I have parents often ask me to suggest ways they can get their kids to eat healthier. The first question I ask them is: How do they eat themselves? The answer is telling, as many parents confess to not eating as well as they should.
As a parent, I know only too well that children will instinctively learn from you, both the good and bad. If you know a lot about food and eat a variety of natural and healthy foods, your children will pick up on those habits. If you don’t set the right example, by eating a healthy diet yourself, then you are setting the stage for your children to eat poorly. To ensure that your child develops a healthy mindset towards eating, it is up to you to lead by example. Good eating starts at home!
Here are 3 tips to help you incorporate more vegetables into your family’s diet. It is well documented that families who consume plenty of vegetables tend to have a healthier lifestyle in general. Share these healthy eating tips with your children. When preparing meals let them help pick ingredients and participate whenever possible.

1. Set the tone. If you hold your nose while you eat a broccoli stalk, do you think your kids will want to eat it? What if you make comments like, “yuck” or “How could something that tastes so bad be good for you?” Act as if you are enjoying the experience. This will obviously work better with vegetables you actually do enjoy, but remember that words and thoughts are powerful. You can learn to like new things if you try them a few times. Emphasizing the positives about vegetables, and expressing that at the dinner table, will resonate positively with you and your entire family.

2. Disguise your vegetables. This is a good one for anyone with especially picky kids at home. One idea that works well is to blend vegetables into fruit smoothies. Tossing some fresh veggies in a morning smoothie along with fruits (strawberries, oranges and blueberries work well) and whatever smoothie base you like (almond milk, yogurt, fruit juice, etc) is a great way to get vegetables in at breakfast. Spinach works especially well, as does kale, avocado, wheat grass, carrots and cucumbers. Experiment and blend up a few different combinations of fruits and vegetables until you find a concoction you really like. Let your kids pick the ingredients and help in the experiment. If they absolutely refuse to eat vegetables, you don’t have to tell the kids what’s in the “fruit” smoothie. Keep the fruit-to-vegetables ratio on the sweeter side (more fruit) at first. Gradually work in more veggies as everyone gets used to the taste.
You could also chop up vegetables and add them to omelets, cassaroles, meat loaf, etc. You could mix carrots and peas in mashed potatoes. There are many ways to add vegetables to different kinds of food. Check out this website for more great tips and recipes – www.doitdelicious.com.

3. Make it easy. Eating fresh vegetables bought that morning from the local farmer’s market is the healthiest option, but can be hard to fit in to a busy working schedule. I’m a big believer in organic frozen vegetables, which are available now in most grocery stores. They’re convenient, easy to prepare, come in many varieties and can taste pretty good. Stick with the flash-frozen kind that are just veggies and contain no added sauces. You can add your own spices and a touch of butter to make them extra yummy. Corn on the cob (who doesn’t like corn on the cob?) and baked sweet potatoes are two other easy ways to prepare vegetables. For corn, fill your pot with water, add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, drop in your corn, bring everything to a boil, let it boil for 6-8 minutes then remove from the water and let it cool enough to eat. For sweet potatoes, rub olive oil on the skin then pierce the potato once or twice with a fork. Wrap it in foil, place on an oven tray and bake in a preheated oven at 400F for 40-60 minutes. After 40 minutes, give it a poke once in while with a fork. When it feels nice and soft it’s ready. Let it cool then enjoy!

The potential harms, caused mostly by too much caffeine or similar ingredients, include heart palpitations, seizures, strokes and even sudden death, the authors write in the medical journal Pediatrics. They reviewed data from the government and interest groups, scientific literature, case reports and articles in popular and trade media.

Dakota Sailor, 18, a high school senior in Carl Junction, Mo., says risks linked with energy drinks aren’t just hype.

Sailor had a seizure and was hospitalized for five days last year after drinking two large energy drinks — a brand he’d never tried before. He said his doctor thinks caffeine or caffeine-like ingredients may have been to blame.

The report says some cans have four to five times more caffeine than soda, and Sailor said some kids he knows “drink four or five of them a day. That’s just dumb.”

Sailor has sworn off the drinks and thinks other kids should, too.

The report’s authors want pediatricians to routinely ask patients and their parents about energy drink use and to advise against drinking them.

“We would discourage the routine use” by children and teens, said Dr. Steven Lipshultz, pediatrics chairman at the University of Miami’s medical school. He wrote the report with colleagues from that center.

The report says energy drinks often contain ingredients that can enhance the jittery effects of caffeine or that can have other side effects including nausea and diarrhea. It says they should be regulated as stringently as tobacco, alcohol and prescription medicines.

“For most children, adolescents, and young adults, safe levels of consumption have not been established,” the report said.

Introduced more than 20 years ago, energy drinks are the fastest growing U.S. beverage market; 2011 sales are expected to top $9 billion, the report said. It cites research suggesting that about one-third of teens and young adults regularly consume energy drinks. Yet research is lacking on risk from long-term use and effects in kids — especially those with medical conditions that may increase the dangers, the report said.

The report comes amid a crackdown on energy drinks containing alcohol and caffeine, including recent Food and Drug Administration warning letters to manufacturers and bans in several states because of alcohol overdoses.

