Drinking Water For Kids

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Posted by admin | Posted in Kids' Health | Posted on 13-04-2011

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We all know we need water to survive, but try convincing a seven-year-old of that fact. Lots of kids don’t like water and would rather have a sugary juice or soda pop. It’s the duty of the parent to ensure their child is getting enough water in their diet.

Drinking water is a very important key to overall health for kids. Water is an essential nutrient that composes 50 to 60 percent of your total body weight. Water is the key component which transports other nutrients throughout your body to help build and repair cells. Blood needs water to carry oxygen throughout the body, which is why one would die if they were deprived of water for several days.

Although it varies from person to person, it is recommended that kids drink six to eight glasses of pure water per day. Additional amounts should be considered during warm weather and when exercising or just playing in the yard.

While the best source is a glass of pure water, kids can also get water into their bodies though certain foods. Think of all the delicious fruits and vegetables that have large amounts of water: grapes, peaches, oranges, green pepper, tomatoes and celery.

It’s best to get kids in the habit of drinking water early. A child spoiled by flavorful drinks may start to refuse water altogether. Understand the dangers of those alternative drinks. Most soda pop is filled with sugar or the deadly sugar substitute aspartame. Very unhealthy, not to mention most of these drinks have caffeine which is a diuretic and actually takes water out of your body.

One can of soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar, 150 calories, 30 to 55 mg of caffeine and is loaded with preservatives and other artificial food colors and sulphites. Studies have linked soda to osteoporosis, obesity, tooth decay and heart disease.

Even juices are packed with sugar, and many have the same amount of sugar as sodas. It’s recommended to water down juices when given to children: no more than 50% juice and the rest water. Even in those cases, the amount of juice given to a child should be in small quantities.

For a child to drink a proper amount of water, the responsibility begins and ends with the parents. They have a great influence on their child’s drink intake. It’s best to lead by example. If a child sees his parents consistently drinking soda, they will also want soda.

Parents should do their best to provide pure drinking water for their kids and consume water filled fruits and vegetables. This will improve and maintain the health of the family.

If you are interested in learning more about kids health and nutrition then check out our special kids health and exercise section.

Source: Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Exercise Safety Tips For Kids

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Posted by admin | Posted in Kids' Health | Posted on 25-02-2011

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Approximately more than 3 million kids experience injuries while exercising. These exercises vary from running, bike riding or when overheated because of strenuous exercises. In order to prevent injuries, there are guidelines that need to be followed when engaging in any kinds of exercises especially when they are tiresome and active exercises. Let us go through some exercise safety tips for kids.

Running. It is essential that prior to any kind of exercises or any type of physical activities like sports, warm up and stretching exercises should be performed to prepare the body for the activity. Moreover, after the physical activity, it is equally essential to cool down after.

Bike riding. When riding any vehicle, safety precautionary measures are always required. This is true on riding a bicycle also known as bike riding. Helmet, arm bands and pads are some of the safety clothing needed to serve as protection in such case the rider fall off or have a collision on bike riding.

Sports. With sports, there are different exercise safety tips for kids depending on the sports they engage in. The playground or the park is the favorite places of kids. Therefore, equipments utilized in parks and playground should be maintained and checked for safety like swings, monkey bars, teeter-totters, and other stationary equipment which kids uses for engagement.

Dehydration. Playing and other physical activities can be exhausting. And drinking water is one of the primary concerns when engage in these activities. This is to avoid dehydration and replenish the lost water in the body and prevent heat exhaustion.

Health. Another exercise safety tips that should be considered is the health of the kid or the player. It is a good idea that prior to any physical activities like sports, to ensure the safety of the kids, they should be checked by a physician for health concerns and if they are capable of doing the activity safely without any hazards to their health. There are some situations that some kids have health limitations like heart disease and asthma.

Supervision. It is highly important that kids are supervised when playing in parks. This is as well true with sports teams. Parents, coaches or sports medical team should be available to assist in case of occurrence of injuries while playing. This is done to ensure the safety of the kids while they enjoy playing.

Exercise, sports and other kinds of physical activities can be a source of enjoyment but when overexerted or done, can cause serious injuries. Exercise can be a fun activity but it should be done with caution. Therefore, through the above-mentioned exercise safety tips for kids, these can prevent unwanted situations that may happen because of not dressing properly or improper exercise behavior. Do the suggestions stated and ensure the safety of the kids while enjoying their exercise or chosen sports.

Learning to Exercise Wisely and Safely

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Posted by admin | Posted in General | Posted on 29-04-2010

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When you are exercising on a consistent basis it is important that you learn how you are going to be safe.  There are a lot of people that do not understand that there are certain safety tips that should always be abided no matter the workout.

 

First, you want to make sure that you are taking the time to stretch and warm up before your workout.  It does not matter what you are doing, you have to be sure that your body is prepared for the workout.

 

When you are stretching you want to be pushing your body to a new limit.  You should not view stretching as a time that you are able to close your eyes and nod off but rather as a time of pushing your body to new limits.

 

Establishing flexibility in your workouts can ensure that you are able to avoid many injuries.  There is also a lot of chronic pain that is avoided when you take the time to be sure that your muscles are flexible.

 

Second, you should be sure that you are hydrated throughout your entire workout.  There are many people that have a hard time drinking enough water to ensure that their body can safely make it through a workout.

