As children are getting fatter and as the fat children of today become the fat Americans of tomorrow we have to concentrate in stopping this epidemic at the root; our children!

Remember that obese children now suffer from cardiac diseases, hypertension, stroke and even MI. They are quite often insulin resistant and even diabetic and are more susceptible to asthma, lowered immunity and lack of self esteem.

These are a few of my recommendations:

1. Many obese children have low thyroid hormones that prevent growth and sexuality. Have thyroid hormones checked.

Obese children and adults have low vitamin D levels in their blood which also contribute to obesity. Need values over 50ng/ml.

2. Do not feed your kids pesticides as children receive 4  times more exposure to carcinogenic pesticides than adults. The average American is exposed to 10 to 13 pesticides every day.

The dirty dozen are the 12 foods containing the most pesticides and should be consumed in very limited quantities.They are:

Peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarine, strawberries,cherries, kale, imported grapes, carrots and pears.

The foods containing the least amount of pesticides are: onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangoes, asparagus, kiwis, cabbage, papayas, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes and sweet potatoes.

3. Help your children to de-stress as cortisol levels increase as obesity increases and there is more fat storage especially in the middle area.

4. Do not give infants soy milk which increases the odds for them to get obese later on life.

5. Do not feed them plastics and do not heat food in plastic containers which leach substances that cause weight gain. Do not put the plastic containers in the dishwasher for the same reason. Avoid buying fatty foods loke meat packaged in plastic wrapping as the plastic will be leached into the meat.

6. Cut down on canned goods. Rather buy tuna in pouches.The only cans to purchase are from Eden Organic.

7. Cut down on red meat as it increases the incidence of obesity and cardiovascular disease. It also increases aging and mortality. If red meat needs to be eaten, use moderation and choose grass fed cattle.

8. Make them stay away from sugars and sugared drinks. 1 sugared drink a day increases the risk of CAD by 20%. Read labels and do not buy anything with trans fats or high fructose corn syrup. Fruit is not your child’s friend either as it it converted to fat. Fruit juices are even worse than fruit. Give your child water or skim milk.

White rice was shown to increase the risk of diabetes.

9. Make your child eat breakfast. Skipping breakfast increases the risk of obesity by 450 times. Eggs are a great breakfast food.

10.Give your child and yourself green tea, EPA/DHA, vitamin D , 5HTP and GABA to control impulsive eating.

Dr. George Bray a guru in weight loss research did recently a study that showed that low calorie diets are more effective in reducing weight than high protein diets.

However high protein diets were improving basal metabolic rate by improving  burning potential.

The other advantage of high protein diets is that they increase muscle mass.

In summary extra calories increase fat mass while protein increases lean mass.

Therefore in weight loss the important point is not how much one weighs but how much muscle and fat one carries in the body.

Body weight and even body mass index are less reliable than body fat or lean body composition in determining one’s health.

Sugars such as sucrose, fructose and high fructose corn syrup are efficiently converted to fat with caloric excess. Beware of eating too much fruit which contain fructose as fructose  may be converted as well to triglycerides, the main component of fat.

Fat is not so good either! Added fat calories hidden even in processed food lead also to weight gain?

What should we eat then ?

1. Limit processed foods high in salt and fats.

2. Eat foods full of fiber like salads and vegetables and put color in your plate. Fruit is allowed but in moderation.The fiber in those foods create satiety as well.

3. Stay away from sugars, starches and high fat product, especially saturated fats.

4. Eat low fat protein with each meal.

5. For people with portion control issues, high protein, low carbohydrate and low fat supplements are recommended. Visit our web site.

Merey and healthy slimming!