Family Lifestyle
Children’s lifestyles are influenced by parental choices. Your family’s lifestyle not only affects your children today but establishes the pattern for their teen and adult years, and their subsequent risk of diabetes as an adult. Some basic changes now can have important and far reaching effects into the future.
For example, an extra soft drink a day gives a child a 60% greater chance of becoming obese. It is estimated that the average teenager is getting 15 to 20 teaspoons of added sugar per day from soft drinks alone. Consumption rates of soft drinks among children have doubled in the last decade alone.
Children learn by example, so it is just as important that the parents set a good example as opposed to trying to restrict certain foods from the children while continuing to eat them. To be effective, lifestyle changes need to become a family project.
Healthy Lifestyle Choices for Preventing Diabetes in Youth
If you have a child at risk of Type II diabetes, here are some suggestions that can help right away. Ask your naturopathic doctor about the appropriate use of nutritional supplements and herbs for children.
· Drink water or 1/3 juice with 2/3 water as opposed to pure juice, pop, or flavored-crystal beverages.
· Eat whole grains and legumes as opposed to refined ‘white’ carbohydrates.
· Add chromium-rich foods to the diet, such as brewer’s yeast.
· Serve an assortment of non-starchy vegetables in the daily menu, including garlic and onions that help regulate blood sugar.
· Add herbs and spices to the diet, including turmeric, bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon that also help regulate blood sugar.
· Eat high-quality protein with each meal, such as fish, free-range chicken or beef, lamb, or eggs.
· For snacks, offer nuts, whole fruits, and protein shakes.
· Eat smaller, more frequent meals.
· Bake with stevia (a natural sweetener available in health food stores) rather than sugar.
· Serve foods high in omega-3 (cold water fish) to help maintain healthy blood sugars.
· Plan family events that involve 30 minutes a day of moderate physical activity.
· Restrict television and computer time.
· Encourage your kids to join local sports teams and spend time outdoors.
