Everywhere you turn anymore all you hear about is "eat this" or "don't eat that" "grocery shop here" and "avoid this ingredient". It can be a little overwhelming for us all. Unfortunately you can't trust what the "food experts" are telling you. This is why you need to take matters into your own hands and start protecting your family. Below are 7 reasons why your children NEED you to start listening to the Real Food Movement.
1. Your child(ren) is/are your responsibility from the moment they are conceived. It is important to teach them values, religion, and strong character traits, but what good are those if they don't know how to take care of their bodies and make healthy lifestyle choices especially when you are not around. We want our children to live a life that is the utmost fulfilling and this begins with their nutrition.
2. Lately we are seeing more and more parents burying their children at way too young of an age. Some of these are uncommon problems that are caused by genetics and/or accidents, however too many are from preventable chronic diseases due to overweight/obesity problems. In 2015 it is predicted that 1 in 4 children will be overweight/obese.
"Excessive body weight is associated with a myriad of health risks including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis, some types of cancer, pregnancy complications, shortened life expectancy, and decreased quality of life." (Clark, 2014)
3. It gives them motivation and energy to chase after their dreams.
LESS TIME BEING SICK= LESS TIME TO RECOVER= MORE TIME TO BE PRODUCTIVE. Don't weigh them down with sugars that cause their blood sugar go up and down which results in them feeling tired and weak.
4. We all know how hard it is to break bad habits. It is so much easier just to form good, solid lifelong habits. This is important as early as their time spend in the womb. The food you put into your body will help them begin to form good habits. Once they are out of the womb they will continue to mirror your choices. If your not onboard-they won't be either.
5. Food allergies are becoming more common and more dangerous. Most parents don't even know if their child is reacting to a specific ingredient. The chances of a food allergy affecting your child is drastically dropped if they are eating foods without additives and chemicals.
"More than 170 foods are known to cause an allergic reaction in some people." (USDA, 2014)
6. Eating real food is good for our environment and our economy. When we buy real food we buy it from a farmers market or a health food store we are supporting and helping fund the continuation of these products. It is true what they say, we really do vote with our dollars every time we buy food.
7. At a time when obesity and overweight children are at their highest our school systems are getting rid of the majority of physical education and health classes. We can't rely on others to pave the path for OUR children. They need to be taught how to make healthy lifestyle choices from the people they trust the most because right now there are too many BIG companies trying to persuade them otherwise.
This doesn't mean you need to set an hour aside everyday to give your children physical and nutrition education, you can add it to your daily routine by simply;
*Be a good healthy role mole for your kids to mirror.
*Explain your choices to them
*Include them in grocery shopping as well as meal preparation.
*Talk positive about healthy foods.
*Continue both yours and your child's learning daily since things in the real food movement are always changing.
Lets keep doing our part to change the world, one child at a time.
Lori :)
Pic Credit to: (familiesmattertous.blogspot.com)
