Child Obesity

 

Child Obesity

It is very sad to see so much child obesity in the world, but it is unfortunately a reality. If there is no obesity in your own home, then it can easily be your neighbour’s child or even in their class.

As you can think, it will not only affect the child physically, but can have serious consequences on an emotional level as well. Peers and society might reject them in a way and their self-confidence might take a big knock.

With more and more children having access to cellphones and television, they are more likely to become stagnant, and their metabolism will also become stagnant. The child might also start withdrawing from social events, fellowship and relationship with others.

Junk food, highly processed food devoid of nutrients and food loaded with sugar and colourants, can all contribute to child obesity. With it being so accessible everywhere, I think it is your responsibility as the parent to keep those items out of your home as far as possible. Rather enjoy it as an occasional treat at a party.

Start looking for alternative food items that won’t make your child feel starved and rejected. They will feel like they are missing out at the beginning, but keep strong mommy, you are saving your child from sickness, disease and rejection in the long run.

Most people have an emotional relationship with food that creates a false sense of happiness that will be feeding the emotion. You need to help your child and yourself make a positive connection to healthy food. Healthy food does not mean being deprived by just living on salad and bland food.

Your child is already going through so many changes as they are growing up. Hormones can make them feel awkward and emotional at times, and they won’t always feel very comfortable or at home in their own bodies. Why make this process worse by giving them the wrong food to find comfort in?

Get them moving! Whether it is hiking, walking, cycling, running, swimming, dancing, soccer etc. It might be hard in the beginning, but once they start moving, they will start to feel better physically and emotionally due to all the feel-good hormones that are released and oxygen moving through their bodies.

Make changes by transitioning into a predominantly plant-based diet. Include more fruit and vegetables, brown rice, lentils, chickpeas, beans, nuts and seeds.

Get creative! As soon as the wheel of creativity starts moving, they will feel inspired and will start looking at things a bit differently.

Drink BarleyLife by AIM. This is a concentrated barley grass powder that is packed with valuable vitamins, nutrients and amino acids. It also helps to detox the body and contributes to a more alkaline environment where pathogens have a hard time to thrive in. This product is crucial for development and nourishment of cells.

Drink AIMega oil capsules. This is an organic seed oil blend containing essential fatty acids necessary for normal growth and development. It also nourishes your hormonal system, hair, nails, skin and the brain. Great for better cell metabolism.

You can find BarleyLife, AIMega and other products mentioned in this article on my online shop;

 myaimstore.com/healthamplified

Teach your child to identify different feelings and emotions and why they are feeling like that.

Does the child have parents that have gone through a divorce? The trauma in the process could have taken root in their lives. Get to the root of the emotion if you can and get some help if you don’t personally know how to deal with it.

Your body has the ability to heal itself. Give your body the right fuel, and it will be able to transform itself. Give it the wrong fuel, and your body will just be trying to do damage control.

It is a very different story filling your stomach just to get it full in comparison to filling your stomach to fill it up AND TO NOURISH IT through intentional eating. It is a very different feeling or point of satiety. You can have a full meal and then still have a feeling of “hunger” afterwards. This feeling is because your body did not receive enough nutrients, vitamins and minerals that your cells can utilise. You will feel rejuvenated if you have the right fuel, instead of plumping down on the couch after every meal or wanting to have a nap. I’m not talking about your occasional afternoon nap.

Most children that are obese are also struggling with constipation. If the food transit time is much slower than what it should be, the food sits in your gut and can ferment. Toxic substances that were supposed to be removed by the body can be reabsorbed into the body leaving you with aches and pains and symptoms that don’t even look like it is coming from your gut.

You need plant-based fibre to move through the digestive tract, not a diet primarily consisting of meat, refined oils, processed food and refined carbohydrates, especially not served together in the same meal. That, my friends, is a recipe for constipation. The plant fibers act as brushes, gently pushing along the food and keeping the intestines clean. An excellent product that can assist your body in the removal of waste is Herbal Fibre Blend by AIM. A combination of psyllium husk and selected herbs that gently cleanses the intestines, killing off parasites and soothing the delicate membranes. Prepzymes by AIM is a combination of enzymes that help to break down food when your body needs a kickstart. Moving right along!

