Category Archives: Life

Going Healthy, Life, Parenting

Seven Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

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Every parent wants their kids to be happy and healthy. While they are small, it is easy to influence their diet and lifestyle choices, but as soon as they are in middle school and have their own peer group, your hands are somewhat tied. It is, therefore, important to educate your kids while you can about healthy lifestyle and identify some of the problems they are likely to face later in life.

1. Five a Day

If you would like your kids to like fruit and vegetables, you might want to get creative and introduce different colors and shapes, so the food is not only nutritious, but also interesting. You can create celery stick monsters and funky shaped tomatoes, encouraging your kids to eat more fruit and vegetables and get used to the flavor. Chances are that they will not like the taste of every fresh produce you give them, but they will pick some favorites that they will enjoy throughout their lives

2. Teach Them about Nutrition

While in many schools kids learn about nutrition and food, – as a parent – it is your responsibility to make sure that they are aware of the basic nutrients and their benefits. You can create a food map at home in the kitchen, or a chart with the most and less nutritious food. It is possible to get kids to realize that they can prevent some of the greatest health problems if they choose their diet carefully.

3. Get Them to Check Food Label

From an early age, you should work with your kids to help them understand what goes into the food. You might want to visit local farms to learn about how milk, yoghurt, cheese, meat, and vegetables are produced. However, it is even more important that you ask your kids to check the labeling on the food, especially sweets. Talk to them about GM produce and artificial coloring and flavoring that has no use for the body, and can increase the risk of health problems.

4. Create Your Family Vegetable Garden Together

Image via Elaine Casap

It is also a good idea – provided that you have the space – that you create a family vegetable garden, so your kids will know how food is produced, and have fun in the process. You can eat fresh and encourage them to eat fruit and vegetables. Picking the fruit from the tree or the strawberries is much more fun than reaching in the fridge. Your kids will notice that home grown food freshly picked tastes much better than that from the supermarket.  

5. Get Regular Checkups

You should be a role model when it comes to health and lifestyle, and you should take your kids with you to the doctor’s whenever you can. Apart from the times when they catch a cold, you should book a regular check up appointments, as well, so you can deal with problems arising as soon as possible. If you notice that your child has flat feet or a fallen arch while they are toddlers, you will have a better chance of correcting it. Likewise, if you notice that they might have a hearing problem, you can book an appointment with a hearing specialist to treat the issue before it causes your child long term problems.  

6. Oral and Personal Hygiene

As a role model, you should teach your kids how to brush their teeth from an early age, and encourage independence when it comes to washing, dressing, and even loading up the laundry basket. Your life as a parent will be much easier, and your child will develop a new level of confidence. Check on their routine, as when they turn into tweens and teens they tend neglect personal hygiene.

7. Let Their Immune System Develop

Image via Annie Spratt

While every parent wants to protect their kids from disease and infection, you should allow your child to develop immunity by not protecting them from the wind and rain. Let them play in the mud, don’t worry if they get dirty or fall off the bike. It is a natural learning curve, and it is best to let your child prepare for the greatest challenges in life.

As a parent, you are responsible for the health and well being of your kids. Start at an early age, and follow up their practices, leading by example. It is important that your kids take responsibility for their own decisions as soon as they are old enough, but they will need a lot of positive confirmation when they face peer pressure and junk food advertising later in life.

Going Healthy, Life

You Are More Than Your Bad Habits!

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Summer is well and truly here (unless you live in Australia- where it’s still pretty balmy). For most of us, the urge to be the best version of ourselves is at its strongest at this time of year. We feel a sincere desire to get outside, be more social, take our kids on more days out and exercise a whole lot more. Sure, they say that summer bodies are made in the winter, but the great thing about fitness is that it’s never too early or too late to start making positive changes. But despite this overarching air or positivity and pro-activity, many of us still find ourselves faltering. It’s not because we’re lazy, indolent or flighty. It’s not because we don’t care or we don’t want it bad enough. And despite what we may tell ourselves it’s not because we’re too busy and can’t find the time (you can always make the time, even if it means getting up an hour earlier). It’s because however noble our intentions, it’s all too easy to let our habits dictate our behavior.

habits, healthy living, lifestyle

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We tend to underestimate the impact that habit can have on us, but as we will discuss, habit may seem innocuous enough but it can exert a powerful hold over us…

