Sunday, July 22, 2012

Grab a Healthy Snack

As a growing kid, you need healthy snacks to get you through the day. Regular and nutritious snacks help keep your mind alert and your energy levels up.

When you get hungry between meals, nutritious snacks give you the extra energy and nutrients you need.

Healthy Kids Activities

Think a vegetable can’t teach you anything? Well think again! Try these cool experiments and activities and see what you learn!
 
Colourful celery experiment
Place a celery stalk in a clear container. Fill it up three-quarters full with brightly coloured water (just add some food colouring). Look at what happens over the next few days. You should see the celery drinking the water.

Try the experiment with other plants – maybe one with a white flower. What do you predict will happen?

Plants draw the water up their stem and send it on to their leaves and petals. Carefully cut the stem. Can you see the coloured water inside?

Saturday, July 21, 2012

4 Simple Tips for Raising Healthy Kids

In a land of go-gurts, happy meals, lunchables, and clever junk food marketing geared toward kids, raising a healthy child is becoming increasingly difficult. We are never more than five feet away from a food message and 90% of those messages are not about health food. So what’s a parent to do? KISS (Keep it Super Simple) those problems away! Here are four super simple tips to keep your child healthy while maintaining your sanity.

5 Tips for Choosing a Children’s Multivitamin

These days, a walk down the vitamin aisle is enough to give you a headache – luckily, there’s a vitamin for that. The same goes for children’s multivitamins, as there are many brands vying for attention on the shelf.  If parents choose to implement a multivitamin in their child’s diet, Ilyse Schapiro, MS, RD, CDN has five tips to make the multivitamin options a little less confusing. As always, a talk with your child’s pediatrician is advised before starting any new regimen.

1) Get a supplement that says multivitamin and mineral to get the best key nutrients. Our Mary Hartley, RD suggested, “Don’t forget about minerals! Look at the zinc and iron content. For instance, Flintstones Complete has 12 mg of zinc whereas Centrum Junior Complete has only 3 mg.”

Children in China More Likely to get Diabetes than Children in America

Teenagers in China are four times as likely to get diabetes than those from the United States. This was discovered by a study led by Barry Popkin, Ph.D., W.R. Kenan Jr. Distinguished Professor of nutrition at University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health.

The researchers used data from the longest ongoing study of its kind in China, China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS). They analyzed data from over 29,000 people that were followed from 1989 to 2011 in 300 different communities in China.

Skin Care Tips

Many beauty products on the market have some harmful chemicals in them; some of your favorite beauty products may contain any of these things:
  • Mineral Oil, Paraffin & Petrolatum, Parabens
  • Phenol carbolic acid
  • Propylene glycol
  • Acrylamide
  • Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
  • Toluene
  • Dioxane

General Tips
  • Drink plenty of water, stay off the alcohol and out of the sun.
  • Clean your face with a gentle cleanser when you wake up and before you go to bed.
  • Use tea tree oil on your skin for scars and the occasional breakouts
  • Do not touch your skin too much throughout the day
  • Wash your hands frequently in case you do touch your face
  • Olive oil works real well on your face. Also use massage oils on your hands and legs. You will see an immediate difference.
  • Exfoliate your skin at least once a week. It will work wonders on removing dead, flaky skin.
  • Eat healthy foods that are good for your skin. (eg. fruits, vegetables, etc)
  • Don't eat a lot of junk food or else you will get more pimples
  • Don't pop your pimples unless you have a tool made especially for extracting black heads.
  • Masks are easy to make or you can find them in stores and they're great to make your skin glow.
  • Find a skincare regimen that works for your skin type. Don't use skincare made for dry skin if you have oily skin.
  • Never sleep in makeup.
  • Always moisturize. As said before, drink lots of water.

25 Tips for Healthy Lifestyle

1. Brush twice a day.
2. Dress right for the weather.
3. Visit the dentist regularly.
4. Get plenty of rest.
5. Make sure your hair is dry before going outside.
6. Eat right.
7. Get outside in the sun every once in a while.
8. Always wear a seatbelt.
9. Control your drinking of alcoholic beverages.
10. Smile. It will make you feel better.
11. Do not over indulge yourself.
12. Bathe regularly.
13. Read to exercise the brain.
14. Surround yourself with friends.
15. Stay away from too much caffeine.
16. Use the bathroom regularly.
17. Get plenty of exercise.
18. Have your eyes checked regularly.
19. Eat plenty of vegetables.
20. Believe that people will like you for who you are.
21. Forgive and forget.
22. Take plenty of vacations.
23. Celebrate all special occasions.
24. Pick up a hobby.
25. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Mental Health: General Tips

Proper diet and exercise are the two big ones to our mind healthy. Interesting puzzles are also good to keep the brain on top. If you have any serious problems that don't go away, see a doctor. It could be depression or something else affecting your mind.

Sleep is important for repairs and rejuvination and exercise is important because it increase blood flow to all parts of the brain.
   
