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An overly busy lifestyle does not promote healthy eating, but what and how we eat can affect our general health significantly. Learning how to eat healthy should start as early in life as possible. Eating small, frequent meals is definitely the best way to fight and prevent weight gain since most of the calories will be used right away. Large, infrequent meals tend to provide excess calories which are "saved for later" as fat tissue. However, it is not easy to use these deposited calories. It takes a few days for the body to begin using fat tissue as an energy source.
The fast growing bodies of children definitely need a well-balanced, variable diet. This will not only provide all the necessary nutrients, but will also most likely prevent many gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and neurological problems. Some parents are concerned that their children will not get the proper nutrition, and choose to add vitamins to their diets, but vitamin supplements are not generally indicated for children with healthy eating habits. The general rules of small, frequent, varied meals, and limiting sugary or high fat snacks will keep most children healthy and less fussy about eating later in life.
For additional healthy kids tips, log onto baymed.org, scroll over "Health Checks & You" and join our "E-List." For more information about childhood diseases or development, contact Inez Balinska, MD or Darek Balinski, MD, McLaren Bay Region Pediatrics, Medical Mall, 1456 W. Center Road, Essexville. (989) 895-4840.
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