I used to feed my family meat everynight, until my daughter, at age 6, decided she would become a vegetarian. She refused to eat anything that had to be killed first! Honoring her decision, the whole family has switched to eating whole grains, vegetables and some soy meat substitutes, fruits and nuts. While the kids still don't love vegetables, I know they are getting a healthier diet. The snacks I provide are whole grain, organic and not full of sugar. I still struggle with cooking dinner each night, but I know I'm on the right track and continue to look for new things to try. I'm so glad to find MD's who give credibility to this lifestyle. Thanks Dr. Hyman! May we all share our new found knowledge to others to help spread the word of what a healthy diet truely is. Blessings! Amy

When my children were young we lived in a nothern community - grew our own veggies, picked berries and froze everything. Our meat came from our own animals and there wasn't much on TV so the kids played outdoors all the time. Needless to say they were skinny and still remain so today. Today I see so much obesity in children but also I see in my own neighbourhood families that believe in exercise and good food habits with children that are skinny and fit. They are out playing all the time and I am sure this adds to their well being. Keep preaching because this epidemic has to be stopped.

Dear Dr. Hyman,

First of all, thank you for publishing such an informative ezine. I truly appreciate your sharing this healthy concepts with us. As a Health Educator and a mother of an overweight teenager, I'd like to ask you for a suggestion to help me with this problem.

I cook at home, I'm slender and my youngest son is very slender as well as their father. There is no junk food or sodas at home, ever. Yet, my teen is overweight and not motivated at all to lose the weight. He needs to lose about 30 lbs. He doesn't like the gym or sports. His main problem is not junk food, but inactivity and overeating. I have talked to him multiple times about the health risks, but as a teen, I'm sure he doesn't believe it can happen to him. Also, I can't monitor what he eats when he goes out with friends or at school. I feel quite frustrated with this situation. What do you recommend I do to help him understand and take responsibility of his own health? How can I make him become conscious of this?

Your reply would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
A concerned mom

Dr. Hyman
I am proud to report that my two children (ages 7 and 5) are both slim and fit. In fact they both weigh about 1 pound for every inch they are tall. We are using the ultra metabolism plan at home and it's working out very well. Eating fresh whole foods certainly isn't cheap but the benefits to our family's health and overall wellness are enormous. Our kids have even become outspoken little messengers against junk food.

Unfortunately their school is a nutritional minefield. Kids are given the choice of sweetened flavored milk or juice drinks with lunch every single day. Lunches themselves are virtually all fried and the vegetables if there are any are totally unappealing. Every special occasion seems to inundate them with candy, soda, and other non food. I know it is hard for them to keep refusing it when it is shoved in their face all the time, but they have realized that they feel better when they don't eat that stuff.

What this country needs is for school lunches to go back to the way they were 20-30 years ago. Fresh food cooked daily on site, lowfat milk and maybe chocolate milk only on fridays. And giving candy as a reward needs to be banned altogether.

Thanks for all your hard work
Eli L.

"The quality of one's blood determines the quality of everthing else in one's body: bone,tissue, cells etc."
That macrobiotic statement turned my life around during an illness in 1982. It was then that I realized I could directly effect the quality of my health. Until that moment I had no idea what happens to food after it leaves my mouth. Sadly, nowhere in my extensive education did anyone teach me that
the quality of my blood determines the quality of everything else in my body, and that I could directly effect my blood quality through what I ate, how I prepared what I ate, and how I ate what I ate.(Chewing!)
Once I got this piece of information I changed my eating practices immediately!
To this day, before I buy food or order off of a restaurant menu I ask myself one question, "Do I want this food in my blood stream?"

I find that almost everyone I talk to about food has no idea what happens to the food they ingest once it leaves their mouth.

It would really be helpful to give people this information so that they can have the experience of being able take personal responsibility for what goes in their mouth, down their esophagus, into their stomach, and finally, into their very own blood stream.

I love reading your blogs. I have started to change the way we eat in our house. I have fought with a weight problem all my life & I don't want my children to have to as well. I do have a son that is heavy so I have an added incentive to eat healthy in the house. I have started to cut out all high fructose corn syrup & the like- very hard to do since it seems like everything has it. The hardest part is getting the kids to exercise. I run & have run 2 marathons despite being overweight. I would like to see them start running as well as other sports but they don't seem too interested. The older one with the weight problem is the least interested in sports especially if it requires a lot of running. We've tried everything. The other hard part is that we live in New England so during the winters it's really hard to get the exercise in.

Keep up the good work. You inspire me so.
Tracy

How can we appeal to thirty-something parents who give their toddlers creamy, sweet coffee and sugary cereals & don't feel that their children are at risk of obesity because their children have remained skinny? As soon as they hear their dietetic habits linked with obesity they must think it won't apply to their children because they are so skinny. More focus needs to be placed on good nutrition so that they aren't malnourished all their lives and prone to disease. To them the standard American diet seems adequate because their children have not become obese, even at the age of 13.

