Parenting Tips for Healthy Eating

Last post I discussed the difficulty some parents have with guiding positive change in their children's behavior with regard to health. For instance, when facing the task of limiting television time, many parents of overweight and obese children lack confidence in laying down the law.

I believe that uncertain parents simply lack a strategy, so last post I outlined a practical strategy for limiting T.V. time for children. It's fair, and it'll work if parents can stick to their guns. But like I pointed out in the post, it might be harder to implement with teenagers, as poor habits get harder to break the older kids get.

As promised, I'm posting some tips on establishing healthy eating habits for families. This was another area parents of overweight and obese kids lacked confidence in implementing. Some basic rules apply* when it comes to eating well, and they are:

• Eat primarily whole, natural foods--real food; not processed. Fruits, vegetables, real dairy (yes, butter), real meats, and low-glycemic carbs.
• Eat primarily at home. Eating out, no matter how healthy it seems, is still inferior to cooking at home. Believe that.
• Cut out soda--worst damn crap you can put into your body.
• Minimize the desserts--I know this is hard with kids, but you've got to keep the portions small. Two cookies (small to medium size) three times per week, and something more involved (cake, ice cream, whatever) one time per week is plenty to excessive. If you can avoid developing the habit from the start, even better. My daughter Delilah gets a small cup of ice cream once a week--that's it; she doesn't know any different.
• Keep portions moderate--it's my opinion that massive portions are the greatest contributor to obesity. Most Americans don't need half the food they are consuming. Bring it down, big boy.

That's it. Simple. But, as I've said before, this will be much harder to implement with teenagers. Teens have enough independence to make their own food choices throughout the day. This one simple fact may make it impossible to completely change their bad eating habits--the same one we've all had at that time in our lives.

But it's the little kids we can influence. They may still move toward unhealthy diets as teenagers, but I guarantee you by the time they go to college they'll remember what you've taught them as children, and return to eating that way. Guaranteed.

So that's a lot of responsibility you have parents. You can be soft and uncertain, or you can be firm and certain that you are teaching your children good habits which will last them a lifetime. Your decisions now, as well as your challenges, will shape their future. They'll thank you for it one day. I'm certain of that.

*For a more comprehensive list of healthy eating tips, read my book, The Six Keys to Optimal Health.

Parenting Tips for the Uncertain

Many parents have a hard time disciplining their children. Laying down the law doesn't come easy to all of us. Some find it so hard that they even risk their child's health. Check it.

Current research from Harvard University shows that many parents of overweight or obese children lacked confidence in implementing and enforcing various lifestyle behaviors that could help their children improve their health. When it came to laying down the law with regard to limiting television viewing, removing TV from children's bedrooms, cutting back on fast food, reducing intake of sugary drinks, increasing physical activity, and improving the family's overall eating habits, the parents studied scored pretty poorly in the confidence category. What this means is that these parents (446 surveyed) were unable to satisfactorily push their children to do the right thing.

I know it's not always easy getting the kids to do what they should be doing--lord, I've got two champion tantrum throwers myself; and, of course, not everybody is as hard-assed as I am. But here are some tips that might just help some parents get their children to make a change:

• Have a strategy--going in blind is a sure way to fail.
• Start slowly--making drastic changes will create resentment and possibly a revolt.
• Have your child list all the television programs he or she watches regularly. Have them pick two or three, and let them know they've got to dump the rest.
  
• Choose a reasonable amount of time you will allow your children to watch T.V. weekly (I personally think 14 hours is fair to generous--two hours per night during the week, and four hours each on Saturday and Sunday).
  
• No T.V. in the bedroom, period. Same with internet--sorry--too easy to watch via web.
• Once their allotted time is up. (Click) Shut off the tube, and remove the remote.
• Set aside time for the whole family to be together for reading or talking. If you don't like to read, better start--kids do as their parents do.
• Expect pissin', moanin' and grumblin'--stay strong, it'll pass.

I realize that the age of one's children will impact the success of this type of plan. No doubt, teens who have developed bad habits will be tough to break, but you've got to try anyhow. It's why I always say, "Start early." The younger the kids are when you develop habits, the easier it is to influence and form them. Hate to say it, but it might turn out that the only families able to successfully implement this type of regimen might be the one with youngsters. Nevertheless, I'd try anyway if I were you. Can't hurt.