1. At initial stage it's very hard to concentrate so don't worry
2. Keep your eyes closed
3. Try to focus on one thing, like breathing in happy things and breating out negative thoughts
4. Keep this practice and do it daily

Stimulate Kids Mental Development:
Play classical music when your kids were sleeping and on long drives, it supposedly stimulates the brain.
Talking to a baby is very important from the start.
Read books to him and make things into little songs, stimulate the responses in them by singing, reading, talking and once he is a little older playtime on the floor not only on the back but the tummy too.

A gym you set above them is great visual stimulation and makes them want to reach out for it when old enough.
Meditation is an avenue for self understanding. The more you understand who you are the better you will feel and the happier you will be. At first, you might feel what you discover is a mess in yourself, but as you go deeper, the more you will forget about yourself find your meaning in the world and the happier you will be.

Remember focus on your breathing, breathe in deep, hold it, let it out slowly. Feel the blood rushing your body. Focus on your thoughts and breathe. Close your eyes.

10 Tips to Keep Your Teeth White

1. Avoid drinking any drinks which contains caffeine. Some of the drinks are coffee, tea, sodas, wine, cranberry juice.

2. A small amount of baking soda can be used to whiten your teeth at home and brush your teeth with it thoroughly twice a week.

3. The acid content can erode your teeth`s enamel slowly when you take drinks like chocolates, flavored water and milk. Balance them by eating neutral foods.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Pregnancy: Tips if you are carrying

  • Start exercising to get yourself in shape. You can continue exercising during pregnancy to help your body better prepare for labor. Do not exaggerate it.
  • Do walking, jogging, swimming, pilates, or yoga.
  • Take prenatal pills.
  • Smoking: Start to quit smoking now before your pregnancy. There are lots of medication out there to help you out so ask your doctor about them. Try the patch or a Quit Smoking group in your area for support. If your husband smokes try to get him to quit with you. If he refuses at least have him smoke outside or away from you.
  • Insurance: Call your insurance company. Check the amount of money do they cover for prenatal visits. Emergency room visit? An ambulance ride? A c-section? Epidural? Doula? Midwife? Induction? You need to be prepared no matter what happens with your baby's birth. Make sure you are covered for all possibilities.
  • Saving: Start saving. A baby is as expensive as you make it. You don't need all the most expensive newest products for baby. It all depends on your personality. If you want to go all out for this child then definitely start saving as soon as possible.
  • Go to the doctors and get a physical. Make sure that you don't have an abnormal pap smear or STDs. An abnormal pap smear can be caused by HPV which can cause cervical cancer or warts on the cervix. Get yourself treated if you end up having any problems.
  • Do anything that you want to do before you have a baby. Have you always wanted to go on a cruise or a special vacation? It would be harder to go on a big vacation with an infant or toddler so do it now.
  • Stop doing drugs if you do them. If you are on anti-depressants or any other medications talk to your doctor about how to go off them.
  • Start eating right. Eat plenty of veggies and fruits and stay away from all those empty calories.
  • If you drink loads of caffeine, try to limit your intake now because it'll be harder to do later on. If you drink 4 or 5 cups of caffeine a day then you might experience headaches or irritability once you go to 0-2 cups. It would be a lot easier to do now gradually. Doctors recommend you limit your caffeine intake to 0-2 cups of caffeine a day. Remember that soda and tea also have caffeine in them.. it's not just coffee.

Beauty Tips and Tricks

1. Usage of heavy powder is your enemy. It gets caught in fine lines and can magnify them, making you look older. You should be conservative. Use a large powder brush to dust the face lightly, if you need to apply a small amount of powder. If you want to look youthful and dewy, don't wear it at all.

2. Use a light textured, luminous liquid foundation or add a luminizer to your existing base for a natural glow. If your skin is clear, use a tinted moisturizer in place of foundation.

Medical and first-aid supplies for Kids

Everyone knows well-stocked medicine cabinet, first-aid kit, or medicine bag are the main things should be available which can be stored out of reach and is portable for kids.
These are the main items including those:

Healthy Summer Snacks for Kids

One of our biggest challenges as moms is to feed our kids a healthy diet that they will actually eat. The busy, hot summer days add the extra problem of having the school agers at home all day long. They want snacks and they want them now!  They don’t care if the food is wholesome or junk, in fact they’d often prefer the latter. So begins the battle of what mom wants versus what they want. Here are a few ideas that have helped us reach a compromise.

Presentation is key. If it’s fun it’s a winner. If I put some pineapple chunks, grapes, and banana slices on a skewer and call it a fruit kabob they are on cloud nine.

Kids Health

The easiest way for a child to continue a routine, is to make it habitual, and involve yourself in it. To include everything from eating healthy, to exercise, and most especially hygiene. Lots of love, patience and understanding, good food and good Hygiene practicing is the basic for kids health.

The biggest cause of health problems in children is obesity, and a lack of regular physical exercise, as well as yearly check-ups with their Pediatrician.

