Tuesday 26th August 2008 - Week Six Day Two - Global Health Challenge

Now for Mothers one of the greatest challenges that face them daily is the requirement to ensure that their childrern get enough nutrients including essential vitamins etc.

A common example of this is how to get children to consume more fruit. We know the benefit of this is that they get not only nutrients but also great sources of fibre. In response to this constant promotion in the media of "2 fruit and 5 vegetables" being an important element of their daily eating habits, clever marketing companies are now developing juices that are more like fruit flavored sugar drinks. This is NOT good.

In researching information I found that there is typically a higher sugar content in Apple Juice (approx 11.5g per 100g) in comparison to Orange Juice (approx 10.5g per 100). I found this interesting as most Mothers that I have spoken to would instinctively choose Apple Juice over Orange Juice for their children without realizing that they were further increasing their child’s sugar intake and in fact were loading the child up on “sugar”.

* Nutrition Almanac Fourth Edition

The numbers above are worked out on 100ml but a can of soda (soft drink) is 375ml and a glass of Orange Juice from a retail juice bar ranges in size from approximately 350ml to 750ml. Do the math and a large “Juice” is not such a great health option for weight or waist for child or parent.

A common way to adjust this “excess loading” of sugar is to dilute the juice with water which nearly all mothers admitted to doing at home. However it is when they were out buying the commercial products that this rarely happened but where it is probably needed the most. Again the Marketing teams at these companies are smart and have begun putting the kids favorite TV show characters on them and so stand in a store and listen to the kids order "Superman or Spiderman" instead of even knowing or caring what they are getting.

One way to cope with this is to buy an additional bottle of water and tip some of the commercial product out and top it up with water. At home start with half juice and half water and then over time lower the juice content so that it becomes “the additive of choice” (a splash of flavour /taste) instead of the base so kids get used the "non-sweet" taste of water.

There has been worldwide attention drawn to the removal of sugary drinks from school vending machines in the United States and now happening in other parts of the world too. They have been replaced with “healthy” juices but when you look at these numbers, it really indicates how plain old water really is our greatest health resource but again we are lacking the important fibre from just plain fruit..

When it comes to the children. They are yours so look after them and start their healthy habits at a young age.

Goal of this twenty one (21) days or three (3) weeks is designed to consolidate the first 5 weeks including the Human ECO Cleanse and to now establish patterns for your new LIFE.

- Assess your eating habits and see what you have re-introduced. Did you re-introduce caffeine or red meat and have you found you can now do without as much of these
- Check your workout intensity and now see if you are planning these in to your routine- Reward yourself with only 21 days to go.
NOTE - this is isn't the end but rather the beginning of YOUR new Human ECO friendly LIFE.

TONY 's DIARY - (Week Six - Day Two)
Protein Re-introduced - Increased Good Fats

Breakfast:
Energy Shake - 400ml Water + 40g Protein Powder + Combination Greens Powder + Organic Coconut Oil. Take a Daily Multi vitamin + Joint Power + 2 x Omega 3 Capsules

Mid Morning Workout - Pump Class

Mid Morning Snack:
2 x Green Tea + Protein Bar + Apple

Lunch:
Tuna + Mixed Leaf Salad + Tomato + Cucumber + Pear + Sweet Potato + Strawberries + Low Fat Dressing + 2 x Omega 3 Capsules

Mid Afternoon snack:
2 slices Soy Linseed Bread with Lean Ham + 20g Protein Powder with water + Organic Coconut Oil

Evening Workout - Taught Spin Class

Dinner:
Tuna + Mixed Leaf Salad + Capsicum (Red pepper) + Tomato + Pear + Celery + Strawberries + Low Fat Cottage Cheese

2 Hours before Bed:
400ml water + Fibre Shake + Combination Greens + Organic Coconut Oil

Overall - Water consumption = Habit is now committed to action. Training session intensity 100% and really pushed hard in the Spin Class.

Daily mantra:
I am totally committed to supporting my Human ECO System with my actions.