The year begins and after the Christmas excesses we ask ourselves, how will my cholesterol be? How much will I have gained? Isn't it time to resume the sport? Perhaps among our new purposes are those of eating better and exercising more and that is great, but also we ask for our children: do you eat properly? Do you have some weight left over? Not sitting too many hours a day? We want to include children in these good purposes, objectives that are not impossible and that we will not abandon before the end of January but that we could establish as habits.
Is there a way for our children to grow properly, for the whole family to remain in optimal health? It's not that hard, we can consider these twelve healthy decisions for our children to grow up healthy which reveals the guide "Eat healthy and move", a small "bible" of health for the whole family.
These are universal, easy-to-follow advice, suitable for all ages, that promote a varied and balanced diet combined with physical activity, since the key to good health is in that combination.
12 tips from the Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition that help us, among other things, to prevent overweight and obesity and enjoy good cardiovascular health. Very much to take into account, since according to the WHO more than 42 million children under five are overweight (and rising) and that since 1980, obesity has more than doubled worldwide. Younger and younger children have high cholesterol.
Do not lose detail and no matter how many of these points we meet or not, the important thing is that we are crossing out objectives.
Eat healthy, it's easy. Healthy eating contributes to your well-being, promotes health and protects from illness. Planning a healthy diet is easy since knowing the nutritional values of food and the basis of nutrition is available to everyone, in the food pyramid. The foods to be taken daily, several times are rice, pasta, potatoes, vegetables, vegetables, fruits, dairy products, olive oil. Among the foods to be taken several times each week are meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts. At the top of the pyramid, occasional foods such as sweets, ice cream and soft drinks. We also leave you the tips to develop a healthy children's menu.
Wake up, have breakfast. Breakfast is the first meal of the day and is vitally important. As the saying goes, "Breakfast like a king ...", is that the energy-caloric contribution of breakfast will allow us to achieve adequate physical and intellectual performance. But how should a healthy breakfast be? Dairy products: a glass of milk, a fresh yogurt or fresh cheese. Cereals: bread, biscuits, whole wheat bread, homemade pastries or breakfast cereals (eye, you have to check that they are as healthy as possible, since many have saturated fats and excess sugars). Fruit or natural juice. It could also be supplemented on some occasions with other protein foods such as eggs, ham, nuts, etc.
Live active, move. A sedentary lifestyle is a danger to our health and grows in our society due to the increasingly sedentary nature of many forms of work, new modes of displacement and increasing urbanization. It is essential to become an active family, walking, climbing stairs, walking, hiking, playing, dancing ...
Do sports, have fun. Sport as a game, as fun, we just saw in the previous point and it has many benefits for children. We do not have to be elite athletes, but we do provide our children with sports, exercise and physical activity. We do not speak exclusively of extracurriculars (which are not always possible) but there are other options, such as a shared sport on weekends.
Remove thirst with water. It is one of the pillars of the food pyramid and is the best drink to keep everyone well hydrated. Water is essential in infant feeding, making the body function properly. Children need to hydrate more than adults and especially if it is hot or sports. Eliminate caffeinated drinks and reduce those with gas and sugar.
Eat "spoon": carbohydrates are the basis. The presence of carbohydrates in the diet is essential to meet energy needs, so you have to stimulate the consumption of the foods that contain them. There are complex carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, legumes) and simple (sugar, honey ...). Healthy eating should have adequate amounts of both, and a predominance of complexes. When legumes, rice and vegetables are consumed together, as in many "spoon" dishes, the proteins complement each other and are of high quality.
Take fruits and vegetables, "five a day." It seems that reaching that amount is very difficult, but it is possible and it will not cost us so much with some simple "tricks" based on variety, originality, mixing with other foods ... Salads, fruit salad, natural juices, are some ways of taking fruits and vegetables almost without realizing it.
Choose foods with fiber. Fiber is necessary in food because it is a way to prevent and combat constipation. It also prevents diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and certain types of cancer, such as colon. It is advisable to eat about 25 grams of dietary fiber a day. The foods that contain the most fiber are legumes, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, vegetables and nuts.
Consume more fish. A great forgotten in many diets but with importance for health, for its contribution of omega-3 fatty acids, fat-soluble vitamins and proteins of high biological value. Of course, we must bear in mind that there are certain blue fish that are not recommended. The Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends the intake of white fish (for example, hake, sole ...) throughout the pediatric age, three to four times a week. The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition recommends avoiding the consumption of some blue fish (swordfish, shark, bluefin tuna and pike) in children under three years old (and in pregnant or breastfeeding women). Children between three and 12 years should limit the consumption of these specific blue fish to 50 gr / week or 100gr / 2 weeks.
Reduce fat. It reduces the consumption of foods with many saturated fats, which raise cholesterol and increase the risk of suffering from cardiovascular problems (sausages, sausages and charcuterie, fatty meats, bacon, bacon, bacon, butter, cream and products made with vegetable oils of coconut, palm and palm kernel). Also included is the group of foods with "trans" or "super saturated" fats, such as salty snacks, pizzas, popcorn, pastry and industrial pastries. There are also "good fats" (olive oil, fish, nuts ...) and are important for good health.
Leave the salt in the salt shaker. More than 80% of Spaniards consume more salt than recommended by the World Health Organization. And consuming too much salt increases the risk of childhood obesity or hypertension. Salt is already present naturally in many foods and if we avoid resorting on leaving we are gaining in health.
Maintain the right weight. Excesses should be monitored so as not to become overweight or obese and not forget the practice of exercise to stay at that weight. That is to say, we will achieve this last point, if there is no medical problem, following the previous advice. Anyway, go to routine visits to the pediatrician who tracks the child's weight.
Surely you already follow many of these twelve purposes for children to grow up healthy and if not, it is never too late to start setting goals. Our own health will benefit and it is a simple but valuable investment in the future of our children.
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More information | AECOSAN
In Babies and more | Childhood obesity: keys to prevent it, Teach good eating habits to children