Healthy Eating Tips You Kids Will Love

Every parent wants good things for their children: a positive outlook on life, a healthy respect for authority, a strong sense of self, a disease-free body…a healthy body weight. Despite our best intentions, a recent report suggests that for the first time in two centuries, the current generation of children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

With all the advances in medicine, how could this possibly be true? The blame falls squarely on today’s toxic food environment.

In short, your kids are eating too much junk.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Healthy Eating for Kids

For your children to be as fit as possible, you may want to check out the following tips about healthy eating for kids. We all want our kids to eat healthy food, but that doesn’t always happen even with the best of efforts on our part.

Calcium for Healthy Kids

How Much Calcium Do Children Need?
Kids need calcium, as it is essential to their growth. Most of our body’s calcium (99%) is stored in our bones and teeth. It is in the bones and teeth that the calcium combines with the mineral phosphorus to make our bones and teeth strong and hard.

Healthy Caffeine Levels for Kids

Is there a safe level of consumption of caffeine for children?
It appears that some individuals are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others.  There is not enough research, especially Australian research, to determine a safe level of caffeine consumption for children. Until a safe consumption level of caffeine for children is determined, beverages with added caffeine as an ingredient are not recommended for school aged children.

Tips for Canteen Managers and Parents

It is much easier to prevent children from developing a taste for high sugar drinks than it is to get them to stop liking them. There are several ways parents and Canteen Managers can encourage the consumption of water and milk and reduce the intake of sweetened drinks both at school and at home.

Why Water for Healthy Kids?

Drinks for Kids
It’s no secret that children love sweetened and ‘fizzy’ drinks. Most large supermarkets have entire aisles dedicated to soft drinks and cordials in every size, colour and flavour.

Vitamins and Minerals for Healthy Kids

Vitamin means ‘vital for life’
Vitamins and minerals are compounds necessary for the healthy functioning of our bodies.  We need vitamins and minerals to help us grow, to see properly, to make bones, muscles, skin and organs and to help battle infections. Deficiencies in some vitamins and minerals can lead to serious problems.

Tips for Healthy Children and Families

Eating Better
For Children and Families
* Start the day with a healthy breakfast. It refuels your body and gives you energy for the day.
* Let kids help plan one meal each week and eat together as often as possible.
* Eat slowly. It takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full.

Nutrients for Healthy Kids

Energy
Energy is not a nutrient, rather the fuel that our body needs to function. The main sources of energy are carbohydrate, protein and fats. They are measured in kilojoules (metric) or calories (imperial) and there are 4.18 kilojoules to 1 calorie.

Tips for Fussy Eaters

Establishing good eating habits in our children is challenging however very important so that they get the right ‘fuel’ to grow and develop properly.

The behaviour of refusing new food tastes and textures is very common in children. Children often need frequent and repeated exposures to a new food before accepting it.

Who’s responsibility is it? “Obesity”

Who’s responsibility is it?
The childhood obesity epidemic is being tackled from a variety of angles from the individual level all the way to public policy. There are educational programs targeted at parents and children, state governments have implemented guidelines for canteens to follow regarding what food and beverages are sold in the canteen, food companies are trying to scale back their advertising to children and some food companies are even reformulating products to make them healthier.

Complications of Childhood Obesity

The complications of childhood obesity go far beyond physical appearance. Childhood obesity brings an increased likelihood of:
* Psychosocial difficulties such as depression and decreased socialisation. Overweight or obese children can be bullied in school, which can contribute to low self-esteem and lack of confidence.
* Hyperlipidemia-increased fat in the blood, which can lead to cardiovascular disease.
* Hypertension-high blood pressure.
* Hyperinsulinemia, which is an increased level of insulin (a hormone) in the blood, which can lead to Type 2 diabetes.

What is Obesity?

Obesity: What is it?
Overweight and obesity are states of the body that exist when people are carrying more weight than they should for their height. Health professionals will often use growth charts to track a child’s weight and height, noting what percentile the child is falling within. Children who fall within the 85th to 95th percentiles for weight are considered to be overweight while children falling above the 95th percentile for weight are considered to be obese.

Tips for managing a child’s behaviour

Temper tantrums are part of your child’s growing up process from a baby to a toddler. There’s a lot of emotions running rampant that your child just doesn’t understand. The best thing to do is not intervene, just let your child have his/her tantrum, don’t laugh or get angry, punish or reward it afterwards by giving in to lets say a toy just stand politely by and wait it out. In a calm, reassuring voice say are you done yet? then wait.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

5 Ways Fortifying Body Children

The small frequent colds? As the disease is common in children, colds can strike up to four or five times a year. Similarly, with diarrhea. So that children do not easily fall sick, make the following good habits as a part of daily life:

Wash your hands
The easiest way to prevent transmission of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases is to frequently wash their hands. Encourage the child to get used to clean hands, either with water plus soap or liquid cleanser with a practical use, especially after they leave school, finished playing and before eating.

What is obesity?

Overweight and obesity is a condition where a person has excessive total body fat and can cause health problems.

To measure whether someone is obese or not, the test can be done with the scale of body mass index or body mass index (BMI). BMI is a simple index that measures the ratio of weight and height in meters squared (kg/m2) adults.