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Forty years ago I became very
interested in health and nutrition. I had been a sickly
child and I had hated being sick. As a low-energy young
adult, I had decided to do something about my health, so
after reading some wonderful books on nutrition, I
proceeded to completely change what I ate. I started to
shop at the only little health food store in Los Angeles
– Whole Foods was years away! I threw out all packaged
food and ate only natural, fresh organic products – when
I could get them. I made a decision that if people
didn’t eat something 100 years ago, I wasn’t going to
eat it now. I was extremely pleased with the improvement
in my health and energy.
When I had children, I
wanted them to be healthy, so I made sure that I had only
healthy food in the house. By the time my children went to
school, they were not happy with the food choices in their
lunch boxes. Why couldn’t they have Twinkies and fluffy
white bread like the other kids? Why couldn’t they have
Oreos instead of the healthy cookies that I made for them?
They didn’t like being “weird.” When we went to the
market and they wanted junk, I told them they needed to
buy it with their own money – that I was never going to
spend money on junk food. It didn’t take them long to
know that I meant it and to stop asking.
No one else in my family
was into nutrition in the way I was. I was considered a
“health nut” and often ridiculed. Yet my children were
calm most of the time and had no trouble learning and
staying focused on tasks. I noticed that when they went to
birthday parties and had lots of sugar, they came home
bouncing off the walls. Whatever criticism and complaints
I received, I knew it was loving to them for me to keep
only healthy food in the home.
It’s time we started to
really pay attention to what love is regarding food. Is it
loving to reward a child for good behavior with sweets?
The child may feel loved at the moment, just as we feel
good for the moment when we reward ourselves with junk
food, but in the long run it is not loving to indulge
ourselves or our children in eating foods that erode
rather than promote health and well-being.
There has been much
research into health and nutrition since I learned about
it forty years ago. I try to keep up by reading the latest
books, but it tends to get confusing regarding what is
healthy and what isn’t. I have learned to tune into my
body so I know which foods are good for me and which are
not. I know how much protein I need, how much
carbohydrates I need and in what form, and how much fat I
need. When my children were growing up, I encouraged them
to pay attention to how they felt in reaction to the foods
they ate. Only by encouraging our children to tune inside
and trust their inner experience will they learn to know
what is right for them and what is wrong for them. It is
too easy to get swayed by the latest diet, the latest
information regarding health. Yet each of our bodies are
different so we each need to know what balance of
proteins, fats and carbs we each need to support our
health.
This means that we can’t
impose on our children what works for us. We need to
notice, and encourage our children to notice, what works
and what doesn’t work for them. But what does not work
for anyone is processed foods, preserved foods, foods with
pesticides, and sugar. Loving ourselves and our children
means eating whole natural foods, even if your family
complains.
Do not underestimate the
effects of good or poor nutrition on the health of your
children’s minds and bodies. Is it more important to you
to have control over how your children feel about you by
indulging them in unhealthy foods, or is it more important
to be loving to them by providing them with the
opportunity to have strong and healthy bodies and minds?
If you really want to be
loving to your children, learn about good nutrition and be
solid in your convictions.
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About
The Author
Margaret
Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and
co-author of eight books, including
"Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved
By You?" She is the co-creator of the
powerful Inner Bonding healing process.
Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web
site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: http://www.innerbonding.com
or margaret@innerbonding.com.
Phone sessions available. |
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