I know you cannot respond to ndividual emails, but I was wondering if you could comment on the "research" done by Drs. D'Adamo linking problems with food, allergies, etc., and Blood Types. I have been following parts of your program in Ultrametabolism for 5 months (I ave up gluten, eggs, dairy, and cut caffeine intake) and am down 28 pounds. Someone gave me the book on "Eating 4 Your Type" and while there are some similarities with your work, there are contradictions for me as B-Positive and what you are encouraging. Any thoughts? Mike

I cannot wait to get this book because I am very fed up and want to make a huge impact on what I can do to change my environment. I am looking for ideas to really make a difference in our children's lives. I love, love the Subway commercial that show a couple ordering fast food and says they want a side order of thunder thighs and a gadunk-a-dunk butt. CLASSIC!!! The more awareness that is out there the better choices we will make.

I have a 11 year old son and I am proud to say that I have done a good job at making him aware of the harm all of this junk food and fast food have on the body. Plus I love the fact that his school confirms my beliefs. His school has done a really good job on educating the children on what is really HEALTHY. That confirmation makes a huge difference because he hears it from me all the time it just sounds like I am nagging him. I know mom,,,,is what he always tells me but then he goes to school and hears his teachers talk about what I teach him and he comes home feeling proud because I have already taught him about it.

I am a single mother and one big thing that I have learned is that you have to force your children into activities and other things. Trust me they will thank you later. If it was up so my son he would stay home and watch TV all day but I always put him into soccer, baseball, karate, hip hop, piano, and ect. He would always get mad at me and tell me he did not want to do it and after the 1st time or maybe the 2nd time he was happy I forced him.

The same goes with what they eat. I take my son with me when I go to the Market and I teach him about food when we are there. He ask me questions on organics and what does that mean or he will see phrases like free range, probiotic and ect. and that really helps in teaching him. Plus I let him pick out food he wants and it makes him feel proud that he made wise choices in what he picked. I would also recommend cook with your children. I taught my son how to make his own protein shakes with frozen berries, some flax seed oil and amino acids. He loves it.

It's those small changes that can really make a difference. Please I cannot stress it enough "READ, READ, READ. Educate ourselves!!! I am always learning and I have my son right there listening to the audios with me. Yes I made him listen to UltraMetabolism with me too:)

This struck a chord with me as I type this out my 3 y.o. is viewing a video that he put in the machine. I'm going cold on t.v. and diapers for him. He doesn't need the t.v. as much as he needs me to bring him out into the natural world. The decrease of the connection with nature in our children's lives , as well as our own, is, I know, a major factor why our country is sliding down the slippery slope into ill health.

So, Theresa is right on with the mantra - Read, Read, Read - much and often. I'm off to make it so.

Tracy, I think it it awesome that you are running in marathons. It's great to see your children do those things. Have them get involved with helping you train for those events.

With your son, have you considered having him (you may have to force him in the beginning) ride a bike with you while you run?? That might work out. Once he starts to see himself lose some weight it will motive him to do other things.

Plus you and your children will take pride because you all helped each other out to reach a goal:)

Thanks for the comments Theresa. In the summer I do try & have them ride while I run. I also try & get my husband to go too which usually helps. I will consent to going for bike rides but I get frustrated because I feel like it's not really helping me since we go so slow. I guess I just need to suck it up & realize that at least we're out & moving, not sitting on the couch.

i was told by my doctor that diabetics could not follow such a strick eating pattern. they would have diabetic problems without more nutrition.

cheryl

There is considerable research supporting exclusive breastfeeding as one of the ways to prevent childhood obesity. When talking about childhood nutrition it is important to go back to the earliest days and encourage women to breastfeed exclusively for six months and then to continue this in addition to appropriate complimentary foods to 2 years and beyond. Formula as food for babies carries many risks - obesity being one of them.

Below is one of the most important articles written to date on the global importance of human milk for human babies.

Nat Rev Immunol. 2004 Jul;4(7):565-72. Breastfeeding: maintaining an irreplaceable immunological resource.
Labbok MH, Clark D, Goldman AS.

the good thing about Dr Hyman is he talks everything from his heart, this passage is not about promoting himself but what his concerns for the future of our children from what he really sees everyday as a result of the NORMAL practice of our society. The statistics of obseity in children speaks louder than words - these are truth and hard facts , not liars fabricated by some kind of "visionaries psychos" or food manufacturer cowboys.
I only wish there are more people like Dr Hyman , who sees the problems arising and ask question why despite in advance in medicine , more and more people are getting sick in early adulthood.

