Lifestyle impacts your health.

Children’s Health

Did you know that...

Every stage of a child’s development has its own critical nutrition requirements. For instance, did you know that…

• 75% of brain capacity develops between birth and age three?
• By age five, brain development is 90% complete?
• 85% of children eat fewer than the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Worse still, “most” of those vegetables are in the form of potatoes (french fries) and tomatoes (ketchup).

Almost all nutrition experts agree that most Americans, including children 2 years and over, should eat more fruits, vegetables, and grain products, while consuming diets that are lower in fat, saturated fatty acids, and dietary cholesterol.

The best ways to increase children’s fruit and vegetable consumption is to act as active role models by eating them yourself, and making a variety of fruits and vegetables available at home.

A study recently published in the journal Thorax, stated that asthma may be related to diet in western societies. This study investigated dietary habits of 598 Dutch children ages 8-13 years, all who suffered from asthma. Dietary habits were estimated using food-frequency questionnaires provided by parents. Also, questionnaires were used to determine current wheeze and asthma status in these children. The results showed that an increased intake of fish and whole grains was inversely associated with asthma. Intake of citrus fruits, vegetables and diary showed no association. The authors concluded that, “Our findings suggest that a high intake of whole grain products and fish may have a protective effect against asthma in children.

Because most children are picky eaters and do not get all the nutrients they need from diet alone, you’ll also want to consider supplementing their diet. A well-balanced multivitamin is good nutrition insurance for what they don’t get from their diet. Avoid vitamins with artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors or preservatives as these additives have been found suspicious in ADD. Also consider alternatives for children who don't like the taste of chewable vitamins or who flat out refuse to take vitamins.

(Do you know how to judge whether a multivitamin is well-balanced?)

Listen to a discussion about Selecting the Right Multivitamin This 13 minute discussion covers:

• Why we need to take a multivitamin
• Why different people need different multivitamins
• Why does the company that makes the multivitamin matter?
• How to select a children's multivitamin
• How to select an adult's multivitamin
• Synthetic vs. natural vitamins
• How to select a multivitamin for adults over 50
• Remember to take your multivitamin every day!

Find the perfect multivitamins for you and every member of your family!

Here's what Dr. McManus says about choosing a children's vitamin:

"As a family physician, I am frequently asked by moms about how to choose the best vitamin for their children. I tell them to be sure there are only natural sweeteners and NO artificial colors or flavors because we just don't know the long-term safety of these chemicals in children. Shaklee Vita-Lea® Ocean Wonders™ nutritional supplements contain no artificial colors and use xylitol and mannitol for sweeteners – natural sweeteners that have the additional benefit of helping to reduce tooth decay.

"If your child tends towards digestive challenges such as occasional constipation or upset stomachs, I recommend Shaklee Optifora® Diearty Supplement Complex System – with both a prebiotic and a probiotic. It provides your colon with the healthful bacteria necessary for optimum function* and ingredients to foster the growth of these 'good bacteria.'

"Studies have shown that teenage girls' risk of fractures can be directly correlated with their soda intake and their calcium intake. Did you know that the phosphoric acid in sodas (regular and sugar-free varieties) actually contributes to demineralization of both your bones and your teeth? And recent surveys confirm that the majority of teens (both girls and boys) are not taking in the required 1000-1200 mg of calcium per day. So our teens are not taking in enough calcium to build healthy bones – and they drink amazing amounts of sodas that are further impacting negatively their bone health! As a physician and a mother, I find this horrifying.

"I strongly recommend a calcium supplement for all children and teens who do not REGULARLY consume 3-4 8 ounce servings of dairy (or dairy equivalents) on a daily basis. Shaklee Chewable Cal Mag Plus provides all the essential bone-building ingredients your child or teen needs."

Jamie McManus, MD, FAAF

You can find a wealth of additional information including recommended nutrition programs/products for infants, children four to twelve, and teenagers, plus testimonials, recipes and a special offer on a children’s backpack (yes, school is closer than you think!) on
Shaklee new Children’s Health section.

Healthy snack alternatives

Got a picky eater or just looking for a healthy, good tasting snack alternative, with 240 calories per serving when mixed with low-fat milk, Shaklee’s Meal Shakes provide a delicious and nutritious alternative to typical soft drinks, other instant breakfast drinks or plain old, chocolate milk. One serving blended with low-fat milk or in juice serves up a delicious, creamy treat.

