As the mother of a fair-skinned child who loves to go to the beach, I’ve been doing a lot of research lately on the topic of sun protection for children. I personally am not comfortable slathering my son with most sunscreens, since the skin absorbs what is put on it and most sunscreens (even those designed for children) contain questionable ingredients. Here are a few tips that I have found to be helpful:

• The single most important factor regarding sun exposure for long-term skin health is to prevent the incidence of sunburn, so make this a priority.
• Regular, moderate sun exposure (around 15 minutes for most children) is important for producing Vitamin D, which is protective to the skin and important for overall health. For this reason, you will occasionally see a naked toddler streaking through my backyard in the morning while I’m working on the computer on the patio.
• When playing outdoors, try to have your child play in an area where there is shade available from trees, playground structures, or a beach umbrella rather than in direct sunlight.
• If possible, try to plan beach and pool trips or other sunny outings outside of peak hours of sun (12 to 2 p.m. tend to be the sunniest times in most areas).
• When your child has to be in direct sunlight, cover sunburn-prone areas with loose-fitting cotton clothing. When they’re swimming, use a rash guard or sun shirt to cover their trunk.  Hats are also great (especially for younger children who don’t have much hair yet) and I feel lucky that my son thinks hats are an exciting accessory to wear—the bigger the brim the better!
• Occasionally you will need to use sunscreen when the above measures aren’t enough, so look for a natural sunscreen containing zinc oxide as its active ingredient. Conveniently, zinc oxide is also the active ingredient in most diaper rash creams! In my beach bag I actually keep a tube of diaper rash cream which I slather on my son’s face and shoulders when we’re on a longer beach trip. Other parents might think you’ve confused tubes of cream, but when you explain to them that zinc oxide is the same skin protecting ingredient in both sunscreen and diaper cream they are usually appreciative to know they can pack fewer items in the diaper bag!
• Last but certainly not least, it’s important for parents to know that they can protect their child from the inside out by feeding them a diet rich in antioxidants from fruits and vegetables. Phytonutrients (plant nutrients) have been found to protect skin from sun damage and also keep eye tissues safe from UV damage. Green vegetables, orange vegetables such as yams or carrots, and berries tend to be the richest in these types of phytonutrients. If your child has an aversion to these foods or is going through a phase when they are more picky (don’t worry, they usually grow out of it if you keep offering them a variety of foods and don’t make a big deal of it), try adding a whole foods supplement such as PureNutrition to their food or drink. It works well mixed into foods such as oatmeal, yogurt, or smoothies. If they are put off by the green color, try using PureNutrition Red

While all beneficial oils are important to health, if there’s one that is a superstar for eye health it would have to be DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). Here are more facts about this amazing fat!

• Foods that are richest in DHA include fatty fish such as wild salmon or herring, sardines, and cod liver oil. A good vegetarian source is algae that has been grown under clean conditions in a lab.
• The body can synthesize DHA from ALA—the omega-3 fat found in flaxseed—but this requires several biochemical steps, each of which requires nutrients. Conversion may be impaired in people deficient in certain nutrients (particularly B vitamins and zinc).
• Very high levels of DHA are found in the retina—in fact, in a higher proportion than is found in any other tissue in the body.
• If dietary intake of DHA is low, the retina will actually conserve and recycle DHA.
• DHA has been indicated as a protective factor in eye strain associated with computer use.
• DHA has been found to slow the progression of vision loss from age-related macular degeneration.
• DHA has the ability to reverse the symptoms of dry eye syndrome.
• The last trimester of pregnancy is a critical time for the accumulation of DHA in the brain and eyes. DHA continues to be important in the months following birth all the way through adolescence, since the brain and eyes continue to mature.

The Adequate Intake for Omega-3 fats including DHA as set by the U.S. Institute of Medicine is 4.5 g/day in infancy, 7-10 g/day for children (ranges given depend on age and gender), 12-16 g/day for adolescents, 12-17 g/day for adults, and 13 g/day for pregnant and lactating women. To see the specific breakdown by age and gender, go to the Linus Pauling Institute’s entry on Omega-3 fats. To put the Adequate Intake into perspective, a pregnant woman could obtain her daily need for Omega-3 fat by eating 8 ounces wild salmon, 2 tablespoons freshly ground whole flaxseed, and 1 tablespoon cod liver oil.

