An All-in-One, Life-Prolonging Gift for Your Child
Sometimes in the hubbub of today, we miss simple things that can have a lasting impact. This is true for parents and for doctors. As part of my ongoing board certification as a pediatrician, I was thrilled recently to see an important nutrition question:
“A 5-year-old boy is brought to the physician for a health care supervision visit. The parents have no particular concerns. Which of the following interventions would be most likely to lead to a predicted decrease in mortality in a population of healthy 5-year-old children?”
Decreased potassium intake
Decreased sodium intake
Increased caffeine intake
Increased fluoride intake
Increased magnesium intake
Decreasing sodium in healthy kids’ diets is a tangible way to set them on a course for a longer, healthier life.
Most American kids get far too much sodium in what they eat every day. It’s not from the saltshaker: it’s an ingredient used to make processed foods and restaurant foods more compelling.
The Top Sources
Potato chips? French fries? Fritos? Sodium lurks in unseen places. McDonald’s shakes can have more sodium than their fries! Surprisingly, the top sources of sodium in the American diet are, in order:
Bread
Chicken and chicken dishes (Think nuggets)
Pizza
Pasta and pasta dishes (Mac and sodium)
Cold cuts
The amount of sodium in bread is low, but kids eat a whole lot of it. But a single small box of Mac and Cheese, prepared, can have 2130 mg of sodium on its own.
How to Do It
So what’s a busy paren...
Source: Conversations with Dr Greene - Category: Pediatricians Authors: Dr. Alan Greene Tags: Dr. Greene's Blog Family Nutrition Top Blog Source Type: blogs
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