Helping Kid's Make Healthy Food Choices

By Kripa Watts

Educating our children so that they can make good choices and cultivate healthy eating habits is one of the toughest challenges parents face.  No matter how committed you are to maintaining high standards in your own home, there will likely be times when your child has the opportunity to partake of foods and snacks that are less than healthy.  How can you turn this challenge into an opportunity to steer them so that they are eventually able to discern for themselves what just looks good and what actually is good?

Most parents have had the experience of a trip to the local supermarket turning into a frustrating expedition, when colorful packaging and kid friendly designs draw your child’s attention.  This can result in him or her begging that you purchase a food which offers little or no nutritional value.  Perhaps, rather than seeing this as a potential battle of wills, we can use such situations as an opportunity for education.  Rather than insisting the child return the package to the shelf we can take the time to read the label of the food and ask the child if they recognize any of the ingredient names.  As the child grows older we can ask them to read the ingredient list to us so that together we can decide if we want to purchase that food.  Very often, the daunting thought of reading through a long list of unpronounceable ingredients is enough to result in the child putting the package back on the shelf without further ado.

With the introduction of our Kid’s One Daily whole food multi-vitamin, MegaFood has recognized that the ‘food choice education challenge’ can also be applied to children’s vitamins.  Many kid’s supplements were created to catch your child’s eye and appeal to a natural sweet tooth.  They may include sweeteners, flavorings and artificial colorings and are often comprised of simply chemical, isolated vitamins.  MegaFood Kid’s One Daily is a whole food multivitamin without compromise, which allows you to maintain the same high standards in supplementation as you do when selecting groceries or even your own multi-vitamin.  This product provides an opportunity to guide your child toward real food supplementation as you do toward good food choices.  With the introduction of this supplement we have also introduced Lovey the Bear.  Lovey is our Kid's Whole Food Ambassador whose mission is to help educate our children about the benefits of real whole food.

Lovey has his own facebook fan page through which you can access fun facts to help plant the seeds of knowledge so that your child can learn and grow.  We hope you will join us and contribute your thoughts on how to share knowledge that will help all children to be well-nourished,  healthy and happy.

Replacing what's lost in our children's diets......

By Stacey Gillespie

As a nation, an alarming number of children today are obese. These kids are consuming more than enough calories, and yet 17 percent of children and adolescents don’t receive the recommended intake of vitamins A and C. Other common deficiencies include vitamins D and E, B-complex vitamins, and several essential minerals for healthy growth and development, including calcium, magnesium, zinc and chromium. Our children are malnourished.

Kids & Nutrition

Proper nutrition during childhood and adolescence is crucial. Malnutrition is linked to a variety of conditions, including attention deficit disorder (ADD), poor immune function, mood imbalances, and fatigue. Obesity opens the door to a host of additional health issues, including childhood diabetes, diminished liver function and poor digestive health.

Children aged 5 to 13 should be consuming 3 to 5 cups of fruits and veggies every day, depending on age and activity level. A recent survey of fruit and vegetable consumption finds that the majority of American kids only consume half of the suggested number of servings per day—and half of what is consumed is from fruit juice. Add the fact that every day, one out of every three children and adolescents will eat fast food for a meal, and it’s no wonder that obesity and malnutrition are on the rise

Real Food

It’s apparent that children need to consume more fresh fruits and vegetables to receive the nourishment they need to build a strong foundation for health. It’s time to go back to basics and start a real food revolution. Let’s put back what’s been lost in our children’s diets, starting with whole foods. MegaFood recognizes the value of nourishing our children with whole foods, and Kids One Daily is the first and only 100 percent whole food multivitamin for children ages 5 and older. Each tablet provides 24 essential nutrients and immune-boosting antioxidants from fresh whole foods. This means that children are receiving more than just isolated vitamins and minerals—they’re also getting a multitude of phytonutrients to nourish the body as nature intended. Made without any sweeteners, preservatives, colors, flavors, or dyes, Kids One Daily is tested free of pesticides and herbicides and also the common allergens gluten, dairy and soy.

Kids One Daily helps to encourage healthy growth and development and overall wellness. It also promotes healthy habits for life by providing the nourishment our kids need most from the very basics of good health—fresh, whole foods.