Kids (and adults) absolutely love the taste and one serving of this easy-to-mix drink provides 45% or more of the daily values from 19 essential vitamins and minerals. Since it’s made by Shaklee, you know it has no artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners or preservatives.

It’s also low glycemic and kosher certified!

Growing children need lots of protein for building healthy cells and a strong immune system but they don’t need a lot of fat and cholesterol, and so Meal Shake is an excellent choice.

Meal Shakes taken with a daily serving of Shaklee Ocean Wonders multivitamin or Citriboost powdered multivitamin, makes for a very healthy instant breakfast for growing children.

Meal Shakes are also an ideal low-calorie meal for adults watching their weight, and athletes who want a nutrition-packed meal supplement.

If you haven’t tried Shaklee’s incredible Meal Shakes, you don’t know what you’re missing! It’s a taste treat that supercharges any glass of milk into a nutrition powerhouse and packed with the natural good nutrition a body needs and none of the bad artificial stuff! Comes in Bavarian Cocoa or French Vanilla flavors. Look here for more information or to order Meal Shakes.

Suggestions for Babies or Children with Eczema

The following suggestions come from Pam Hoeppner, who used **Shaklee products to successfully help her son Josh overcome eczema. These suggestions are excerpted and rearranged for clarity from her testimonial in “Healthy Kids”. More information on this booklet and others like it can be found at the end of this section.

Diet: Foods to Avoid

Eggs, dairy, peanut butter, tomatoes, nuts and fried foods should be eliminated or avoided at least until it’s known whether or not some or all of them are affecting the child.

Avoiding Household Chemicals:

Chemicals in detergents can create all kinds of problems. What bed sheets are washed in can aggravate a child’s skin condition and keep him or her up at night coughing and sneezing. Shaklee laundry products and Basic-H are wonderful to use to prevent skin and respiratory conditions in children and adults.

Learn more about how using non-toxic, biodegradable cleaners can benefit your family.

Bathing:

A child with eczema does better if given cool baths, never hot, or even REAL warm. Josh’s skin was ALWAYS cleared up in the spring in Florida when he would get in the pool and the water was 65º. We always thought it was the water, sun or chlorine, and then as it got hotter and hotter in Florida and the temperature of the water got higher; he’d start breaking out again. It was years before we realized it was the temperature of the water.

You can start a bath out with warm or lukewarm water and slowly add more and more cold, as cool as the child will allow. We made a game out of it. Josh’s skin responded so well. Cool or cold water brings the pH back to alkaline inside the body. People with eczema are excessively acidic.

Topical Creams:

Another thing we discovered when using a topical cortisone cream, the skin must be totally cleansed between applications or the next one will be ineffective. Hand Wash Concentrate worked great for this. It was gentle on the skin and had a softening effect.

Supplementation Suggestions:

• 1-2 Shaklee GLA Complex: helps the body to regulate many normal bodily processes. Learn more about the benefits of GLA
• 2-4 OmegaGuard: Fish oil supplement that has shown to greatly improve eczema, psoriasis, colitis, arthritis and other inflammatory conditions*. In general, little children won’t have an aversion to the taste and smell of the fish oil contained in OmegaGuard unless the parents react to it.. Kids will usually chew them, get the “juice” out of them and spit the jackets out. For small children you can puncture the capsules and drizzle out the fish oil in to food. Learn more about EPA/DHA
• Optiflora System: Having a balance of healthy bacteria has been shown to boost the body's natural defensive capabilities. Tiny children only need the capsule 2 or 3 times a week and just ¼ tsp to ½ tsp of the powder. You can put the tiny pearl in mashed baby food or applesauce. The child will often will swallow it without knowing it’s there.

**Ed. Note: The above suggestions for babies and children with eczema are excerpted from “Healthy Kids” a booklet of over 100 children’s health success short stories from people using Shaklee products to deal with children’s issues from ADD to Zits. However, please note; it is NOT published by the Shaklee Corporation, nor has it been reviewed or approved by the Shaklee Corporation. You can order your own copy of Healthy Kids or other booklets including testimonial booklets for Men, Women, Pets and Seniors at: http://www.heartsanddreams.com

EPA and Kids

Buy nutrition to get your child off to the right dietary start!!

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.