serving recommendations for the five food groups.
5- Children consume about 20 % of their calories from the tip of my pyramid, which are sugars and fats.
6- Only 20% of children get their five-day fruits and vegetables.
7- Less than one in three school-aged children drink the recommended milk requirements.
8- Teenagers drink twice as many sodas as they do milk.
9- Fewer than one in five children get their recommended physical activities per week.
10- As age or grade in school increases, participation in school activities declines.
11- Today there are twice as many overweight children and three times as many overweight adolescents as there were in 1980.
12- 50% of obese children will become obese adults.
13- Parents and other child care providers, by consuming healthful diets and being physically active themselves, can be positive role models for children.
14- A balanced diet, along with exercise, helps children grow, learn, build, strong bones and muscles, have energy, maintain a healthy weight, avoid obesity-related diseases, get plenty of nutrients and feel good about themselves.
15- Preschool children need about eight to ten exposures to a new food before they learn to like it. Young children therefore should be given sufficient opportunities to try new foods.
16- The optimal environment for child feeding is to offer children a wide variety of healthful foods in moderation, but let children determine whether and how much food to eat.
17- Practice what you preach. Be a role model. But, in order for you to know what is important and «right», you need to be educated your self. A mother’s knowledge and practices is key and one of the most important factors in our children’s nutrition.
I hope I have shown you and convinced you of the importance of the role of mother’s in particular, and all adults responsible for our children, in general. It is a simple enough task to learn the essentials, the basics and the important facts about proper nutrition. When in doubt, check out some internet sites like:www.eatright. org, USDA website, the food guide pyramid and sites that end with an «.edu» or«.gov». Ask your health care provider, your dietitian and your doctor. Check to see if your schools are providing adequate nutrition to your children. As mothers, it is our duty, our oath to our children to take care of them. This sacred mission has proper nutrition well embedded in it.
Sample meal plan for infants aged 5 to 6 months
Breakfast
4-6 tablespoons baby cereal (iron fortified) rice
180-240 milliliters (ml) milk feeding ( breast milk or formula)
Midmorning
60-120 ml unsweetened juice or - soft fruit
Lunch
2-4 Tablespoons cooked strained vegetables
180-240 milliliters (ml) milk feeding ( breast milk or formula)
Midafternoon
120-180 milliliters (ml) milk feeding ( breast milk or formula)
Dinner
2-4 Tablespoons cooked strained vegetables
180-240 milliliters (ml) milk feeding (breast milk or formula)
**Notes:
• Introduce cereals first.
• Keep on rice cereal until about 8 months then introduce oats or barley followed by the wheat and mixed cereals last (after 1 month).
• Do not use cereals with added sugar
• Introduce vegetables before the fruits
• Meats should be very well cooked , soft, unsalted and unseasoned.