The Miracle of Green Tea

"Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one." (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the medicinal benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression. In her book Green Tea: The Natural Secret for a Healthier Life, Nadine Taylor states that green tea has been used as a medicine in China for at least 4,000 years.
Today, scientific research in both Asia and the west is providing hard evidence for the health benefits long associated with drinking green tea. For example, in 1994 the Journal of the National Cancer Institute published the results of an epidemiological study indicating that drinking green tea reduced the risk of esophageal cancer in Chinese men and women by nearly sixty percent. University of Purdue researchers recently concluded that a compound in green tea inhibits the growth of cancer cells. There is also research indicating that drinking green tea lowers total cholesterol levels, as well as improving the ratio of good (HDL) cholesterol to bad (LDL) cholesterol.
To sum up, here are just a few medical conditions in which drinking green tea is reputed to be helpful:
*cancer
*rheumatoid arthritis
*high cholesterol levels
*cariovascular disease
*infection
*impaired immune function

Nutrition for Children and Teens

Helping Your Kids Develop Healthy Eating Habits

Good nutrition is the bedrock of lifelong health, and it begins in infancy. Yet all too soon, your kids are bombarded by messages that counteract your efforts. Between peer pressure and the constant television commercials for junk foods, getting children to eat well might seem more futile than fruitful.
So, what exactly can parents do to instill healthy eating habits in their kids, without causing World War III at every meal? Simple things like getting kids involved in food preparation; inspiring them with your own healthy choices; and even just simply turning off the television, can make a huge impact on your child’s lifelong relationship with food.

Developing healthy eating habits

Children develop a natural preference for what they eat most often and enjoy. The challenge is to make healthy choices appealing. No matter how good your intentions, trying to convince your eight-year-old that an apple is as sweet a treat as a cookie is not a recipe for success! However, you can ensure that your children’s diet is as nutritious and wholesome as possible, even when allowing for some of their favorite treats. You can please both your child’s palate and your sense of parental responsibility.
Because the childhood impulse to imitate is strong, the best move you can make to start your child off on the right dietary foot is to be a role model, so that when your youngster asks to taste what you're eating, your plate is filled with healthy selections. If you're asking your child to eat vegetables and fish while you graze on potato chips and soda, your actions will override your good intentions.

Top tips to promote healthy childhood eating

*Have regular family meals. Knowing dinner is served at approximately the same time every night and that the entire family will be sitting down together is comforting, which also enhances appetite, and provides a perfect opportunity for your children to share what's on their minds. Breakfast is another great time for a family meal, especially since kids who eat breakfast tend to do better in school.
*Cook more meals at home. Eating home cooked meals is healthier for the whole family and sets a great example for kids about the importance of food. Restaurant meals tend to have more fat, sugar and salt. Save dining out for special occasions.
*Get kids involved. Children enjoy helping adults grocery shop, selecting what goes in their lunch box, and preparing dinner. It's also a chance for you to teach them about the nutritional values of different foods, and (for older children) how to read food labels.
*Make a variety of healthy foods available and keep your pantry free of empty calorie snacks. Keep plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain snacks and healthful beverages (filtered water, milk, herbal tea, occasional fruit juice) around and easily accessible so kids become used to reaching for healthy snacks when they're hungry instead of empty calorie snacks like soda, chips, or cookies.
*Let them choose. Don't make mealtimes a battleground by insisting a child clean the plate, and never use food as a reward or bribe.

Persuading children to eat more fruits and vegetables

You may have been told not to play with your food, but making mealtime playful can mean healthier eating for you and your kids! Here are some creative ways to build more fruits and vegetables into your child's daily diet:
*Top a bowl of whole grain cereal with a smiley face: banana slices for eyes, raisins for nose, peach or apple slice for mouth.
*Create a food collage. You can use broccoli florets for trees, carrots and celery for flowers, cauliflower for clouds, and a yellow squash for a sun. When you're all finished, you can eat your masterpiece!
*Make frozen fruit kabobs for kids using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes and berries.
*Go food shopping with your children. Take them to the grocery store or Farmers' Market to let them see all the different sizes and colors that fruits and vegetables offer. Let them pick out a new fruit and vegetable to try.
*Try fruit smoothies for a quick healthy breakfast, or afternoon snack.
*Add vegetables and fruits to baked goods – blueberry pancakes, zucchini bread, carrot muffins. It’s easy to add shredded veggies or fruit pieces to almost any baked good.
*All soups, stews, and sauces can have extra veggies added to them. To make them blend in, you can grate them up before adding them to something such as red-sauce.
*Keep lots of fresh fruits and veggies washed, available, and in a place where children know to look when they want a snack. Easy fruits and vegetables to grab and eat on the run include apples, pears, bananas, grapes, figs, carrot and celery sticks, zucchini slices. Add yogurt or a tub of nut butter or tahini for extra protein.