I would like to read this book. I live in Chicago. Last year, my kids had to carry heavy book bags and didn't want to bother with home lunches. I let this happen at first,but they kept coming home either hungry or disgusted with the lunch menu, which was repetitive as follows-cheese pizza two days a week, nachos with cheese and meet two days a week, tacos 1 day a week. I spoke to the lunchroom manager about the repetition and asked for a breakdown of fats and nutrients. She said that even she was not given a breakdown or a menu. I asked her who to speak to about getting healthier lunches. She said the board of education. I did a search around the school and eventually came up with a copy of the menu and the nutritional breakdown. Every meal lacked whole grains (corn tortilla chips are deep fried so who cares if it is corn and not flour). Every meal had up to 30% fat. Sides were the "healthy" options, which meant iceberg lettuce or peas or corn (portions were less than a half a cup) and the portions are not adjusted as a child gets older either. A kindergartener will get the same amount of food as an 8th grader. To get an alternative meal, I am required to get a doctors note saying children are allergic to this or that. What happens to vegetarians? Or to those who abstain from certain foods for religious reasons? I don't know.
More investigation yielded this fact: The Chicago Board of Education decides what will be on the menu. Lunch programs are federally funded (my kids pay full price but that doesn't matter to anybody since they are a minority in the public schools). The Board of Ed decides how to spend that money most efficiently and without waste. In the meantime, the mayor of this city who is the head of the board of ed, makes public statements to the effect of being concerned about childhood obesity. He has of course, taken care to subtly remove programs from various public parks and for various age groups,but nobody seems to be aware enough to fight this. The fight will be a huge political battle which will perhaps take years since the board of ed is appointed,not elected by the people so therefor do not have to respond to parental concerns. And where are the responsible parents anyway?

As to the home front, I always provide a good breakfast, green tea in the morning and always provide a varied menu at home. I am going on the ultra metabolism diet and family will eat what I eat. I allow for junk food as a treat. But I have always taken my kids to the grocery store and to the farmers market and have always shopped out loud, i.e "This romaine lettuce has more nutrition than the iceberg" "you don't like beets? well they are full of antioxidants that you need. lets find something you like that can be as healthy".
They don't realize it but they know more than the average kid in our area about health. Education is the key here as is personal involvement in your food choices.
My kids still have a little weight on them and they still have to be urged to move around and make the right choices-they are after all just kids, but at least, they know better than to eat mindlessly.

Theresa, you are not alone in forcing your child into activities. I too have a huge fight on my hands every year when the kids hit summer vacation (school offers good in school activities but once school is out,they hit the Playstation saying that they need a break!). Good for you for sticking to your guns. It seems that books such as the one Dr.Hyman reviewed should be written for kids and teachers so that they do hear it from an outside source other than mom!

I enjoy reading your emails. In 2002 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I weighed 308 lbs, and I am 74 inches tall. Over four years, I lost just over 100 lbs, and today I am 205. I eat organic foods, mainly vegetables and fruit, with a little bit of meat (usually no more than 3 to 4 oz per day), and I try to consume at least 40 grams of fiber per day. I do cardio workouts three days a week, resistance training three days a week, and core conditioning exercises daily. Despite the weight loss, and a continued effort to eat well, I still cannot lose all of my belly fat. My trainer told me that is the result of my previous obesity, and that the fat cells will remain with me forever, unless I decide to have liposuction (a choice I do not desire). My waist is 17 inches smaller than it was five years ago, but I want to lose four more inches. Am I doomed to keep these depleted fat cells around my midsection, or is there a way to lose all of the remaining fat without drugs or surgery?

I first learned of your book through Life Extension Foundation of which I am a member. I am 57 years old but look 45 so I am told and exercise aerobically and with weights at least 4 times weekly. I spend 30 minutes in a dry sauna several times a week. I have no trouble staying at my ideal weight; so I am not interested in losing weight but want to eat as nutritionally as possible to remain healthy as I age. I have switched to eating organic foods as much as possible and drinking distilled or bottle water - never drink out of a faucet any more. In the last 6 months I have really gotten into healthy eating big time. However, I am beginning to get really confused because even among nutritionally certified doctors there is quite a bit of contradictory information. (This is why I have not rushed out to buy your book as of yet.) Many address the issues of proper combining of foods and eating alkalizing foods. The science behind these views makes a tremendous amount of sense, but can definitely make eating a hassle at times. I can eat all the right foods but if there is one medium or high acidic food in my diet it drops the pH to an unacceptable acid level and it takes forever to get it back up. Please address these issues in another FAQ newsletter.

Indeed the obesity is one problem we've been dealingg with for a long time. I hope that these treatments will make things better.

________

Mediterranean Cruises