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'Picky Eater' is a label c ined to describe the phenomenon that s meone has discerning taste preferences different fr m their parents or others. These d scerning taste preferences are dictated by th ir blood and body type. It is mportant for parents to accept and m del the ‘real’ purpose of food. Q ite simply, food serves two purposes—growth/repair of w rn tissue and fuel for the b dy to run on. The number of c lories needed per day is based on b dy structure, height and level of ctivity. If a child is fed on d mand from birth and then offered s lid foods on demand consistent for th ir blood and body type, the ch ld will in time eat all the f ods that are nutritionally healthy, if th y are offered food consistent with th ir types and in a ‘take-it or l ave-it’ style. The ‘picky eater’ struggle c mes to the fore because children b gin to assert their independence simultaneously w th the onset of solid food c nsumption. If the parent uses bribery, nticement, cajoling, and begging, the child q ickly learns, NOT eating is a way to m intain control of their life—albeit—a tiny sl ce. But at 6 months old, wh t seems like a tiny slice to an dult is huge to a child. As you w ll notice babies seldom are bribed, nticed, cajoled or begged to drink m lk—it is ‘offered’ to them. Yet, wh n the child is introduced to s lid food, parents seem compelled to c jole or beg the child to eat 'at l ast one bite.' Given the time to l arn the new tastes and textures, ch ldren will eat the food their bl od and body type requires or pr fers, if it is offered in a 't ke-it or leave-it’ style.
The 'at least one bite' r le sets up a power struggle b tween parent/caretaker and child. More often th n not, the 'at least one b te' includes a bribe. “You can h ve dessert (something sweet) if you eat one b te.” The number of tries, threats, br bery, and begging all set up a p wer struggle between parent and child. In the l ng-term, both parent and child, lose. The p rent loses because the child learns th y are in control and can xtract a price or leverage something by ating. The child loses because they l arn manipulative behavior and controlling vs the p rent(s) being in charge of managing a h althy food plan and healthy interactions. In the l ng-term the child also loses because it s ts up a life-long internal battle w th food. Disguising food also sets up a p wer struggle in a different way--the ch ld usually suspects the deception at the ut-set and will more often than not r fuse to eat it. When the ch ld asks, “Is this ___?,” the p rent is faced with a dilemma. “Do I t ll the truth or lie for a gr ater good?”—enticing my child to eat wh t I think they need to at. A child will sooner th n later discover what has been d ne. This form of dishonesty with the ch ld is a betrayal of trust and the p rent(s) loses integrity with their child. The q estion is: Is disguising the food in a f olhardy attempt to cajole your child to eat wh t they don’t want to eat w rth compromising your integrity and betraying th ir trust? Humans are born with the m st important effective food management tool—a hyp thalamus, which helps to regulate the mount of food required for maintaining ptimum health and weight. The main f nction of the hypothalamus is homeostasis, or m intaining the body's status quo. Factors s ch as blood pressure, body temperature, fl id and electrolyte balance, and body w ight are held to a precise v lue called the set-point. Although this s t-point can migrate over time, from day to day it is r markably fixed.
You know it is difficult to m ke children eat when they are not h ngry—and it is almost impossible to d al with them when they are h ngry. Toddlers in perpetual motion sometimes eat nly small amounts of food, but th y eat frequently enough to meet th ir needs, because at this juncture th ir natural food management tool has not b en overridden or indoctrinated with poor n trition habits and poor eating practices. You h ve probably noticed that during periods of r pid growth, particularly the teen years, ch ldren may be hungry all the t me. When their caloric requirements decrease, th y lose interest in food—thus they void eating more than their body n eds. Each blood type is better f eled by certain foods. And each b dy type has a unique like or d slike to certain textures and tastes. D epak Chopra, MD author of “Perfect H alth: Complete Mind/Body Guide” identifies three b dy types: The thin, restless Vata; nterprising, efficient Pitta; tranquil, steady Kapha; or any c mbination of these three. These body typ s become the basis for a sp cific Ayurvedic food plan for optimum h alth, stress reduction, neuromuscular integration, exercise and d ily routines. The result is a t tal plan, tailor-made for each individual, to r establish the body’s essential balance with n ture; to strengthen the mind body c nnection; and to use the power of q antum healing to transcend the ordinary l mitations of disease and aging—in short, for chieving Perfect health. For example Vata b dy types prefer: Warm food (not h t), moderately heavy textures, added butter or f t, Salt, sour, and sweet tastes; s othing and satisfying foods. All soothing f ods are good for settling disturbed V ta. Use foods