We’re Not Paying Enough Attention To Nutrition

As parents, we work hard to give our children every possible advantage in life. Yet too often we don't have the time (or don't make the time) to look after their nutritional health. We're too busy. We don't completely understand what eating right means ourselves. And we're battling some pretty formidable enemies such as junk food and fast food.

As a result, our children eat and drink too much sugar, consume too many empty calories, and don't eat enough of the good things they need - especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Because of this, our children will be at risk of developing degenerative diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and stroke at a much younger age.

Here are a few startling statistics:

• Less than 7% of all children and adolescents consume the recommended 3 servings of vegetables per day.(Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine)

• 1 child in 4 is obese.(International journal of Obesity)

• Nearly 50% of obese adolescents remain obese as adults.(International journal of Obesity)

• About 6% of elementary school children and 7% of adolescent children miss 11 or more days of school yearly due to illness or injury. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

• In the last 20 years, Type 2 diabetes has increased ten-fold. (International journal of Obesity)

• By the age of 12, an estimated 70% of our children have developed the beginning stages of hardening of the arteries. (Bogalusa Heart Study)

• 3-7% of school age children suffer from ADHD. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

A diet of healthy fruits and vegetables is the natural solution that comes to mind for better nutrition in our children, but there are several considerations that parents should know:

They need to be RAW because enzymes are only found in RAW foods. Enzymes act as catalysts for the 10,000 functions per second that our cells undergo. Cooking destroys enzymes.

VARIETY is important. Each fruit and vegetable has a unique composition of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, phytonutrients, and trace elements. Most people eat only the 3 or 4 fruits and vegetables they like, instead of the 7-13 recommended for daily consumption.

Produce needs to be VINE RIPENED. Not only does this create the beautiful bright colors of our fruits and vegetables, it allows the nutrients to develop in the food so our bodies can absorb them.

Fruits and vegetables need to be FRESH! 75% of the nutrients are lost within days after picking. Most of the produce in the market was picked weeks ago, before it was ripe, and before the nutrients had a chance to develop. Then it was allowed to sit on trucks and in warehouses where even more nutrients were lost.

We’re not paying enough attention to good nutrition and our children are paying the price.