|
Childs Health Suffers Because Of Fast Food
Diet.
According to restaurant market-research firm Sandelman &
Associates Inc., the average fast-food consumer dined 16.4 times
a month in 2002.
The surveys 16.4 times a month is equal to no vegetables to
speak of (except that little piece of lettuce and a thin slice
of tomato) and no fruit for 5 and a half days a month if they
eat a hamberger when there.
So that would mean very little fiber, minerals and vitamins.
No essential oils, just the bad kind. How are their bodies supposed
to work, let alone build strong bodies and good immunity, on
this kind of diet? Yes the child’s health will appear to
be okay on the surface, but underneath, the his/her body is getting
more and more nutrient deficient.
This will lead to immune deficiency, high cholesterol, and
diseases showing up at an earlier age than we used to see.
And I can assume that soda comes with those meals as well.
Sodas are so acidic that studies have been done on them to see
how much they are affecting teenage athletes and their mineral
balance. Minerals are pulled from tissue and bone to keep the
blood pH in balance to buffer the acids of the sodas. This leads
to osteoporosis in teenagers.
In addition to eating at fast food places, how much fast food
and non nutritive food is your child eating at home? From what
I see in shopping carts at the grocery store, a great deal. So
reality is that many children are getting considerably less real
food than they were 20 years ago.
Is this a real problem? Yes! I have done nutritional counseling
for young adults who ate nothing but fast foods for every meal.
One that sticks in my mind was a young man that said he was too
busy with his job and just drove by the fast food place for his
meals.
And one 19 year old female was so tired, ill and overweight
that she could hardly get off the couch. Her mom cooked regular
meals at home, but this young lady insisted on fast foods for
her meals instead: donuts for breakfast, and driving to fast
food restaurants for the other two meals.
Because of her poor eating habits and eating fast foods, my
brothers step daughter was diagnosed with osteoporosis by the
time she was 18. She is 20 now, still eats a lot of fast food
and does not "get it" when it comes to what osteoporosis
means to her health now and in the future.
What Are The Consequences?
What might some of the affects be of this diet lifestyle for
your child? Constipation. Acne. Growing pains/leg aches. Not
being able to think clearly. Attention Deficit Disorder. Moody.
Hyperactivity. Blood sugar disorders including Diabetes. Possibly
osteoporosis.
Menstrual problems for girls. Getting the flu and colds often.
Bad breath/body odor. Overweight. Becoming overly acidic. Continued
hunger, even though the child ate. No energy. The list goes on
and on.
What to do?
You as the adult have a responsibility
to educate your children. If you don’t the advertising
for fast food and peer pressure from the other children will
get to them. Their taste buds get trained for these flavors by
the MSG and flavor enhancers added to addict them to fast food.
And these chemicals affect the brain, making it harder for the
child to think clearly.
Show your children you love them and care about what happens
to them. Guide them, lead them, set the example for them. They
need to know the truth about the importance of eating fruits
and vegetables. They need to know the consequences of drinking
sodas and eating fast food. Please educate your kids that their
food choices have serious consequences.
---------------------------
Article written by Jeannie Crabtree C.Ac. Jeannie
publishes Healthy Solutions newsletter. Get your
nutrition tips and research started today.You can subscribe
to Healthy Solutions by going to http://www.health-doc.com
|