Find your voice for Children's Health. Stand With Us for Children's Health by sharing these done for you Share-ables.
Here's what to do:
- Click on the photo to download the image.
- Copy and paste the words that accompany the image.
- Share it widely on social media with your family, friends, work colleagues and your communities.
- Please add #therootcauseau #standingforchildrenshealth
Alternately, visit our social media pages (Facebook or Instagram) and simply share from there.
Thought Provoking Share-ables
What's In Common Lunchbox Foods.
Take a look at What's In Common Lunchbox Foods.
Sadly the science is showing that these foods are harming health. Horrifically, most Australian Children are eating these foods that harm their health every single day.
When researching for my book The Lunchbox Effect, we researched over 500 packet foods which are commonly found in supermarkets and marketed as lunchbox foods. This is only a small selection but most have similar profiles to those shown here.
It's pretty shocking to think our food standards allow these kinds of foods to be concocted and worse that our Government policies allow these foods to be marketed directly to our kids.
Also remember these foods are having a negative impact on the health of the planet too. Packet food = landfill. Lunchboxes create a hideous amount of waste.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Please share this information widely. The more people who become aware, the better the chance we have to start to reverse the rising trend in children's health issues.
Please note, food manufacturers do change formulations frequently. Usually to make them more profitable by using cheaper ingredients or to make them more marketing friendly - rarely to make them more healthy. For instance, there has been a big shift in the last 3 years to make foods make marketing foods more friendly by moving formulations from using artificial food colours or flavours to using natural colours or flavours. Regardless of whether natural or artificial, they are still made in a chemistry lab.
These reviews were completed in Jan 2023.
Easter... A great time to build a positive relationship with food.
Easter is synonymous with chocolate.
We can choose to get strung out about it or we can choose to approach it with peace.
A peaceful approach is about building a positive relationship with food, all kinds of food. Easter is a perfect time to do this.
It's not about giving in and letting the kids go nuts with chocolate, but it's about letting go enough to allow Easter to be a memorable time.
You can have Easter with chocolate AND without the guilt or the worry about if your kids are having too much by taking a few simple steps.
1) offer real food snacks first
2) having plenty of water on hand
3) go plain chocolate to minimise flavours and colours (even the natural ones - they are still made in a chemistry lab)
4) the darker the chocolate, the better
5) have a little bit for a few days, then practice out of sight out of mind
6) tell your family there is no need for Easter eggs, instead if they want to give gifts, winter PJ's are always a good idea.
Enjoy this time!
Food can be such a wonderful memory for our kids if we approach it from a place of peace and not stress or angst.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Try out choosing peace around food and your families health. From this place, you have a better chance of influencing them.
The Best Family Meal & Health Hack = Empowering Your Kids
By far one of the biggest stressors in a mum's life is around what to feed their kids. Is it healthy enough? Is there enough variety? Are they getting all their nutrition? Are they going to eat it? And the constant questions roll around in our heads day and in the wee hours of the morning when the rest of the house is asleep.
So I want to give you the BEST family meal & health to take some of the stress away from you.
Without a doubt, the best hack you can have for both meals and health is empowering your kids.
When your kids are actively involved in their own food and health, they start to share the work load with you.
Don't get me wrong, it's not an overnight hack. But it's the BEST hack for your sanity and for their long term health.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Try out empowering your kids. Let them explore and experiment with food. Have conversations about how food can help their body or it can sometimes not help their body.
Join Bel for her Impactful and Free Empowering Kids Masterclass coming soon. Reserve your seat here.
The New Recipe... Children's Empowerment
If you're like many mum's, you probably have a heap of recipe books or spend loads of time scrolling for the recipes, in the hope that it will help you to get your kids to eat a wider variety or to eat more vegetables.
But here's some food for thought?
What if you didn't need a 'food' style recipe. What if the real answer to getting your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, or a wider variety, was actually empowering them to make better choices on their own?
What if they just got it? They understood why they needed to eat better, and so they were more open to trying new foods.
It's totally possible... Try out Children's Empowering as your new kind of recipe.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Try out empowering your kids. Let them explore and experiment with food. Have conversations about how food can help their body or it can sometimes not help their body.
Want More People to See Fruits & Vegetables As Snacks?
Research shows our eating habits of adults are formed when they are young kids living at home.
If you want your kids to eat more fruits and vegetables, then you need them to hear and see you treating fruits and vegetables as an essential snack.
Make fruits and vegetables your go to snack over packets. This is how kids will learn fruits and vegetables are snacks.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Serve fruits and vegetables as snacks. In the lunchbox. For morning tea, for afternoon tea. For road trips and play dates too.
Statistics / Facts Share-ables
Want People To Realise our Children's Health Crisis is serious?
Ever buy foods you know really aren't great for your child's health but your tired, stressed and your kids nagging you about it?
Yep? We've all been there.
Food manufacturers rely on the Pester Power of our kids to get us to buy foods. They know we are tired and stressed. They tell us we are tired and stressed and their foods are convenient.
A new report The Future for the World's Children calls food manufacturers out for their exploitive marketing practices. It says the heath of and future of every child is under threat.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Buy one less package food this week, and one more fruit or vegetable. Easy.
Tired of people saying everything in moderation?
94% of Australian Children DO NOT eat the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. These are every day foods required for health.
