Alternative Diets and Kids' Health
United States Marine Corps, ID 120617-M-3042W-958
Today, more so than ever before, people are exposed to a cornucopia of diets and eating philosophies. As a dad, making decisions about what is best for yourself or your child has become a more complicated process than ever with the growth of knowledge about nutrition, diet, and eating philosophies. Some pointers to help dads make sense of the key issues are presented below. To begin, a brief description of the various eating philosophies and diets is presented to provide readers with some basic information without passing judgment about the morality or nutritional value of each approach, respectively.
Vegetarianism: abstention from consuming of meat (read meat, poultry, seafood, and the flesh of any other animal)
Pescetarianism: includes fish or other seafood but no other meat source
Veganism: abstaining from using animal products, especially in diet
Fruitarianism: a subset of veganism, this diet focuses on fruits and perhaps nuts and seeds while avoiding animal products
Paleolithic diet: (known as paleo diet or caveman diet): is based on the idea that we should restrict our diet to items that humans supposedly had access to during the Paleolithic era that ended 10,00 years ago (excludes dairy, grains, beans, peanuts, processed oils, refined sugar, salt, alcohol, coffee)
Dash diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension): rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods; includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and beans; and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats.
Vegetarianism: abstention from consuming of meat (read meat, poultry, seafood, and the flesh of any other animal)
Pescetarianism: includes fish or other seafood but no other meat source
Veganism: abstaining from using animal products, especially in diet
Fruitarianism: a subset of veganism, this diet focuses on fruits and perhaps nuts and seeds while avoiding animal products
Paleolithic diet: (known as paleo diet or caveman diet): is based on the idea that we should restrict our diet to items that humans supposedly had access to during the Paleolithic era that ended 10,00 years ago (excludes dairy, grains, beans, peanuts, processed oils, refined sugar, salt, alcohol, coffee)
Dash diet (dietary approaches to stop hypertension): rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods; includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and beans; and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats.
Resources
By U.S. Department of Agriculture via Wikimedia Commons.
Eating Well
Healthy eating for any diet begins with a set of general rules for how you approach your nutrition. From cutting out sweets to watching carbohydrate intake, there are many useful tips to follow when first beginning to modify your diet for the better. Nutrition science continues to expand our knowledge of how different foods influence our body chemistry and health throughout our lives. In recent decades, the concept of "superfoods" has entered the mainstream conversation about healthy eating while the scientific community continues to explore the merits of various claims about specific superfoods. Click on the following links to learn more about superfoods!
-WebMD article: 10 Everyday Superfoods
-Health.com article: 31 Superfood Secrets for a Long and Healthy Life
By U.S. Department of Agriculture (Fruit-bar-pic---Web) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Good Housekeeping
Healthy foods can be easy to come by, but healthy foods that are also convenient require slightly more creativity and research. It is important to maintain healthy eating in all aspects of life, both during a day at home or even in the busiest of situations, for parents and kids alike. This resource provides a guide on healthy yet convenient foods that can add more variety to a busy diet while still keeping the family fit.
Healthy foods can be easy to come by, but healthy foods that are also convenient require slightly more creativity and research. It is important to maintain healthy eating in all aspects of life, both during a day at home or even in the busiest of situations, for parents and kids alike. This resource provides a guide on healthy yet convenient foods that can add more variety to a busy diet while still keeping the family fit.
By National Cancer Institute [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
The Mayo Clinic
With advances in medical research and an ever-growing ability to find new ways to deal with special dietary needs, more attention than ever is being paid to gluten-free diets and how to abide by them, with even non-Celiac sufferers joining in to support their friends and family and even make improvements to their own diets. Though going gluten-free is only truly necessary for people with medical ailments, and any dietary choice requires careful consideration, many resources like this one are available for those interested in the possibilities of a new way of life.
With advances in medical research and an ever-growing ability to find new ways to deal with special dietary needs, more attention than ever is being paid to gluten-free diets and how to abide by them, with even non-Celiac sufferers joining in to support their friends and family and even make improvements to their own diets. Though going gluten-free is only truly necessary for people with medical ailments, and any dietary choice requires careful consideration, many resources like this one are available for those interested in the possibilities of a new way of life.
