Wednesday 2nd March 2005: THE BIRCHES MONTHLY MEETING
GUEST: Nicola Phipps BA(Hons.) Dip.ION - Nutritionist
We were pleased to welcome Nicola to our March meeting to discuss the impact food can have on our children's
health and behaviour.
Nicola began by emphasising the link between stress and diet. Stress is universal to all looked after children.
Often beginning in the womb the child is then born into an environment where it experiences lack of control,
fear and uncertainty on a regular basis. The stress continues throughout placements, eventually the child's
responses to stress become heightened and the triggers required to produce it lower.
Under stress the body releases a hormone called cortisol. This major stress hormone raises the bloods sugar level
in order to get you up and running, the so called 'fight or flight' reflex. To sustain this stress response the body
uses up massive amounts of essential nutrients. A person who is subjected to stress on a fairly regular basis is likely
to have a poor immune system, suffer from allergies, IBS, constipation, bloating, flatulence etc as a result of this.
Once the blood sugar levels are raised the pancreas releases insulin into the body in an attempt to bring them back
down again. However, if there is too much refined sugar in the diet this process is severely hampered and the body's
blood sugar levels will yo-yo, wreaking havoc on children's emotions and their health.
We all need a little sugar in our diet, but we can get enough from fruit, vegetables, pasta and bread. These foods
release sugars more slowly into our bloodstream giving sustained energy rather than the instant hit that comes from
foods high in refined sugars such as fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate, cakes and biscuits.
Nicola said that as well as cutting down on the amounts of refined sugars in our diet, at each mealtime we should
aim to combine proteins with carbohydrates. This combination of foods helps to slow the digestive processes down,
allowing the body to absorb the important nutrients more effectively. Nicola made some suggestions for a typical day's menu;
Breakfast
Porridge made with rolled oats and milk, soya milk or water, add some chopped dried fruit or nuts. Natural yoghurt. Eggs, boiled, scrambled or poached served with wholegrain toast.
Muesli (unsweetened)
Lunch
Wholegrain bread filled with meat, fish, cheese or eggs. Carrot or cucumber batons. Brown rice or, brown pasta salad. Fruit.
Dinner, to include,
Proteins (meat, fish, cheese eggs, pulses) and carbohydrates, especially wholegrains (brown rice or pasta)
Snacks and drinks
Fruit smoothies, fruit juice (dilute with1/2 water), nut and seed bars, dried fruit.
Nicola also suggested that we should give our children dietary supplements such as multivitamins, fish oils and pro-biotics
because of the changing nutritional values of toady's foods.
Finally Nicola gave us some tips on how to encourage good eating habits in our children:
Aim to get things right about 70-80% of the time- eating healthily should not be about making the child look
different in front of others, or about preventing them from joining in occasions like birthday parties
Do not give sweets or unhealthy food as rewards
Do not shy away from explaining to children the detrimental effects of a poor diet
Get your children involved in all aspects of food - growing it, shopping for it, and making it!
This was a very interesting and informative talk and we look forward to welcoming Nicola back on another occasion.
JAQUI H.
WASGAP MEMBER/VOLUNTEER
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