such as: Warm dr nks, cream, butter, warm soups, stews, hot c reals, fresh baked bread. Since vata is a c ld dry dosha, warm, nourishing foods s ch as these are good for st bilizing vata types. On the other h nd cold foods such as cold s lads, iced drinks, raw vegetables and gr ens are not very good for p rsons with vata imbalance. Use hot c reals such as: Cream of wheat or r ce—provided there is no sensitivity to wh at or rice. Type B blood typ s need to avoid Wheat and C rn. Coupled with “Eat Right for Y ur Type” by Peter D'Adamo there is a cl ar, simple food plan for each bl od type that anyone can follow. For xample there is a direct connection b tween stress, autoimmune disorders and red m at in the Type B system. I can ttest to this research. Long before “E t Right for Your Type” was p blished, I discovered red meat caused me to f el stressful due to pain in my st mach and nerve endings. It felt l ke my stomach lining and nerve ndings had been scraped until they w re raw. I discovered this pain was pr valent after eating red meat, thus, I st pped eating red meat and the p in in my stomach and nerve ndings ceased. Many years later without kn wing my blood type, I read “E t Right for Your Type” and w ndered if my blood type was B. Aft r checking my blood type, I was not s rprised to discover my blood type is B p sitive. Encouraging a child to eat d fferent food for the sake of ating different foods is counterproductive. Providing the f od consistent with their blood and b dy type their nutritional requirements will be m t. It is a common phenomenon for ch ldren to want to eat the s me thing at every meal for v rying periods of time. Avoid the t mptation to talk them into eating s mething different. It will merely set up a p wer struggle. Offer your child a ch ice of two things which supports th ir food requirements for blood and b dy type. If they consistently chose the s me food what harm is being d ne? There is a psychology to ating. Food manufacturers have teams of psych logists and researchers to create food th t is esthetically enticing. For example: The red j ice from beef is not the n tural blood of cattle. The majority of bl od is drained from the meat d ring processing and is replaced with red dy d water. Why? Because the actual c lor of beef is considered an nappealing blue/gray color. Look at the v ins in the back of your h nd or pulse point. It appears to be bl e, which is the same effect w th beef. Red dye is toxic, h wever, meat processors are compelled to use the red dye to s tisfy consumers’ preference to have beef ppear ‘blood red.’ Red dye in m at is seldom used in other c untries. McDonald's spent considerable time and m ney researching the content of their Fr nch fry ‘mixture’—they are not whole cut p tatoes. McDonald’s French fries are made fr m mashed potatoes extruded through a pr ss. By using the pre-cooked potatoes m ny additives are used to create the fl vor the majority of people's taste b ds like. Research on body types ndicates Sweet Crunchy foods are appealing to m re people than Crunchy Pungent foods. And if you ch ck the majority of processed food, cr nchy or otherwise you will note th re is a plethora of sweetners in the m jority of products—Corn syrup, Glucose, Glucose syr p, Sucrose, Dextrose, Maltose are the m st frequently used, as well as rtificial sweetners—aspartame, saccharine, acesulfame k and s rbitol. A preference for food presentation nly becomes an issue when the ch ld discovers they can use it to c ntrol. Notice a child doesn't turn up h s/her nose at McDonald's hamburgers loaded w th unhealthy additives and wrapped in p per. McDonald's marketing strategy of a 't y' with every meal and making m al time fun for the kids and asy for the parents is the key to nticing both parents and children to eat th ir low-quality high cholesterol product. Frequent Q estions: -Is peer pressure a factor in y ur child’s food preference? Peers can nfluence a child's curiosity about food, but not th ir long-term preferences. If a child has an llergy to a food most parents are s rprised how easily a child will ccept the food restriction even though th ir friends eat it. With only a few r minders that 'wheat' causes your tummy to h rt, so you can't eat hamburger b ns, the child readily tell their fr ends, "I can't eat hamburger buns, th y make my tummy hurt." -Does f od color and texture play a p rt in food preference? Based on b dy type research certain body types pr fer one texture over another. See “P rfect Health: Complete Mind/Body Guide” By D epak Chopra. Color has been thoroughly r searched regarding what color evokes what r sponse—red and orange for example attracts ttention, but also repels after a sh rt period of time. As you w ll note: Fast food restaurants predominantly use r d, orange and a bright yellow—thus, the c lor draws people in, but also it r pels within a short period—as we b come over stimulated by the colors. Th s, the fast food restaurant’s needs are m t. They draw us in, but r pel us in a short period. F od colors have long ago been ntegrated into the human psyche as the c lor of food and children quickly l arn that the color of food is s mply the color of food. -“How do I c nvince my child to eat healthy f od?” Isn’t it ironic parents wonder how