The report focuses on nonalcoholic drinks but emphasizes that drinking them along with alcohol is dangerous.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers adopted codes late last year to start tracking energy drink overdoses and side effects nationwide; 677 cases occurred from October through December; so far, 331 have been reported this year.

Most 2011 cases involved children and teens. Of the more than 300 energy drink poisonings this year, a quarter of them involved kids younger than 6, according to a data chart from the poison control group.

That’s a tiny fraction of the more than 2 million poisonings from other substances reported to the group each year. But the chart’s list of reported energy drink-related symptoms is lengthy, including seizures, hallucinations, rapid heart rate, chest pain, high blood pressure and irritability, but no deaths.

Monday’s paper doesn’t quantify drink-related complications or deaths. It cites other reports on a few deaths in Europe of teens or young adults who mixed the drinks with alcohol, or who had conditions like epilepsy that may have increased the risks.

Maureen Storey, senior vice president of science policy at the American Beverage Association, an industry group, said the report “does nothing more than perpetuate misinformation” about energy drinks.

Many of the drinks contain much less caffeine than coffee from popular coffeehouses, and caffeine amounts are listed on many of the products, she said in a written statement.

Caffeine is safe, but those who are sensitive to it can check the labels, she said.

A clinical report on energy drinks is expected soon from the American Academy of Pediatrics that may include guidelines for doctors.

Dr. Marcie Schneider, an adolescent medicine specialist in Greenwich, Conn., and member of the academy’s nutrition committee, praised Monday’s report for raising awareness about the risks.

“These drinks have no benefit, no place in the diet of kids,” Schneider said

However, when I stopped to look at all the factors that went into injuring my back, I can’t say that I was completely surprised. My daughter had kept my wife and I up all night, so I only managed 3 hours of sleep. That morning, I spent 2 hours sitting in traffic and answering emails at my desk. Exhausted, and with my back already weak from sitting for so long, I spent the afternoon bent over tending to kids. Needless to say, after all that, I should have known better than to try and pick up that bottle while holding my daughter in my arms.

The big lesson? Often it’s not a lack of strength that affects our health, but an imbalance in our lives. I see it every day with clients who complain that they work out regularly but still feel weak. They come into the studio stressed out from work, exhausted from barely having slept the night before, and on their 3rd cup of coffee. Of course you’re going to feel weak! Being healthy encompasses many things–eating well, moving your body often, staying flexible, getting enough sleep at night and managing stress. Learning how to balance these aspects of life is what creates well-being.

Below are some common imbalances, which I see often, and some simple solutions to help keep your health on the right track:

Do you eat well, exercise regularly but spend little or no time improving your flexibility?
I’m guilty of this one. Being flexible allows your muscle tissue to work more efficiently, which in turn helps you move better throughout your day. Stretching, which lengthens muscle tissue and helps to re-set our body balance and alignment, also reduces the chance for injury and allows you to recover from your workouts quicker. Spend 10 -15 minutes after every workout stretching. Or dedicate an entire workout to flexibility! Yoga can be an especially good alternative addition to weight training days.

Do you exercise regularly, but don’t get enough sleep?
If you are having trouble falling asleep at night, it could be because you are exercising too late in the evening. The body needs time to wind down. Try switching your workout to mornings or during lunch breaks. Also, you’ll need to watch your caffeine intake. Never take anything with caffeine up to 6 hours before you go to bed. The ideal rest scenario is 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. If this is not possible (and as a father, I know how hard this can be!), I suggest a minimum of 6 hours. 15-20 minute power naps can work wonders for people who don’t sleep well during the night. Avoid exercising strenuously on the days you haven’t gotten enough rest. Better yet, give your body a day off.

Does your exercise program involve only doing cardio or only strength training, but not both?
Cardiovascular exercise is any type of exercise that increases the work of the heart and lungs. This type of exercise helps control your weight and prevents disease. Cardiovascular exercise also provides you with more energy throughout your day and keeps you from feeling fatigued. If you only lift weights, you’re neglecting your body of these tremendous benefits.

Conversely, if you only focus on cardiovascular exercise, you’ll miss out on the benefits of strength training. These include increased metabolism, increased lean muscle and improved muscle function and balance. Another big benefit to including strength training with cardiovascular exercise is injury prevention. Try implementing a high intensity interval weight training and cardio session to get double the benefits.

Do you exercise regularly, but have unhealthy habits outside of the gym?
What you put into your body is as important as what you put out. Don’t sabotage all the hard work you put into exercising. Eating the right foods plays a major role in the way you look and feel, don’t negate all the sweat and effort you gave by hitting the drive-thru or snacking on empty calories. Here are some ideas for what best to put into your body for long-term health:

*Closer to nature is always better with food and drink, organic if possible.

*Avoid or eliminate processed sugar, salt and flour-A great way to do this is to simple monitor your carb intake, try and keep it low.

*Make dinner one of your lightest meals- maybe implement some salads here.

*Hydrate throughout the day, not just when you’re thirsty- JUICE & SODA DO NOT COUNT TOWARDS PROPER HYDRATION!  If anything they decrease it.