Thursday, July 19, 2012

Which Healthy Foods Promote Healthy Smiles?

Did you know it is possible to eat your way to a healthy smile? Oral health is not just about brushing and flossing your teeth twice a day. In many cases, what you put into your mouth has as much of an impact, as the routine care of your teeth.

Your body needs the right combination of nourishment from your daily meals and refreshments. The right food and beverages can help you avoid dental problems, and build an effective immune system. Your oral health depends on it, so does the rest of your body.

You Have Heard the Bad News

Many people know eating foods high in sugar, like candy and sodas, creates an environment in your mouth that makes it prone to more tooth decay and gum disease. Most dentists have noticed an increase in the number of cavities in children and young adults today, compared to previous generations.

Dental experts link the increase of cavities to the poor quality of food that is regularly consumed. The worst culprits are often both the fructose and other processed sugars found in sweetened drinks, and the snacks and sodas, often also devoid of nutrition.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Choosing Healthy Foods For Your Kids

Are you concerned about your child's eating habits? It can be challenging to feed toddlers a healthy diet every day, but I have a secret weapon. A homemade smoothie is an easy way to serve your child at least one serving of fruits, vegetables, and calcium every day. Follow these five simple guidelines to help your child eat a nutritious diet:

Five Effortless Nutrition Suggestions for More Nutritious Kids:

3+ portions of veggies, 2 portions of fruit, 3 portions of whole grain products, 3 food servings of calcium, 1/2 their entire body weight in grams of lean health proteins

One serving size of veggies is just one cup raw or 1/2 cup prepared. Even though it can often be difficult to get small children to eat raw vegetables, it's simple to include at least one portion of veggies in a delicious homemade smoothie. Spinach, mixed greens, and steamed baby carrots are specially effortless to conceal in mouth watering shakes. One of the best smoothie recipe with blended veggies is called Frog Juice, and my favorite recipe made with baby carrots is Bunny Juice. Your kids will happily eat their vegetables if you serve them inside a healthy smoothie!

It's substantially simpler and easier to persuade children to eat their fruits instead of vegetables. One helping of fresh fruit is one actual fruit (such as 1 apple or mango), or 3/4 cup of berries. Although fruits aren't necessary to make great drinks, smoothies taste better with a bit of sweet fruit added! Frozen bananas are very popular in smoothies, because they add cold and creamy texture to the drink. The preparation to add bananas into a juice smoothie is basically non-existent: just peel and throw in. Apples are another popular fresh fruits to add to smoothies. Apples are very nutritious and taste great.