Molina Healthcare : Help your kids have a healthy relationship with food
March 30, 2021 at 02:40 pm EDT
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Help your kids have a healthy relationship with food.
The best time to start healthy habits is at birth. The second best time is now. As a parent or caregiver, you can begin teaching kids the importance of nutrition and smart eating skills today.
If you establish just one rule, make it this: Eat together as a family.
Health and parenting experts agree: this simple practice provides significant, lasting benefits. By eating and talking together with you, kids tend toward:
Better nutrition
Fewer behavioral issues at home and school
More family unity and
Healthier weight for kids
If daily family dinners aren't realistic, share dinner, lunch or breakfast one day a week. And keep searching for extra times to squeeze in more family meals. You won't regret it!
Exactly what foods are healthy for kids?
Important nutrients for children include vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein and fat. Kids need different amounts of these as they grow so ask your doctor for details. And consider these nutrient-rich foods:
Protein, like seafood, lean meat, poultry, eggs, beans, peas, soy product, nuts and seeds
Fruits: fresh, canned, frozen or dried. For canned fruit, choose the kind that's packed in its own juice or 'light'
Vegetables: fresh, canned, frozen or dried. Aim for variety including dark green, red and orange, beans and peas
Whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, popcorn, quinoa, or brown or wild rice
Dairy, especially fat-free or low-fat dairy products like milk, yogurt, cheese or fortified soy beverages
Avoid these:
Sodium, like in chips and other processed foods
Refined grains such as white bread, pasta and rice
Added sugar, like brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup and honey. Avoid soda, sports or energy drinks and other beverages with added sugar
Saturated fats, trans fats and anything with partially hydrogenated oil. Instead choose vegetable and nut oils and food with naturally occurring oils like olives, nuts, avocados and seafood
More ways to raise nutrition-loving kids.
The most effective way to teach anything is to demonstrate how to do it. So as much as possible, make sure to:
Have fun preparing dishes together and appreciating healthy food
Make meals a pleasant, calm occasion for all of you to talk
Keep your meal time free of TV, phones, tablets and other distractions
Serve a range of nutritious snacks and meals on a regular basis
Include cuisines from different cultures with a variety of flavors
Take every opportunity to emphasize food safety, like washing hands
Encourage kids to listen to their bodies regarding how much and which foods to eat from what you serve
Share basic information about choosing healthy foods away from home
If accomplishing all these is too much, just do your best. And be gentle with yourself if you slip up. There's no such thing as a perfect parent, and any progress you make towards healthy family eating is great!
Category:Children / Nutrition
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Molina Healthcare Inc. published this content on 31 March 2021 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 March 2021 18:39:01 UTC.
Molina Healthcare, Inc. specializes in the provision of health care services managed within the Medicaid and Medicare health insurance and coverage programs, and through the health insurance marketplace, financed by the States and the Federal Government of the United States. Revenues break down by activity as follows:
- Health care services within the Medicaid program (80.9%): services for low-income individuals, families and people with disabilities;
- health care services within the Medicare program (12.9%): services for the elderly and people with certain diseases, covered by the Medicare health insurance program;
- operating a health insurance marketplace (6.2%; Marketplace): a platform for offering health insurance plans, and allowing members of the Medicaid program, whose rising incomes have taken them out of eligibility, to purchase federally subsidized health insurance policies. The group also offers virtual care services.
At the end of 2023, Molina Healthcare, Inc. had approximately 5 million members broken down by program between Medicaid (4.5 million members), Medicare (0.2 million) and Marketplace (0.5 million).
All revenues are earned in the United States.