Healing Powers of Antioxidants
April 17, 2009
Antioxidants and their Healing Powers
Although oxygen is essential for the survival of human beings, it can also be the cause of great damage to our bodies. The oxidation of free radicals can result in the destruction of cell membranes, which can increase the body’s vulnerability to many different kinds of diseases.
One of the most effective ways to neutralize free radicals is to consume foods that are rich in antioxidants.
Antioxidants prevent free radicals from damaging the cells in our bodies. When antioxidants are introduced into the body, they act as oxidation targets for free radicals. With the presence of these new targets, the free radicals no longer have to steal oxygen atoms from our cell membranes to fulfill their need to oxidize.
Antioxidants are able to give away or accept electrons without doing any harm to our bodies, and they can keep free radicals from destroying our cells to give us optimum health.
Free radicals can contribute to the development of about sixty different types of diseases. While they can cause milder illnesses such the flu and infections, they can also contribute to occurrences of life-threatening health risks such as heart disease and cancer.
Free radicals can also damage the nerve cells of our brains and cause mental health disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, by controlling the oxidation activities of free radicals, antioxidants are actually performing essential work that can be life-saving. In addition, antioxidants may be effective in slowing down the aging of our cells and bodies.
There are a lot of fruits and vegetables that contain high levels of antioxidants, and these include berries, pink grapefruits, oranges, peaches, apricots, papayas, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, red peppers, tomatoes, and carrots.
To ensure that the free radicals in your body are under control, include foods that contain antioxidants in your daily diet.
Top Ten Reasons to Have Family Dinners
April 17, 2009
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10 Reasons to Have Family Meals More Often
When was the last time your family had a meal together? I don’t mean sitting in the car munching on burgers from the drive-through. I mean sitting down at the table and sharing
a home-cooked meal.
If you can’t remember when you last enjoyed a family dinner, make plans to have them more often. Experts have found – and continue to discover – plenty of benefits for both children and adults when families have dinner together at least three times a week.
I know…I know, it’s not always easy, so click here if you need help with meal planning and grocery shopping.
Here are 10 reasons why you should have family meals more often:
Good For The Body
1. When families eat together, everyone tends to eat healthier. People who have frequent family meals consume more calcium, fiber, iron, and vitamins B6, B12, C and E. It could be because home-cooked meals are healthier than fast food and restaurant meals. (Source: Archives of Family Medicine)
2. Children tend to eat more fruits and vegetables when they frequently have dinner with their families. They also tend to eat fewer snack foods. (Source: American Dietetic Association)
3. Children in families who eat dinner together are less likely to be overweight (Source: Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine). This makes sense, given the findings
in #1 and #2 above.
Good For The Brain
4. Children from families who eat meals together get better grades than their peers who don’t have lots of family meal times (Source: Lou Harris-Reader’s Digest National Poll).
So family dinners are not only good for the body; they’re also good for the brain.
5. When families eat together frequently, children have better language skills compared to kids from families who don’t have family mealtimes often. (Source: Harvard
University)
Good For Emotional Health
6. Children of families who eat together report feeling happier and are more optimistic about the future, than their peers who have infrequent family meals. (Source: Lou Harris-
Reader’s Digest National Poll)
7. Teenagers are less likely to use drugs, smoke, and drink alcoholic drinks, when their families eat together regularly. (Source: Columbia University)
8. It may come as a surprise, but among Moms who work outside the home, those who have family mealtimes reported feeling less stress than those who had family dinners less
often. (Source: Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal)
9. The more often teen girls had meals with their families, the less likely they were to have symptoms of depression and suicidal behaviors. (Source: University of Minnesota)
Good For Family Bonding
10. Eating together gives family members the chance to communicate and build relationships, something that both adults and children appreciate very much. (Source: Nutrition Education Network of Washington & Oprah Winfrey’s “Family Dinner Experiment”)
I hope these reasons motivate you and your family to try and eat together more often. We’re all busy – even children have plenty of after-school activities. But as the list above
shows, family meals are worth every effort we put into them. It helps to plan ahead so that we’re not scrambling to get dinner ready or panicking because we don’t have all the
ingredients we need.
To make it easier to get the family around the table with a home-cooked meal, check out Dine Without Whine’s menu planning service. It cost just a penny to try it out!
Healthy Toddler Snacking Ideas
April 16, 2009
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Healthy Toddler Snacking Ideas
Toddlers have little tummies, so it’s no wonder they want to eat small meals or snacks throughout the day. These three healthy toddler snacking ideas may help you get your toddler to eat more than chips or fruit snacks. Try them out on your toddler and see what they think of them!
Ants on a log
Maybe your toddler is like most and doesn’t like anything green. You can’t get them to eat lettuce, cabbage, or broccoli. Here’s one idea that may at least get your toddler to eat celery – make it fun! Since most toddlers absolutely love peanut butter, spread some of the gooey goodness on the celery. Next, sprinkle a generous number of raisins on the peanut butter and push them in.
If your child doesn’t like peanut butter or if they have an allergic reaction to it, you can use cream cheese or hummus. Instead of raisins, you can use diced apples, diced bananas, or pieces of nuts. The point is to make the snack fun so your toddler will want to eat it.
Energy Balls
Another way to sneak healthy vegetables into your toddler’s snacks if they’d rather eat dirt first is to chop or grate them as finely as possible and mix them with things you know they like. For Energy Balls you’ll need ¼ cup each finely grated carrot, rolled oats, raisins, wheat germ, and sunflower seeds. Mix this together with 1 tablespoon of honey and 3 tablespoons of peanut butter.
After you have the ingredients mixed together, you may want to let your child roll the dough into balls. You can also use ¼ cup granola to give them a tasty crunch.
Frozen Smoothie
Toddlers love fruit and anything that tastes creamy like ice cream is always a hit. Why not combine 1 cup 100% fruit juice with 1 cup plain yogurt. Place the ingredients in a container or cup with a lid and then let them shake it. They’ll have fun making their own snack and then enjoy the snack, as well.
When giving your children any snack, remember that it’s important that your toddler sits upright when eating. It’s also important that they remain seated rather than rather than running loose to ensure they don’t choke on anything, particularly the celery. The saying “safety first” isn’t only important for your workplace but also for your home.
If you’re struggling to get your child to eat what’s good for them, don’t despair. These three healthy toddler snacking ideas are only a few ways you can sneak nutritious foods into your child’s diet without their realizing it. Since you want your toddler to be healthy, don’t feel bad about getting the good stuff in them any way you can.
More:
Dine Without Whine – the menu mailer for families with kids!
Smoothie recipes for the whole family
