Packing a Healthy Lunch: Do This Now
By Virginia Laird
If you are anything like me, you do stress about packing a healthy and well-balanced school lunch. Although it can be overwhelming, it is necessary to make this a priority for your children. When determining what to include in your child's lunchbox, it is necessary to listen to health and wellness experts as they offer some guidelines as to how to help your children stay healthy throughout the year, including what to pack in their lunchbox. A few of their tips include:
- Avoid packing sugary drinks
- Skip the sweet treats
- Make sure there is balance
Avoid Packing Sugary Drinks
In an effort to please their children, many parents will include soda, juice and sports drinks in their child's lunch. While these beverages are all plenty tasty, each is loaded with sugar that can have serious side effects. Aside from the fact that too much sugar is bad for the body, these drinks can cause a sugar rush, followed by a crash during the school day. This can lead to sleepiness while at school, as well as a lack of ability to focus. Rather than having this happen, health and wellness experts suggest that water in your kid's lunch is best. Start packing water in your child's lunch today.
Skip the Sweet Treats
Many supermarkets have already started to market the quick sweet treats for school lunches. While these are quite irresistible to the taste buds, they offer little in the way of a healthy diet. Rather than loading the lunchbox with sweet treats, experts encourage parents to find alternatives to sugar that can still satisfy the cravings. Fruits, yogurts, and other healthy alternatives can offer the sweet sensation of sugar without adding too much to the diet.
Make Sure There is Balance
A balanced meal, no matter where you are, is best. Health and wellness experts encourage parents to include fresh fruit and veggies, along with some protein in each meal, including a lunchbox. It is best to avoid relying on chips, cakes, and other junk food items in the lunchbox. This can help establish a pattern of healthy eating. Teaching your children the importance of making healthy choices at a young age can help them remain healthy throughout their lives.
With the school year under way, now is a great time to begin making these adjustments to your child's lunchbox.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in National City, Calif.