Open up and say…AHH!Children, eating and you
Presented by:
David Levine MD
4/29/14
"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."
Pop Quiz, Hotshots!
1) Is 2% milk better than whole milk?
- How much decrease in fat is this from whole milk, 98% or 1%?
2) Is there cheese is cheez wiz?
Which is worse? Salt, sugar or fat?
- need to know about food in order to understand how to feed your child
- need to know how food is manipulated in order to educate your child and protect them and their health
• Real, unprocessed food, sends signals to the brain that make you feel full fast
• Processed foods (Coke, Doritos, etc..) don’t send the same signals so you end up consuming more!
• and the food processors know and exploit this
Worry about predators…
Food and Family
Hopefully not this…
Nutrition
• Prenatal• extremely important• you don't fix things with 9 mths of
healthy eating after a lifetime of bad
Newborn/Infant
• breast is best
-but there is reality
-different formulas
-marketing vs. reality
Introduction of complementary foods
• no right or wrong way to start• we all prefer sweets• some evidence to support meat early (iron)• not before 17 weeks (allergy)
• Solids (finger foods) start with pincer grasp (9-10mths)
One Year
• switch to whole milk?• dairy (yogurt, cheese)>>milk
• ok to continue breast• ever expanding diet
Toddlers
• food rules• options/menu
• don't reward with bad
food for eating good food
• eating after the toddler period is determined very much by this developmental period and how you interact with the child
Are YOU picky? • anxious about your weight?• dieting?
It’s good to play with food!
BMI
• body mass index (wt for ht)• measured after 3 years of age• healthy weight/overweight/obese/morbidly obese
• a child who is overweight/obese at 5 years of age is likely to have weight problems as an adult
• not a guarantee
To organic or not to organic, that is the question.
• less pesticides• better for you?• more expensive, or is it?• the type of animal you eat may be less
important than what THAT animal ate while it was alive
• -omega 6:3 ratio should be roughly 1:1
-grass fed is 1:1
-corn fed is 14:1• heart disease risk? cancer risk?
• THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!
Vegetarianism
Vitamins can make this a non-issue in the US• should consult with a trained nutritionist to insure that
there are no gaps, especially in children with growing bodies (different from adults)
i.e. vit B12, fatty acids, iron• vegetarian vs vegan (too restrictive for child?)• leaner bodies, probably will live longer and healthier
lives
Beef is Bad! (sorry hamburger lovers)
• especially commercially produced• E. Coli 0157:H7• -In and Out Burger (1980's)
• byproducts fed to animal include bits from the same species
-cannibalism
-mad cow disease
Reading is fundamental...
Antibiotics
• superbugs
- MRSA
- E. Coli • overuse of ABX leads to resistance
• all promoted and approved by your government and the FDA/USDA
What's a parent to do?
FOOD = HEALTH
• top causes of death, most are food related
- heart disease
- cancers
• we all want what is best for our kids• so why do we place so little care on what they eat?• why do we not trust our own instincts when it comes to
food?
- internet? fad diets? mistrust of MD's?
- lack of education/information from MD's?
Do we need these?
Maybe not…
• science has not yet provided concrete answers• many different theories exist • confusing to doctors and patients
• epidemics of obesity and diabetes cannot be ignored• all of us have our biases (mine is added sugars)
-added sugars will soon be noted on nutrition labels
A spoonful of sugar?
• More like a few gallons
- soda consumption has doubled since the 70’s
- each person consumes about 40,000 gallons soda/yr
= 60,000 calories
= 3700 tsp sugar/person (about 22 tsp/day, goal is 5-10)
- 5 tsp = 6oz Coke, one Twinkie, 1.5 Fig Newtons
-How? Marketing and Conditioning (expect sweet, reject when not)
- Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Lebron James….
• why does BK and McD's cost less than real food?
- corn subsidies
- business invades science (remember tobacco?)• lack of real oversight• lack of caring by government (more business than
people)
Speaking of corn
• High fructose corn syrup Roughly the same sweetness of sugar, but way cheaper More stable, keeps packaged goods fresher, longer Worse than sugar?
• May lead to increased trigylcerides, LDL and other heart disease markers (Fructose = Fat?)
• Doesn’t mean table sugar (sucrose: ½ glucose, ½ fructose) is better
Obesity is the new smoking
• it is costing us billions right now• may have peaked, but still a major
problem
• trying lots of different methods
-none are proven to work
And a little about fat
• Bliss points Fat has none, just keep eating it Usually don’t even know it is there
Don’t be so Cheesy!
• Milk fat must go somewhere• Consumption has increased• Average person: sat fat increased by
200 gram/year• Finds it way into more foods as an
additive (not high quality cheese, i.e. American cheese PRODUCT)
Prevention always trumps treatment
• harder than it looks• requires commitment• watch TV, or play
• priorities!• Time?
What to do?
• teach your kids• take them food shopping• cook with them• microwaving is NOT cooking!
• your job is to provide, their's is to eat• young children can adjust their intakes, but cannot
choose a well-balanced diet
• aim for 3 meals/day (age appropriate)• avoid sodas and teas
-water
-100% juice (in moderation)
-milk (no more than 8 oz, low fat unless 12-24 mths)
-routine use of vitamins NOT necessary
• NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP!
• EAT WITH YOUR KIDS!• don't get caught up in lower percentiles if your kids is
happy and energetic• gaining wt on bad food is worse than being skinny or
stable on healthy food• petition your school and elected officials for better
food
Don't do this!
It isn't easy, but it is worth it