Dietary guidelines for toddlers and young children

(Fruits and vegetables)
Two servings each per day. These may be given as snacks, such as apple or carrot slices. Also try slipping in veggies in the form of soups.
(Whole grains)
Four daily servings. Can include buckwheat pancakes or multigrain toast for breakfast, a sandwich on wheat bread for lunch and brown rice or another whole grain as part of the evening meal.
(Milk and dairy)
Three servings, or one pint of whole milk per day. Cheeses, yogurt and milk puddings are useful alternatives.
(Protein)
Two servings a day. Encourage your child to try a variety of foods from this category, such as turkey, eggs, fish, chicken, lamb, baked beans, and lentils. NOTE: Nuts, although an excellent source of protein, are not a good choice for children under five due to the risk of choking.
(Vitamins and minerals)
Check with your child's doctor to be certain your child's diet is adequately meeting the recommended nutritional needs for this age group

Getting the balance right

It's not a good idea to go on a crash diet and it's important to make sure you continue to eat a balanced diet. Otherwise you might not be getting all the nutrients you need to keep your body healthy.When you're trying to make a healthy choice, for most people, the aim should be to:
*cut down on fat – especially saturates .
*eat more fruit and vegetables .
*eat more starchy foods such as bread, pasta and rice .
*cut down on salt and sugar.

Fruit and veg should make up a third of the food you eat. Aim to eat at least five portions of fruit and veg every day. These can be fresh, frozen, tinned, dried or cooked, and a glass of fruit juice can also make up one of your portions each day.As a guide, a portion means:
*one apple or banana .
*two smaller fruit such as plums .
*two to three tablespoonfuls of vegetables.

It's best to vary the types of fruit and veg you eat so that you increase the range and proportion of the different nutrients in your diet.Starchy foods should also make up about a third of your diet. These include:
*bread .
*breakfast cereals .
*pasta .
*rice .
*potatoes .
*beans and lentils.

Try to eat a variety of these foods and choose wholegrain, wholemeal or 'high fibre' varieties whenever possible.

You might think that starchy foods are particularly fattening. This isn't true, although they can become fattening if they're cooked or served with added fat. It's the margarine or butter we spread on bread, the cream or cheese sauce we add to pasta, or the oil we use for frying, that makes them fattening.

A healthy diet means eating and drinking less fat and sugar. You'll probably eat some foods containing fat every day, such as margarine or butter, cooking oils, oil-based salad dressings and mayonnaise, but keep these to small amounts and choose low fat varieties where possible.

And there's no escaping the fact that you should keep cakes, biscuits, crisps, pastries and ice cream to a minimum. And remember to choose low-fat alternatives when you can.

If you make changes to the types of foods you eat and the way you cook them, this might help you to adopt long-term healthy eating patterns for the future. For example, you could try to:
*fill up on bread, cereals, potatoes and fruit and veg .
*choose lean cuts of meat and always trim off any fat .
*choose lower-fat varieties of dairy foods such as semi-skimmed, 1% or skimmed milk, reduced-fat cheese, lower-fat yoghurts .
*boil, steam, grill, poach or microwave food rather than frying or roasting.

Healthy weight

It's not a good idea to be either underweight or overweight. Eating too much can make you overweight, which can lead to ill health, such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes. Not eating as much food as your body needs could also affect your health.

If you have any concerns about your weight, contact your GP or a dietitian. If you think you just need to lose a little weight, here are some practical tips. Whenever we eat more than our body needs, we put on weight. This is because the energy we don't use up is stored in our body, usually as fat. Even small amounts of surplus energy each day can lead to weight gain.So if you want to lose some weight, you might want to look at ways of:
*making sure you only eat as much food as you need
*improving the balance of your diet
*getting more active