Check in tomorrow for tips on how to get your family's eating habits up to par. For sure, T.V. can be fun; but as a regular habit for kids, it's as damaging as they come.

Orthotics Repair

Do you wear orthotics? Do you have back pain, hip pain, knee pain; do your feet hurt? Has anybody checked your feet? If you wear orthotics, then you know how much they help your particular condition. But did you know they need to be repaired periodically?

Orthotics are devices inserted into the shoes that support the feet. They are customized to each individual, so they may provide an arch for one whose arches collapse; or they might provide cushion for people that come down hard on their feet. Each foot dysfunction and gait abnormality has its own particular correction in custom-made orthotics.

We take approximately ten million steps a week. By the shear volume of it all, orthotics wearers have to be aware of one thing--orthotics eventually break down. Once the device expires, symptoms slowly return. Hello sciatica--long time no burn. Shin splints--thought you'd never come back. Oh, and low back pain--fuggedaboutit--that'll come back with a vengeance. Sometimes symptoms return slowly; other times--BAM!--hello again.

The approximate time frame to repair or replace your orthotics is 1-2 years. For runners or heavy tennis players that only have one pair, your looking at closer to a year. But for the average weekend warrior, or for the person with two or more pairs, it'll be closer to a year and a half, two years. Once you get them repaired, your orthotics will be like brand new.

Just ask my Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood chiropractic client Eddie Pence. He's been running around in his pair for a couple of years--he's taken them up Runyon Canyon in Hollywood, trudged them through the Los Angeles flag football gridiron, and slugged mud in them with his dog at the most popular of West Hollywood dog parks. And although the Biomechanical orthotics we fit him for could take a serious licking, Ed knows that to keep them ticking, it's time for a repair.

If you need orthotics, or you would like to have your low back, hip, groin, knee, calf, shin or foot pain evaluated by a sports chiropractor, and you live in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, or West Hollywood, come see Dr. Nick Campos and get your foot problems squared away.

Driving Under the Influence

Driving under the influence is a crime, but some researchers think we should make an exception...for the ADHD driver. Doh! According to research recently present to the American Psychiatric Association, adults with ADHD are more prone to auto accidents. So to combat this phenomenon, researcher recommend ADHD drivers to be cranked out on speed. Nice.

The study showed that adult ADHD drivers had significantly more auto collisions than the general public and received more citations. ADHD teens and adults have also been shown to be nearly twice as likely to having their licenses suspended. According to UC Berkeley psychologist Nadine Lambert, Ph.D., "People with ADHD have serious difficulties planning ahead, following through, and staying on task—things you need to do to drive safely.

Apparently ADHD drivers are more likely to be convicted of speeding, not obeying signs and signals, following too closely, improper passing, and not following road markings. Additionally they're somewhat more likely than non-ADHDers to participate in reckless driving, drunk driving, and poor lane placement.

So what's the solution? Give 'em speed. Now that's responsibility in the psychiatric research profession--recommend drugging our drivers, yeah! I'm never for the drugging solution, especially when it comes to mental health. Instead of encouraging our unfocused fellow citizens to develop good driving skills, we resort to the simple solution--drugs. I'm not anti-drug, but giving legalized speed, and that's essentially what these ADHD drugs like Ritalin are, is foolish. It's not going to make one a more attentive driver. Why don't we just put a kilo of coke in their trunk--that'll make them pay attention--guaranteed. But no one would seriously suggest that because it's nonsensical. And so is drugging our drivers.

I deal with a lot of auto accident victims in my Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood chiropractic office. Accidents caused by people under the influence are some of the worst I see. If the general public is considered impaired even under the influence of cold medications, why recommend speed for ADHDers? The use of drugs to treat mental "disorders" will remain somewhat controversial for years to come; but let's hope cranking out our ADHD drivers won't cause more problems than they fix.

Shiloh Pepin, Mermaid Girl

Meet Shiloh Pepin, the mermaid girl. Born in August 1999, in Kennebunkport, Maine, Shiloh has a very rare congenital disorder known as sirenomelia, or mermaid syndrome, where the legs are fused together resembling a mermaid's tail. But Shiloh is unique in another way, she is living well beyond what was ever expected.

