I am strict about the food that my children ingest because I know that no matter how edible they are, it can still do them harm. Hot dogs, hams, instant noodles, and any processed food ladened with preservatives, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nitrates, candies, chocolates, refined sugars are some of the food that I completely and absolutely prohibit my children to eat. People generally know that these foods are not good for the body, and even harmful to children. But, they remain popular and can be seen in all grocery aisles. These foods' popularity boils down to this simple explanation: marketing and deception on the part of the foods' manufacturers. Let us take a look at some of these more popular children's foods in the Philippines and elsewhere and the lowdowns on these products which manufacturers do not reveal. I have culled these information from the very helpful and enlightening books, "Winning the Food Fight" by Dr. Joey Shulman, a chiropractor and registered holistic nutritionist, specializing in pediatric nutirtion, from Toronto, and "Boost Your Child's Immune System" by Lucy Burney, a highly regarded Nutrition Consultant and children's health specialist in London and Oxford.
1. Processed hot dogs, bacons, hams, and sausages. These products claim that they are good for children. Manufacturers, in fact, use children in their advertisements to promote their products. If your read their labels, they indicate the use of sodium nitrate. However, they do not disclose the more important information regarding this chemical. Dr. Shulan has an extensive discussion on the effects of this chemical. Nitrates are used in these products to keep its red, pinkish color. Without the nitrates, the meat would turn gray. When nitrates combine with gastric juices in the stomach, a dangerous compound called nitrosamine is formed. Nitrosamine has been found to be carcinogenic (cancer causing) when tested on laboratory animals. High levels of nitrates have also been shown to cause the "blue baby syndrome", a condition in which an infant turns blue due to lack of oxygen in the system. More importantly, it has been found that children who ate hot dogs once a week doubled their chances of brain tumors; those who ate them twice tripled it. Due to this known toxic effect, nitrates are banned from baby foods. I agree with the question posed by Dr. Shulman in her book on this matter, "If it is unsafe for infant food, shouldn't it be unsafe for all humans to consume?"
In the Philippines, there are available healthier alternatives as there are food shops that sell similar products without using nitrates. Earles's Delicatessen, for one, offer cured meat products like hot dogs, bacon, and ham without nitrates or MSG. There is another shop that I regularly go to in the Salcedo Saturday Market and the Lung Center Market on Sundays that sell similar products without the nitrates. (The name of the stall just slipped my mind but will jot it down here once I remember it.)
2. Instant noodles and chips. Manufacturers of instant noodles and even chips, the so-called junk foods, always have children as their promoters. They even claim their food as the ideal food that contains the necessary vitamins a child needs. But, again they do not disclose the real story behind the other ingredients in the food. These foods contain monosodium glutamate ("MSG") which is commonly found in Chinese food. If you have experienced headaches, migraines, panic attacks, or heart palpitations after eating in a Chinese restaurant, then you can be sure that they used MSG in their food.
Dr. Shulman explained in her book that MSG is of great concern because it crosses a safety net, called the blood-brain barrier, which separates the brain from the rest of the body. MSG tricks the brain in thinking that the food you are eating tastes good, causing you to consume more and more of the product. Serious signs and symptoms associated with MSG are neurological disorders that can mimic Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, amyotropic lateral sclerosis, and fibromyalgia, and in children, behavioral problems and difficulty focusing.
There are instant noodles that do not have MSG like the ones by "Thai Kitchen" and "A Taste of Thai". These can be found in Healthy Options in the Philippines. Although admittedly, they are not as tasty as the ones usually sold in grocery stores which contain MSG, this variety will do. My children love it when I add organic egg to the noodles to make a creamier soup.
3. Candies, chocolates, and other sweet stuff. We, parents, know that too much of these sweet stuff is not good for our kids. But, do we know exactly how the sugars in these products affect our children's health and disposition? Dr. Shulman, in her book, explained that although sugar is derived from a natural source, the sugar beet or the sugar cane, it is the process of producing refined sugars that strips away 90 percent of thier fibrous material. Sugar derived from the sugar cane or beets, is processed into sucrose (table sugar) and appears on our tables as refined, white crystals. With the fiber removed, sugar crystals enter the bloodstream far too quickly, resulting in a heightened insulin response, and high levels of insulin and the fluctuations of a child's blood sugar can lead to symptoms such as mood swings, weight gain, headaches and low energy.
But more significant than the above immediate effects of sugar is its detrimental effect on a child's immunity as revealed by Ms. Burney in her book. She discussed that as little as 100 g. (3 1/2 oz.) of sugar can suppress your child's immune system by up to 50 per cent. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published research as early as 1973 that showed that these effects start within half an hour of consuming sugar and can last up to five hours.
Ms. Burney suggests using, instead of refined sugar, natural sugars from fruits, barley malt syrup, raw honey (which should be give only to children above 1), tea tree honey, and molasses.
Isabelle and Ilysse get their needed sugars from the fruits they eat daily. I give them either 3 or 4 servings of fruits everyday and I serve them as snacks. On some days, they will have a piece of banana and atis for their morning snack and organic applesauce and cantaloupe for their afternoon snack. I also occasionally give my children, especially Isabelle, organic molasses, since she just takes Rice Milk ,which is low in calcium and iron. Molasses is highly recommended by Ms. Burne as this by-product of sugar refining - which contains all the minerals stripped out of sugar - is a good source of calcium and iron.
With the foregoing information provided us, let us be vigilant in making sure that our children eat healthy. It is not an easy job. Why prepare an elaborate egg and mushroom omelette when your children could have instant noodles in 3 minutes? Why prepare fish porridge from scratch when you could have hot dog in no time? It is, in fact, a tedious and tiring process which I would also avoid if I could. But, I do not have a choice - the health and well-being of my children entirely depend on me.
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