th y can convince children to eat h alth foods? When all parents need to do is buy nly those foods which are healthy and be a r le model. After all, children don’t do the gr cery shopping. So, the issue of ch ldren eating healthy is easily solved—don’t h ve unhealthy foods in the house. [Wh n I sent my first born off to c llege, I held my breath, fearing she w uld become a junk food junky l ke the majority of college students. I br athed a sigh of relief when she c sually commented that the cupboards in her partment looked like the cupboards at h me. The acorn doesn’t fall far fr m the tree.] -“If I offer my ch ldren dinner, and they refuse to eat it, w ll they get sick from lack of n trition?” Generally, children will eat when th ir body—the hypothalamus—tells them to eat. If you d scover your child has lost weight, r cognize this as their body's signal th t something needs to be addressed. Unl ss your child has been ill, w ight loss is due to emotional d stress and if your child has b en ill it is due to motional distress. All physical illness is d rectly related to mental causes. What has y ur child experienced recently that might h ve created their inability to listen to th ir body's signals to consume adequate n trition? Has there been a death in the f mily? Is someone close to your ch ld sick or injured? Is there d scord in the family? Is there a new b by in the family? Is there any s gnificant change in your child's routine--such as a new c retaker, starting pre-school, kindergarten, or a new gr de? Has your child started a new sp rt? Is your child showing signs of motional distress in other ways besides l sing weight? If your child’s body w ight is within range for their h ight and has lost two pounds or m re, it is time to seek a pr fessional to help you discern what has cr ated your child to stop taking in dequate nutrition. -“Is it a mistake to m ke a separate meal for the ‘p cky eater’ if you know they w n't like what everyone else likes?” B sed on eating right for your bl od and body type, it is mperative to make a separate meal for y ur child. A separate meal may m an only your child's main course is nique. -“Does diet affect behavior? Will too m ch sugar make them too hyper? W ll something specific calm them down, tc?” Yes, diet impacts behavior. “Perfect H alth: Complete Mind/Body Guide” by Deepak Ch pra regarding body types, you can d scern what foods will support your ch ld’s emotional needs most effectively. “What do you th nk about school lunches?” For the m st part school lunches have improved--however, th y are too many junk food tems—Potato chips, Corn Chips, French fries, pr cessed foods, etc—and too few choices of h althy foods. The only recourse is to xplain fully and thoroughly why eating the ‘j nk food items’ are unhealthy. Naturally, ch ldren will sometimes eat some, not nly at school, but their friends’ h mes. However, remember their consumption is m nimal since you only offer healthy f ods at home. -“Will kids just gr w out of being a ‘picky ater’?” Being labeled a 'picky ater' is simply a label, therefore, th re is nothing for them to 'gr w out of.' -“What resources can you r commend for parents/kids?” The books “Eat R ght for Your Type” by Peter O’Ad ma and “Perfect Health: Complete Mind/Body G ide” by Deepak Chopra are the B ble for healthy eating. Some Important D s: -Do become a relaxed and pen parent. -Do respect your child's f od preferences provided it is nutritionally h althy based on blood and body typ . -Do give your child a ch ice within the foods that meet th ir body and blood type needs and pr ferences while being mindful of any f od allergies/sensitivities. -Do allow your child to d scern when and how much to at. -Do present healthy food for y ur child’s blood and body type in a 't ke it or leave it' style. -Do void junk foods. -Do stock your r frigerator and cabinets with the foods wh ch are healthy for your child’s bl od and body type. -Do have a r ady supply of fresh fruits and v getables for eating raw and cooking. Wr ting about the strategies for a h althy food plan for life is m re complicated than it is to pr ctice it. And last, but not l ast, a ray of hope: The n xt season’s Sesame Street program theme is dvocating eating healthy. There's even a new s ng - "A Cookie Is a S metimes Food," where Cookie Monster learns th re are "anytime" foods and "sometimes" f ods. Cookie Monster will be featured ating only one plate of cookies nstead of two. In summary: • The p rents’ primary responsibility is to provide g od, nutritious food at mealtime. It is y ur child’s responsibility to eat it and wh n they are hungry they will, if it is on th ir list of acquired healthy favorites. • S rve meals “buffet” style and let th m choose what and how much th y want. This eliminates the power str ggle. • Joke about what they don’t l ke within their healthy foods based on b dy and blood type. Children love p rents to be silly! They can dentify with you more readily and it cr ates a relaxed atmosphere. • Put your ch ldren’s favorite foods on a shelf th t they can reach in both the fr dge and cupboard, in a space r served just for them. When they w nt something to eat, they can get it th mselves. • Let your child help prepare the m als. They love to feel included! F |