Most people born with sirenomelia die within a day or two of birth because of complications associated with abnormal kidney and bladder development and function. It results from a failure of normal vascular supply from the lower aorta in utero. And little Shiloh was in fact born without a bladder, uterus, colon or vagina, and with only one partial kidney and one ovary.

But because of a kidney transplant at four months of age, and a second one in 2007, Shiloh fights on--a truly remarkable feat. Overall, she has survived more than 150 surgeries. It will be interesting to see what limits she'll be able to push with a combination of modern-medicine and her will to survive. I send my thoughts and blessings to the sweet little mermaid of Maine--keep kicking, sister.

Dad's Are Key to Making Us Human

While most mammals have very little interaction with their offspring, human fathers are an integral part of their children's upbringing; and this relationship, scientists believe, is what makes us unique, what makes us human.

Most popular theories on the role of the father have him as a protector of the young, and while this is true, fathers also play an important role in the optimum development of psychological and emotional traits considered to be primarily human, such as empathy, emotional control and the ability to navigate complex social relationships. This is uniquely human, as 95% of male mammals end their interactions at conception.

Prolonged human male interaction has important consequences to child development. While most other primates mature within 10 years, humans need 18-20 years before they can fend for themselves. The more involved a father is in family upbringing, research shows, the later sexual maturity develops in the child. In homes where fathers are absent, girls reach menarche sooner and form clingy relationships, while boys become aggressive and sexually exploitive.

The way fathers interact with children influences how they function as adults. For instance, as a result of possibly worrying about children's financial future, fathers across cultures tend to give advice, encourage academic success and stress achievement. And father's play tends to be on the rough side, riling up kids to the point of snapping, and then calming them down, which is believed to develop emotional control in children. As a result of his interactions, a father's presence in the family correlates with improved health and decreased child mortality, increased emotional security and sexual maturity, and enhanced social skills.

Fathers also play an indirect role in the development of their grandchildren. As social skills develop in the child, increasing social standing, their parenting skills develop and the grandchildren benefit. Good fathering skills, then, can be passed down through generations--quite the responsibility. And finally, the more fathers help mothers following childbirth, the sooner mom becomes fertile, ensuring a bigger brood. Evolutionarily speaking, this is an advantage, as bigger families can become more powerful.

So celebrate fatherhood, dads--you are an essential part of your family's dynamics and the development of your children. Without dads we simply wouldn't be human.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!

Childhood Obesity Not Linked to Location

I wrote a post back in March questioning some conclusions from a Columbia University and UC Berkeley study stating that fast-food restaurants located near schools increases childhood obesity. While I didn't deny the data, I certainly disagreed with the authors' conclusion that banning fast food joints near schools would decrease obesity in children. Well a new study has just been released that closes the lid on the fast-food ban argument. In fact, it shows that the presence of fast food restaurants has no effect on childhood obesity at all.

According to research conducted at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, which looked at a decade of data on more than 60,000 children aged 3 to 18, living near a fast food restaurant had little effect on weight gain. And surprisingly, living instead near a supermarket stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables wasn't associated with lower weight either. These results go against anecdotal data that have led some to believe that the types of food choices in a neighborhood have an effect on weight gain.

The study looked at details such as both sick- and well-doctor visits, changes in a child's address, annual food-service establishment inspection data, aerial photographs of neighborhoods and crime statistics over time. This study provides more accurate data since it was collected over a period of ten years and not a single year as in previous studies. As an interesting side note, living near recreational facilities was associated with lower childhood weight.

Well, all I can say is...I figured. C'mon folks, temptations are all around us, all the time. Does anybody really believe that not having a fast food restaurant near their home will prevent them from getting fast food? I mean, everybody knows that crack addicts come from every neighborhood, right?--even travelling into dangerous neighborhoods to get their goods, right? What's the difference with junk food?

Listen, staying away from junk is an issue of upbringing. You either learn fast food is junk, or you don't--you think it's food. Whether you've got a dozen fast food restaurants in your hood, or zero, if you think fast food is a viable dietary choice, then you'll find it when you want it. And it'll show in your waistline...your kids, too.