A predominantly plant-based lifestyle does not have to be expensive. There is a misconception. Yes, “gluten-free” products are more expensive, but your focus must shift from gluten free to a predominantly plant-based lifestyle. Brown rice, beans, vegetables and fruit are not more expensive than meat. You won’t just be living on beans, but you will be incorporating beans, lentils and other legumes and pulses in your diet.

Make the shift for the entire family, not just the child. You might send them into binge eating and secret eating, feeling further rejection, shame and guilt. The whole family will benefit from it.

Eat enough fruit and you won’t crave sugar, eat enough plant oils in the form of avocado, corn, olives, cold pressed olive oil, nuts and seeds and you won’t crave so many salty and deep-fried food items. Remember, this is why AIMega cold pressed plant oil supplement can be to your benefit.

Don’t focus on the weight when making the transition. Focus on where you can incorporate wholefood, plant-based items and substitute the junk and items devoid of nutrients. You will feel more energised, have clearer thoughts and more stable moods. The weight will then start to drop.

Food Lover’s Market and any fruit and vegetable markets will become your new best friend. Get the kids and the rest of the family excited about healthier food. There are thousands of plant-based recipes on the internet. Get a few ideas and start planning where and how you can incorporate healthier food.

If you would like a personal consultation and would like me to walk a road with you, please contact me at info@healthamplified.co.za

You can also visit our website healthamplified.co.za

Happy transitioning!

Lizelle

 

 

Teenage hormones, depression and PMS

 

Teenage hormones, depression and PMS

I always tell our girls that a teenagers’ hormones can be like fireworks! Hormones fluctuate throughout the month and we need to try and keep it as stable as possible.

Sugar, caffeine and refined carbohydrates like cake, rusks, bread, white pasta and pizza can all put strain on the endocrine system. Please remember that 2minute wheat noodles are not their own food group and cannot be a staple diet, especially not in a teenager’s diet. It will only fill up their stomachs, but is empty and stripped of valuable nutrients that will also leave your teenager with a drop in blood sugar.

 A drop in their blood sugar means a terrible mood, fatigue, symptoms of depression and unnecessary conflict. Don’t forget that the little packet of flavouring is dynamite and will send your teenager deeper into space! It is filled with artificial flavouring and MSG (flavour enhancers), which is one recipe that can throw off your hormones. Please limit the noodles, throw
away the small packet of flavouring and use your own condiments and herbs the day that they can have those noodles.

Brain fog, lack of concentration, fatigue, lack of vision and tearfulness are all part of the package and negative side effects of sugar, caffeine and refined carbohydrates. They will not be able to cope as well with situations and challenges that they are facing. A false sense of loneliness, rejection, emotional lows and anger can set in. Please don’t let your child bombard her/his body in the process of teenage development.

You can just imagine what effects it can have on PMS. It might send your child’s hormones through the roof and everyone will be walking on egg shells. Her hormones are already trying to stabilise. Disrupt the hormones by eating a diet based on refined carbohydrates, sugar and caffeine, and she will be left with worse skin breakouts and low self-esteem. All of this will put extra strain on the body, stress on the immune system, and then they can be open to illnesses.

How can you help your teenager?

It is our responsibility as moms (and dads…) to teach your children about a healthy lifestyle. Yes, they are at the stage where they want to do everything themselves and are too cool to listen to your advice. They seem to be under the impression that we were only born yesterday. They might not take your advice, but what you can do is feed them nutritious food. Focus on adding nutritious food instead of placing focus on all the things that they cannot have.  Your general guideline should be in keeping sugar, refined carbohydrates and caffeine to a bare minimum. Try not to keep it in the house, but let them enjoy it on occasion.

Make sure that they are eating enough wholegrains. These contain B vitamins to help the body cope with stress and provides a slow release of energy. We need to try and stay away from the food that will spike their blood sugar, and then their emotions. Oats, brown rice, lentils, millet, buckwheat, sweet potatoes and baby potatoes will all provide a slow, continuous release of energy.

