Have you looked around you lately? It is all around on us. It is mentioned on the media on a daily basis and we see it but are we aware of it? What am I talking about? It is childhood obesity, and epidemic that is growing and the statistics are grim. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, the rate of obesity in children ages 6 to 11 has more than doubled in the past 25 years. That {Read More}

Do you have a teen that stays up all night and has difficulties getting up for school? Who doesn’t right? A recent study by the National Sleep Foundation found that only 20 percent of teens actually got the recommended amount of sleep per night. The recommended amount they were studying was nine hours per night and with our teens that stay up after midnight, it is no wonder they are having difficulties in the mornings. More than a quarter of {Read More}

If you can’t pronounce the name of an ingredient, do you really want your child to eat it? Some words, even if you can pronounce them are intentionally designed to confuse. For instance, any word ending in “ose” is a sugar. It can be very challenging to get your children to eat the foods needed for healthy bodies and strong bones. To ensure that your child is eating the correct foods at lunchtime, parents often send along a pre-packed lunch. {Read More}

Amazing as we get older we want to go to bed earlier, since our days seem to be longer. However, our children would rather stay up all night long. They seem to think they will miss out on something of importance if they go to sleep. Trying to get your children to bed at a somewhat decent hour can be a struggle and not to mention the whining that will ensue when you try. Many children think they can use {Read More}

Do you find yourself purchasing sugary cereals and other sugary breakfast treats for your children? Sure they are easy and fast but they are not healthy at all! Giving your children all those sugary sweet cereals and Pop Tarts or worse yet, driving through a donut place is like giving your child a cup of coffee each and every morning. Although those breakfast alternatives may be quick and easy they are extremely unhealthy. The lack of nutritional value and the {Read More}

Back to school is right around the corner and to avoid the normal stresses would be wonderful for a great start to the new year. Does your typical morning sound like this? — It’s time to get up, hello? It’s time to get up! You’ll be late for the bus, hurry!! Let’s go!! Did you brush your teeth? Do you have your lunch? Wait, what homework? We’re leaving NOW!!! If it does and I surely hope it doesn’t there is {Read More}

There are times that we crave certain food items and those are signs that our bodies are giving us….for example, you may crave peanuts… your body is probably needing more protein. Being a vegetarian, it is difficult to get all the daily requirements so when my body is craving a certain food product I try to listen… now I won’t go to the extreme and eat a chocolate bar with peanuts or chocolate peanut butter ice cream as tempting as {Read More}

Many wonder what is best to fight heart disease, exercising or maintaining a healthy weight. This controversy has many researchers talking and trying to find an answer to please everyone. Steven Blair, PED, who is a researcher from the University of South Carolina, is a longtime proponent of what is called the ‘fit and fat’ theory. He tested over 10,000 people using a treadmill exercise test and found that indeed the level of physical activity is an important factor in {Read More}

Is there such a thing as a ‘perfect’ food? Perfect is a very strong word, but the foods I am listing below are among the healthiest on the planet, so that makes them as close to perfect as possible. So let’s start the list: Broccoli – I know what you may be thinking, ugh!! broccoli, but yest it is among the healthiest foods on the planet. It is loaded with vitamins such as A, C, K and beta-carotene. It also {Read More}

Do your children spend hours in front of the television or playing video games? How about hours in front of the computer? These acts are actually damaging to their health. In the March 2008 issue of Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine it was found that turning off the television or computer helped improve the health of younger children. This was determined with a study they performed on 70 overweight children ages 4 to 7. They were put into two {Read More}