Children: return to health school
Here are the ABCs to ensure your child stays healthy this year and comes home with the right answers.
A) Sleep
There is plenty of evidence supporting the widely held belief that a lack of sleep increases your chances of getting sick. In a 2013 report in the Pediatric Infections Disease Journal, results from animal and human studies have shown that lack of sleep has harmful effects on the immune system and may be linked to an increased risk of obesity and heart disease. How much sleep does your child need?
Research shows that a lack of sleep increases the likelihood of getting sick. Children need about 10 hours of sleep per night, and adolescents need about 8.5 hours. Answer: go to bed earlier for healthy children.
B) Play outside
Playing outside gives children the opportunity to exercise, reduce stress, and explore nature: many studies in children and adults link outdoor physical activity with lower stress levels. Additionally, playing outside provides the body with the vitamin D it needs. According to a study published in the Autoimmunity Review, vitamin D supplement, or reasonable exposure to sunlight, appears to have a protective effect against infectious diseases. Answer: Children need 60 minutes of exercise per day; preferably outside.
C) Wash wash
Good personal hygiene can ward off the germs that cause the snotty noses and tummy aches that often affect children. Answer: Start handwashing routines at changes in activities; try singing a fun song to encourage good, long enough hand washing. And, to avoid skin irritation, avoid using overly invasive personal care products (e.g. that contain artificial fragrances, sulfates, parabens, etc.).
D) Avoid junk food
When children are present during purchases at supermarket, parents spend 60% more. According to research from Berkeley Media Studies Group, children develop long-lasting emotional connections with brands. The scary thing is that the emotional connection to junk food occurs at a time when children and adolescents are establishing eating habits and behaviors that will stay with them throughout their lives. Answer: Teach your children the importance of making healthy food choices when they are with you at the supermarket.
E) Eating healthy starts at home
Obesity has more than doubled among children and tripled among adolescents over the past 30 years. Obesity increases the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cancer and arthritis in children. And eating habits are established early in life. Answer: Start at home by offering your children plenty of fresh, whole foods, and lead by example.
F) Healthy lunches that your children will actually eat
A healthy lunch is one that nourishes both the body and the mind. Protein is an important component for growing little bodies because it helps children feel full and energized: offer hard-boiled eggs, hummus or a legume salad. Omega-3s support eye and brain health; try flaxseed oil instead of canola oil, or add seeds to their lunch box. How to prepare a lunch that your children will eat? Answer: You don't. You let your children do it. Children who are allowed to choose what to put in their lunch box are more likely to want to eat their dinner.
G) Snacks to satisfy superheroes and divas
Small, reusable and fun containers with trail mix, small cubes of cheese or cut cantaloupe, small carrots or peppers are absolutely irresistible for children at dinner or as a snack. Stock up on reusable containers that your children will enjoy, fill them and place them in the refrigerator so your children have access to a healthy snack whenever they are hungry. Answer: Helping children eat healthily is as simple as making healthy foods that are easy to find and fun to eat.
Tips to avoid illness this year:
- Get enough sleep
- Eat fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds
- Stay well hydrated
- “Junk” should only be an occasional treat
- Wash your hands
- Take probiotics, omega-3, vitamin C and zinc
Visit healthfirst.ca for a complete guide to children's supplements.
“Health” and “health +” version of a lunch box:
Do you want to prepare even healthier lunch boxes? Try these simple modifications to increase the nutritional value of their contents.
| Health | Health + |
| Whole grain breads | Sprouted whole grain breads |
| Flavored yogurt | Plain yogurt with fresh fruit |
| Cold meats | Chicken breast in strips |
| Lettuce | Sprouts |
| Pasta salad | Quinoa salad with beans and hemp seeds |
Written by Allison Tannis BSc MSc RHN, nutrition expert, author and chef and designer of lunch boxes for two little ones. allisontannis.com to find out more.
To read the full article with more health tips for returning to school, visit healthfirst.ca.
Sources: Vitamin D effects on musculoskeletal health, immunity, autoimmunity cardiovascular disease, cancer, fertility, pregnancy, dementia and mortality – a review of recent evidence. Autoimmunity Reviews, August 2013; 12(10):976-898
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568997213000402
Sleep and Infection: No Snooze, You Lose? Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, October 2013; 32(10):1135-1137.
http://journals.lww.com/pidj/Citation/2013/10000/Sleep_and_Infection__No_Snooze,_You_Lose_.23.aspx
Shields M. Measured obesity: overweight Canadian children and adolescents. In: Nutrition: findings from the Canadian Community Health Survey; volume 1; 2005 (cat# 82-620-MWE2005001). Available: www.statcan.ca/english/research/82-620-MIE/2005001/pdf/cobesity.pdf
Item – The New Age of Food Marketing, BMSG – 1er October, 2011
http://www.bmsg.org/resources/publications/the-new-age-of-food-marketing
Statistics Canada
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2012003/article/11706-fra
Wells, NM and GW Evans. Nearby Nature: a buffer of life stress among rural children. Environment and Behavior, May 2003;35(3):311-330.
http://eab.sagepub.com/content/35/3/311.short
Aspinall P, et al. The urban brain: analyzing outdoor physical activity with mobile EEG. Br J Sports Med, March 6, 2013.