Why habit has a hold on us

John Dryden said that “First we make our habits, then our habits make us”. Argue with that if you can. We tend to shrug habits off as semi voluntary procedures that we choose to go through. But this massively understates just how powerful and damaging an effect our habits can have on us. We may tell ourselves that we’re in control of our habits or that we can give them up any time we want, but the neuroscience of habits says otherwise. Bad habits needn’t be limited to smoking, eating too much bad food or drinking too much. Sometimes they can be much more quotidian but no less damaging. Every time you shrug to yourself “I’m such a procrastinator”, “I deserve this little treat” or “one more won’t hurt”, or worse still convincing yourself that you’re stupid or worthless, you’re letting your habits dictate your behavior.

Addiction is not a bad word

Habits and addiction go hand in hand. Habits facilitate addiction and once addiction takes a hold of us, it can be difficult to break that hold. The first step is to admit that your habit has become a problem. Get out of the habit of telling yourself you like the taste of cigarettes or that you need four coffees to function in the morning. Addiction does not make you weak, not does it make you deviant or wayward. It simply means that you have a functioning human brain that’s reacting to stimuli. Treating addiction might need relying on outside help, whether it’s through trained professionals or enlisting the aid of friends and family. The good news is that bad habits can be broken.

Consistency is key!

Breaking bad habits is simply a matter of consistency. Replace bad behaviors with good behaviors and repeat them until they become habit. The neurological process is exactly the same. Don’t beat yourself up about it if you fleetingly fall off the wagon, but resolve to get back on it as quickly as you can.

Remember, you are more than just your bad habits. Have a great day!

Going Healthy, Life

You Are What You Eat, So Stop Eating Garbage

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you are what you eat

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The adage is true – you are what you eat. Okay, you won’t turn into a potato if you’re a spud fan. The sigh of relief from the Irish contingent is palpable. What it does mean is that whatever is in the food ends up in your body. It’s a basic chain that is impossible to deny. So, they might be everything from plastic to chemicals flowing through your veins right now. From a health and well-being point of view, this isn’t a positive thing.

To make sure what you eat is on point, here are four portions of delicious advice to eat up.

Something’s Fishy

Fish is an excellent source of, well, pretty much everything. From vitamins to iron and calcium, it has the lot. Oh, and don’t forget the omega-3 fatty acids that make it a superfood on par with kale and other leafy greens. There is one problem with seafood and it’s plastic. The seas are full of pollution from polymers and sea creatures are ingesting more of it on a daily basis. When they are caught and served on a plate, it transfers into the body. To avoid coughing up a supermarket carrier bag, check the packet for info. Is it organic? Is it well farmed? Does the supplier provide a guarantee?

It’s A MOOt Point

Let’s not lay the blame squarely at the fins of fish. Farm animals are just as unhealthy depending on their diet. And, some of them aren’t pictures of health. Cows are often injected with drugs to make them grow bigger and juicier for our consumption. Battery chickens and hens, on the other hand, are pumped with penicillin because they have lots of health issues. As the evolution of bacteria is a major deal, it’s wise to shop for organic produce. Anything that eats well and uses holistic treatments isn’t going to a farmyard junkie.

The Chemical Stew, Please

Cleaning is an important part of the daily routine. The rubber gloves come out and the industry products attack any piece of dirt in sight. And, the same goes for cutlery. Add soap to the sink and the knives, forks, and plates will inevitably soak in the chemicals. You know what happens next. Here’s what you need to do to flip the script. Rather than buy traditional cleaners, opt for organic dishwasher gel and Fairy liquid. Then, should you end up eating it, the damage won’t be severe.

Filter My Fluoride

H2O from the faucet is a sign of a stable system. Some parts of the world – Cape Town springs to mind – don’t have the same privilege. Still, tap water isn’t one-hundred percent infallible. In truth, there are lots of chemicals floating around that might be dangerous. Fluoride is a prime example. Used in toothpaste to strengthen the teeth, it can be healthy but too much has harmful effects. Because water is essential, it’s tempting to turn the faucet and drink. The best option is to install a filter to remove the dangerous particles. You can boil it yet it’s a hassle.

You are what you eat, so what are you?