On the flip side, on average primary aged children are eating between 4.8 and 6.2 serves of discretionary foods every single day. The Australian Dietary guidelines lists these as foods to be eaten sometimes and in small amounts.
Many people say, everything in moderation. But Australian Children are not eating discretionary foods in moderation. They are eating them every day. That one Zooper Dooper or chocolate is not moderation when it is on top of all the other discretionary foods children are eating in a day.
Children's (and Adults) bodies and brains need nutrition. This comes from eating fruits and vegetables and whole foods every day. Not from eating processed discretionary foods.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Serve your children more fruits and vegetables everyday, and reduce the amount of processed food they eat.
THE 4TH MARCH IS WORLD OBESITY DAY!
We don’t like to focus on weight because there are so many other health markers of importance that our country also needs to focus on - the growing number of children with mental health, auto immune conditions, cancer to name just a few. But it is important to talk about hard issues. Obesity is one of them.
Since it is World Obesity Day, we feel compelled to share this stat Bel discovered in The National Health Study 2017-2018 whilst researching for her book - The Lunchbox Effect.
Sadly, you are reading this correctly.
46%, Almost half of our young Australian Adults, are overweight or obese.
This does not just happen when people turn 18. This happens mostly from years of eating the wrong kinds of foods and not moving enough.
Remember, 80% of Health comes from what we eat, so a big part of this stat can be attributed to what is being eaten.
There are significant bodies of scientific research linking overweight and obesity to chronic illness and a reduction in ability to be productive in the workforce. Then there’s the projected impact on the health care system to be considered too. Obesity is costing Australia in excess of $8 billion dollars per year.
This post is not designed to point the finger at those who are overweight or obese. We live in a society where the food system is stacked against us. The way food is manufactured and marketed has a massive role to play.
This stat is concerning no matter how we look at it.
Everyone in this country, from individuals, parents, teachers, the education system, the health system, the food industry and the Government need to start taking action now.
We all have a role to play. But the one thing we know for sure is that as individuals, you and I, can move faster than a big system, like Government, who have many stakeholders to appease.
We don’t have to wait for anyone to tell us it’s OK to raise awareness or make changes.
We can just start with our own families, friends and communities.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Let’s educate our kids whilst they are young so they grow into healthy vibrant young adults who help our country be great innovators.
Improving Your Chances of Beating Illness
Buy More Real Food To Boost Your Immunity
58% of the average weekly household food budget is spent on discretionary foods. The Australian Dietary Guidelines list these foods as food (and drinks) to be consumed sometimes and in small amounts.
Research clearly shows foods grown in nature - plants - help our body and boost our immunity. Research also links processed foods to having the effect of weakening our immune system.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Add foods that boost immunity to your trolley and reduce the foods that can negatively affect your immunity.
Canteen Share-ables
Concerned about items in the buyer's guide?
School is a place for fun and learning but often the foods and drinks children are consuming at school are high in sugar and include additives and preservatives with potential affects of:
- hyperactivity
- learning difficulties
- behavioural problems
- headaches and migraines
Some of these foods and drinks find their way into Canteen Approved Buyer's Guides. This is because they do not take into account additives and preservatives, nor whether sugar is considered to be free or added.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Let's give our kids the best chance to learn by buying and selling only foods and drinks that support their learning and health.
Concerned about Slushies?
This is a true example of a Canteen Approved Slushie sold in a Victorian School Canteen. It's marketed as 99% Fruit Juice *when diluted and Gluten Free.
Each 250ml serve sold to a child contains well over the recommended amount of free sugar a primary aged child should have for the entire day. Sugar can cause energy spikes and slumps.
Each drink has the potential to affect some children's ability learn, behave, concentrate and more.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Let's give kids their best chance to learn at school. Keep these drinks for amusement parks and out of school.
Real Food In Schools Share-ables
The Nutrition Connection to Learning
Most Australian Children are eating at least 2 packet foods in their lunchbox a day. On average, these packets combined consist of:
- 29 ingredients
- 3.6 tspns of sugar
- 9 additives, 4 of which are potentially linked to behaviour, learning and hyperactivity.
This means most Australian Children are not benefiting from having a nutritious lunch to help their learning. Yet forward thinking Principal Byron Burke of Sunset Primary School in Mt Isa has launched a nutrition program for his school and every student receives breakfast, morning tea and lunch. The results have been profound. Improvements in attendance, children concentrating longer and less pressure on teachers. Teacher Sarah McKenzie shares.
This schools results are echoed around the world and in scientific studies. Children who eat more nutritious foods are better learners.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Let's help our kids by ensuring they have nutritious school food to support their body and learning.
The Best Way To Beat Most Illness
Buy More Real Food To Boost Your Immunity
Research clearly shows foods grown in nature - plants - help our body and boost our immunity. Research also links processed foods to having the effect of weakening our immune system.
58% of the Australian weekly household food budget is spent on discretionary foods. The Australian Dietary Guidelines list these as sometimes and in small amount foods. Most of them are classified as Ultra-processed foods and most are unlikely to boost your immunity.
When shopping this week, load up your trolley with more fruits and vegetables as a priority.
Be a Stand for Children's Health. Add foods that boost immunity to your trolley and reduce the foods that can negatively affect your immunity.