Don’t forget good fats and oils. Give them the right oils and they won’t crave comfort food so often. Their hormones need good oils and the oil won’t make their skin oily and lead to breakouts. Refined, processed and heated oils are the culprits. Avocadoes, nuts and seeds, olives, corn and olive oil are all examples of good oils. See it as salve for their hormones.

Good fats and oils are also essential for proper cell metabolism because it helps to nourish the cell membranes. It then allows good nutrition to reach at cellular level, and toxins to leave through the cell membranes. Your brain, hair, skin and nails all need good fats and oils. I would highly recommend my AIM product called AIMega. It is an organic seed oil blend containing essential fatty acids for necessary growth and development. You can find AIMega on my online shop,  www.myaimstore.com/healthamplified.

We all need fruit and vegetables and it is not even up for discussion with your teenager. They need the right kind of sugar in the form of fruit and dates. The brain needs glucose to function properly. All the vitamins and minerals help to keep the body and its immune system strong and heathy. Sweets and junk food cravings will decrease once they start eating fruit and dates.

We need to feed them vegetables to keep their cells clean and strong. The vitamins and minerals fight free radicals formed during stress and removes toxins and chemicals that entered the body. Green, red and orange-coloured vegetables are crucial in your diet. I can make your life a little easier for you by introducing you to AIM’s GardenTrio. Three products that work in synergy. This is BarleyLife, a green powder leaf concentrate, Redibeets which is a concentrated beetroot powder and JustCarrots, a concentrated carrot powder. These are all fresh green barley grass, beets and carrots that have been juiced and dried. Just mix the three powders together with water or juice in the morning and you are good to go. One less thing to worry about!

Protein helps to stabilise blood sugar levels and are building blocks for the body. These blocks are called amino acids. All these wild emotions that can be associated with teenagers can be pulled a bit closer together by incorporating protein. Protein also keeps you fuller for longer. We prefer a predominantly plant-based diet so we include plant-based protein where we can. Our digestion, sleep, energy levels and health are just so much better on a plant-based diet. Ingredients like beans, lentils, chickpeas, quinoa, nuts and seeds (especially chia seeds), nut butter, green leafy vegetables, soya milk, tofu and brown rice are all staple foods in our home.

If you prefer to include meat, eggs and dairy as your protein sources, make sure that you don’t consume too much of it. It can be filled with growth hormones and antibiotics, which will then directly influence your own hormones. If you do include yoghurt, make sure that it is of good quality with no sugar and colourants. The growth hormones from the cow milk, the sugar and the colourants is a recipe for disaster. I suggest that you buy a plain yoghurt and then add your own fruit and some nuts. Please take note that dairy is one of the biggest instigators of pimples and acne and can worsen it.

If you feel that your teenager is not eating properly, I have a vegan pea protein powder that you can add to smoothies. It will help keep their blood sugar levels stable, it will keep them fuller for a bit longer and will help with muscle growth and development. You can order ProPeas on my online store www.myaimstore.com/healthamplified

Get them to start moving! Preferably away from the couch and cellphone and into nature and some fresh air. Feel good hormones get released and your teenager will feel happier and good about themselves, even if it is just 10% better at first.

If you can’t get your child to join sports or some kind of physical activity, take the family to a Saturday Park Run or find a nature trail to walk somewhere over the weekend. If all else fails, then take the family ice skating!

By eating the right foods, you will nourish your cells, have sustained energy, happier hormones and stabilised moods. Your child will be able to cope better in everyday challenges with the occasional tantrum or door slamming. A happy teenager is a happier family!

In ending off, if you have changed your diet and lifestyle for at least 3 months and you see that your child is still struggling with symptoms of depression and severe PMS, then you need to look for deeper emotional hurts and root causes that should be dealt with.

You can contact me at info@healthamplified.co.za to set up a consultation. We can advise you on meal plans, snack ideas, shopping lists etc. We also do counselling and emotion healing to help you on your journey to better health. Our website is www.healthamplified.co.za

Let’s get our teenagers back to earth!

Blessings.

Lizelle