Just for fun, I wanted to share with you all a few statistics on the amount of vegetables people in the United States consume:

1. A 2005 survey of 350,000 adults found that the average American adult eats 1.6 servings of fruit and 3.2 servings of vegetables daily—well below the 3 to 5 servings of fruit and 4 to 8 servings of vegetables recommended by U.S. Dietary Guidelines.
2. The average American high school student eats less than 2 servings of fruit and 2 servings of vegetables daily.
3. A 2007 Johns Hopkins study found that vegetable consumption in the U.S. is declining—even when scientists counted French fries as vegetables!
4. Even after heavy promotion of the benefits of fruits and vegetables by a 2009 government campaign, not a single state met the target numbers for desired fruit and vegetable consumption in 2010.
5. In many school districts, ketchup counts as a vegetable in meeting the daily required vegetable intake for children.

Are you depressed yet?  I hope not!  But if so, try adding a whole foods supplement such as PureNutrition to your daily routine to put the statistics in their place.

Sources

• How Many Fruits and Vegetables Do You Eat?
• Americans Eating Fewer Vegetables
• State-Specific Trends in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Adults—United States, 2000–2009
• Does a Packet of Ketchup Count as a Vegetable?

Serve a platter of fresh cut-up vegetables (bell peppers, carrots, celery, snap peas, etc.) with meals or as a snack.  Include natural ranch dressing or hummus for dipping, if desired.

1. Incorporate finely chopped, sautéed vegetables into foods your child already likes.  Ideas include onions in hamburgers, zucchini and spinach in lasagna, or carrots and celery in chicken soup.
2. Incorporate vegetable purees into soups, sauces and baked goods.  It works best to include vegetables of similar color and flavor, for example pureed winter squash in macaroni and cheese or pureed carrots in tomato soup.  Ideas for pairings can be found all over the internet or in Jessica Seinfeld’s book Deceptively Delicious.
3. Leafy greens are sometimes difficult to hide in other foods because of their strong flavor but they are incredibly nutritious.  If your child hasn’t warmed up to the idea of cold salads (which is okay for young children – their immature digestive systems may have a hard time digesting raw leafy greens), try serving leafy greens such as spinach, kale, or chard steamed or sautéed with a little bit of butter or coconut oil.  The added fat will add taste and actually increase absorption of the nutrients in the leafy greens!

One of the best ways to make sure your kids are eating vegetables is to do so yourself – they are always watching what adults and the rest of the family are eating and if they see you enjoying healthy foods it is more likely that they will at least give it a try.

Well, I did it!  A little over two months ago I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.  As part of my celebration as a new mom, I decided to focus on children’s health as the subject for our next webinar, taking place on March 20^th.  As I prepare for this webinar, I’m finding all kinds of interesting information to share with all you parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and any others who care for kids out there.  Here is a little sampler to whet your appetite!

• Giving your child a dose of vitamin C, vitamin B12, and cod liver oil before a vaccination can drastically reduce the chances of side effects from the vaccine.
• Egg yolks are one of the best foods to introduce as baby’s first solid food.
• Incorporating fruit and cereal into your baby’s diet too early could make it more likely that your child with have a “sweet tooth”.
• Many nutritional experts feel that pregnant and nursing women should eat 2-4 tablespoons daily of high quality butter from grassfed cows to ensure that their baby is getting enough of the right fat for healthy brain development.
• Children raised on farms tend to have healthier immune systems than children raised in sterile environments because occasional exposure to dirt and bacteria helps the immune system develop properly.
• Occasional mild childhood illness may actually prevent cancer later in life.

I’ll discuss these points and more in our webinar, as well as answer any questions you may have.  To register, click here: Children’s Health Webinar.