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The Importance of Child Care Nutrition


                                                            by: Becky Ohde

"Real-life experencies relating to the importance of proper nutrition."


Your child's nutrition is important to their overall health. Proper nutrition can also prevent many medical problems, including becoming overweight, developing weak bones, and developing diabetes. It will also ensure that your child physically grows to their full potential.

A healthy diet is important at any age. Teaching your child healthy eating habits at an early age will teach them discipline about their eating habits the rest of their lives.

I became a diabetic at the age of 12. I never thought about what I ate and the effect it had on my body until after the diagnosis. Even after I was diagnosed and attended multiple diet classes I still did not understand the affect food could have on my body until I almost lost my leg because of an infection that would not heal. I was 18 at that time and decided to learn more about how my body processed the foods I ate. I started teaching my children at a early age about the foods they eat and the affects it will have. Even though they both had to have braces on their teeth they had very few cavities and never had a tooth pulled because of decay from sugar until they got older and moved out. (then it was “mom was right”)

I never was a real big candy eater; I knew that was bad from the beginning. I did love to eat starches which is another name for carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates are used for your body's energy needs. Simple carbohydrates are usually high in calories, and not very nutritious. Simple carbohydrates are easy to digest. When you eat simple sugars, your body breaks them apart and they are absorbed into your blood stream through the small intestine. Whether complex or simple any sugar your body doesn't use for fuel is converted to fat and stored in adipose tissue.

I had a friend that was always on a diet but never seemed to lose any weight. She came to work one day and said Becky, you'll be proud of me, I had a plate full of vegetables for dinner. Her plate consisted of corn, lima beans and macaroni and cheese. She got upset with me when I told her she didn't have a single vegetable on her plate, she had a plate full of starch and a little protein in the cheese. Most adults don't know what is a vegetable and what is a starch. When I go into a restaurant under vegetable options I see: corn, bake potatoes, various dried beans, cornbread dressing, mac and cheese etc.

If you are feeding your child a dinner of mac and cheese, corn and fried chicken nuggets, you are filling them with carbohydrates right before you want to put them to bed. Go ahead and give them a bowl of candy for dessert.

I became a diabetic at the age of 12. In March of 2012 I turned 50 and now I'm in better health than I was at 18. That may not mean much to a lot of you but my doctors are pretty impressed at my overall health because of the right nutrition.

If your child is a picky eater, then Pediasure is amazing. My granddaughter was born with a birth defect called Noonan's syndrome and JMML which is a form of leukemia. She will be 5 in July and still does not eat by mouth. She has what is called a G-tube. A G-tube is a tube inserted through the abdomen that delivers nutrition directly to the stomach. Her nutrition since coming off baby formula had been solely dependent on PediaSure. She is thriving and overcoming all handicaps she was born with. All of her nutritional needs are met. We have tried other brands but they seem to have a negative affect on her digestive system. If you child is a picky eater and are concerned that their nutritional needs are not being met, try PediaSure.

Knowing about proper nutrition, like picking vegetables instead of starches, is important to all families. When sending your child off to day care, preschool, summer camp or whatever, remember to think about her nutrition when packing her lunch or ordering her meal plan. Proper nutrition can and does make a difference in a child's life.


The Importance of Child Care Nutrition


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