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We are what we eat. Moreover we need to be more careful about
what we put in our children's mouths. Studies have shown that
we have reason to be concerned about the relationship between
food and behavior.
Our food is depleted of nutrients because of changes in agricultural
practices adopted in the seventies. What we eat is contaminated
by additives. We also tend to over process our food, thus further
depleting it of nutrients.
First, changes in agricultural practices have changed the
nature of our food. In his book, "Anticancer: A New Way
of Life," Dr. Servan-Schreiber locates the paucity of omega
fatty 3 acids in our modern diet in the dietary changes of our
modern cows. Grass pastures are naturally rich in omega 3's.
The replacement of grass pastures with battery farming in the
seventies has changed our cattle feed from grass to a mixture
of corn, soy and wheat which are wholly devoid of omega 3 fatty
acids.
Battery farming has literally taken omega 3 out of the human
food chain. Research has shown that children with ADHD have lower
concentrations of omega 3, specifically DHA in their bodies,
a situation that has already been linked with an increased risk
of depression and brain deterioration.
Researchers have also linked the doubling of fatty tissues
in children between 1970 and 1990 to the change in the character
of milk coming from corn fed cows.
Second, most of us are unaware of the added components in
our food like emulsifiers, preservatives, thickeners and additives.
According to Dr. Janet Starr Hull, there are over 14,000 man-made
chemicals added to the American food supply today.
Children are the most vulnerable victims because they are
often fed these additives from infancy. What many people do not
realize is that these chemicals can produce a host of different
reactions in different people. Most studies on food additives
have been done on separate and individual items.
The safety of one item does not guarantee the safety of the
product in which multiple additives are combined. Certain combinations
can trigger allergic reactions in sensitive children; others
may not be affected at all.
Third, our modern food processing procedures strip foods of
important nutrients. Commercially grown vegetables have been
stripped of 87% of their nutrients. Refined white flour, for
example, has only 2 or 3 nutrients while unbleached whole wheat
flour has more than 60.
Foods processed in cans are heated at high temperatures. What
this means is that natural enzymes are destroyed. In our modern
culture, we do not eat enough raw foods which are filled with
natural, life supporting enzymes.
We need to become more conscious of whole foods cooked at
home: bread baked with unbleached whole wheat flour without additives,
soups and salads made with organically grown fresh garden tomatoes
and greens harvested not weeks ago, but moments ago.
We have traded the immediacy of "live"foods for
convenience and we have contaminated our children with a culture
of food allergies and sensitivities. ADHD and various behavior
orders in children are on the rise. We can change this situation
by returning our children to whole foods that are free from chemicals
and additives.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.help-your-child-with-anger.com
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