 

When you are attempting to stay hydrated you should be sure that you understand that this is not something you can cram or procrastinate.  You should be consistently drinking enough water throughout each day to ensure that your body is hydrated.

 

When you are keeping your body hydrated you also want to make sure that you have all of the water that you need for your workout.  Even when you are hydrated you have to be sure that you store enough water for a workout.

 

When you are preparing and packing for a workout you have to be sure that you pack yourself water.  Getting a water pack that sits on your back throughout your workout may be your best option when you are attempting to stay hydrated.

 

You should not wait until you feel thirsty to start drinking.  You should be sure that you understand that you must be drinking on a consistent basis throughout the workout to ensure that your body does not get dehydrated.

 

When you are drinking throughout your workout the water that you drink should not be too cold.  The colder that the water gets the less efficient it will be when you are drinking it to stay hydrated.

 

Finally, when you exercise you should be sure that you recognize your own limits.  Take the time to understand what your body is communicating to you and do not push yourself harder than you should.

 

As you listen to your body, do not be afraid to stop when you should.  Be wise about the level of activity that you put your body through to ensure that you are able to get a good workout without hurting yourself or putting too much strain on your body during the exercise.

 

Fasting Health and Weight Loss Consequences

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Posted by admin | Posted in Weight Loss | Posted on 19-03-2010

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Many people consider fasting in order to lose weight. Fasting involves eating no little or no food for an extended period of time, and drinking only water or juice during that time, depending on the specific regimen.

Fasting is popular because it detoxifies the body to some degree. But can it really help you lose weight as well? The answer is yes, to a degree, you will probably lose weight during a fast. However, for several other reasons, fasting is not necessarily the most effective weight loss tool.

First, the weight you lose while fasting tends to come back after the fast. You’re usually hungry after a fast, so what do you do? You eat a lot. I think you know where all those calories are going to go. Second, even though most fasting programs encourage you to drink a lot of water, much of the weight you lose during a fast is still water weight. Remember that you ingest a lot of water as part of the food you eat every day (for instance, apples are around 80% water by volume). If you’re not eating the foods you usually eat, it’s hard to figure out exactly how much water intake you’re missing. Water weight, of course, also returns when your fast ends.

Fasters do have the right idea in that they are aiming to manipulate their metabolism and calorie intake. But a more moderated approach is more effective. A dieting technique called calorie cycling rotates between light eating and heavier eating in order to modify the metabolism more gradually and results in much longer-lasting and more effective weight loss than fasting. Calorie cycling may be employed through the popular diet plan FatLoss4Idiots, which generates custom meal plans based on the foods you like best, and increases your metabolism so that your body burns more fat every day. (It’s a heck of a lot easier to stick with than a fast, too!)

Bird Feeder Plans: Tips for Building Your Own Feeder

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Posted by admin | Posted in General | Posted on 17-01-2010

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Making your own bird feeders is an excellent method to attract birds to your property. Building bird feeders can be quite a fun hobby, and the birds will obviously appreciate it.

The kind of Bird Feeders

Hopper Feeders tend to be convenient as you only have to lift the top and pour in the food. They will usually hold several days worth of food. The particular hopper feeder has trays on each side for birds to land on and also the bird seed is protected from rainfall and snow. The wood feeder can be reloaded with seed from the top and it can hang from the tree, pole or a hook. Platform Feeders attract numerous types of birds and allows many to feed at the same time. They usually are put up from a hook, placed on the floor, or installed on a pole. They usually have screen at the base which allows drinking water to drain, helping keep seed fresh. Several have a top for protection from rain and also snow. Platform feeders are created to accommodate birds of all dimensions.Tube Bird Feeders have more than one giving station with perches that offer several dining. The tube style bird feeder shields seed from weather and also allows several birds to feed concurrently.Suet Feeders hold obtained suet cakes or suet cakes you make yourself generally in a wire cage. We now have also listed some feeders here which use a peanut butter suet stuffed into holes.

Some tips for building the feeder

Bird feeders should be made from durable material, as they will have to withstand different varying weather conditions. Redwood, red-colored cedar, or perhaps cypress wood enables you to create a bird feeder. Nevertheless, strain treated wooden is not advised. You can use the left-over material from the house building to create a bird feeder too.Find the feeder that suits best using the kind of birds you desire to attract. Don’t forget to make use of squirrel baffles whenever mounting feeders on poles as well as previously mentioned.When possible, try to place your own feeder where squirrels can’t access all of them from above or even where they’re unable to jump to them…or else, without protection, you’ve simply built the squirrel feeder as well!You will need to think about the way to keep the bird feeder well stored everyday, together with feed. When the birds come a couple of times and find the feeder empty, you can find chances of them not going back to the feeder again, because of lack of foods. You should make the proper preparations to continue to keep the feeder stocked with foods, especially, if you’re working or perhaps, planning to go out for a holiday. During the winter months, be certain to maintain a check around the feed, because very cold temperatures can freeze the food solid, thus, frustrating birds from coming to feed from your feeder.

There are a number of bird feeders plans, which are available from which you can choose. Most the plans have mounted on them, detailed description and guidelines, to direct you in maintaining the feeder the correct way. Now begins your time to consider the kind of birds you would want to observe! Happy Bird-Watching!