Our Children's Health: Under Attack
Xoçai: A Welcome Option
Some of the benefits suggested by scientists when it comes to cacao and children's health
Child Obesity: A Growing Problem
What Our Kids are Eating
Ideas of how to incorporate Xoçai™ products into your child’s diet
by Dr Steven Warren, M.D., D.P.A.
Our Children's Health:
Under Attack
More than ever, our children are the unfortunate recipients of the consequences stemming from unhealthy dietary habits, lack of physical exercise and the continual bombardment of dangerous toxins from the ever changing environment.
What we eat - particularly what our children eat - is the number one factor that determines our health state. According to the USDA, poor nutrition - which includes consuming too much sugar, unhealthy fat, and sodium, and not consuming adequate vegetables, fruits and whole grains - affects the performance of school-age children. Energy levels are decreased, concentration is shortened and learning capability is lessened by poor nutrition habits.
Not sure how bad the problem is? Take a look at just a few of the factors plaguing our children's dietary habits:
• Fewer than 15% of elementary age kids eat 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Over half of all elementary students eat NO fruit on any given day and 3 out of 10 students eat less than one serving of vegetables a day.
• About 25% of all vegetables eaten by elementary students are French fries - a high-fat, low nutrient vegetable options.
• Overweight children are 9 times more likely to have high blood pressure than non-overweight children.
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Xoçai: A Welcome Option
Changing your child's eating habits is often a difficult task. Many parents wonder how they can simply get rid of the unhealthy food options that flood the store shelves and replace them with healthful options that still appeal to children.
Fortunately, there is an answer in the form of healthy chocolate. Though a seeming contradiction, chocolate can be a very effective in providing optimal nutrition. But not all chocolate is created equal. Most commercial "candy" chocolates are comprised of low-grade cacao, processed sugars, milk fats, hydrogenated oils and other artificial ingredients. They are not the answer.
XoçaiTM products, on the other hand, deliver premium-grade, cold-processed cacao, natural sweeteners such as raw cane, natural cacao butter ( which is a "neutral" fat), all of cacao's remarkable antioxidants, as well as the various nutrients contained in the açai berry and blueberries. The leader in the healthy chocolate revolution, Xoçai's nutrient profile is impressive, and contains some of the industry's highest concentrations of antioxidant compounds and other nutrients essential for children's health.
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The following are just some of the benefits suggested by scientists when it comes to cacao and children's health:
Wide Array of Nutrients: XoçaiTM products, which contain premium-grade cacao, açai berry and blueberry, deliver dozens of nutrients every child needs. These include vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats, amino acids, phytosterols, flavenols, anthocyanins, epicatechins and other antioxidants.
Concentration and Memory: Dark chocolate contains several nutrients that assist the brain with memory and concentration. Açai also contains omega-3 fats that are necessary for proper brain functioning.
Increased Energy: XoçaiTMs dark chocolate, açai and blueberry content can help the body produce energy more efficiently and effectively without the aid of processed sugars, extra calories and synthetic stimulants.
Replace bad with good: Of course your child still wants to have a treat. XoçaiTM products are a very tasty treat that replace the unhealthy ingredients with much more beneficial ones.
More Fiber: Cacao is an excellent source of fiber - an essential nutrient that is lacking in most children's diet.
Improved Mood: Scientists from Finland recently found an association between expecting mothers who regularly consumed chocolate and a happier mood state of their babies. Children of mothers who did not eat chocolate during pregnancy demonstrated a less "happy" state. Also, the omega-3 fats found in açai are crucial to the functioning of the brain and are associated with optimizing mood and emotional health.
Dental Health: Several recent studies have found that cacao flavenols are effective in fighting the bacteria that contribute to dental problems, and in promoting dental health as effectively as fluoride.
Pregnancy Development: A study published in the journey Epidemiology found that chocolate consumption could improve conditions during pregnancy, protecting both mother and child. return to top
Child Obesity: A Growing Problem
Children who are overweight will increasingly face serious health conditions that in the past were associated exclusively with adults. High cholesterol, high blood sugar, depression, and type 2 diabetes are just a few of these. Even the Surgeon General has made clear that the problem of overweight children is "a major public health concern." Recent studies on the subject reveal startling new information:
• Over the last 30 years, the percentage of overweight children in the U.S. has doubled, bringing it to 30%.
• 80% of children who are overweight at age 10 will be overweight at age 25.
• 70% of diabetes risk in adolescents can be attributed to excess weight.
• Overweight children are 9 times more likely to have high blood pressure than non-overweight children.
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What Our Kids are Eating
More than ever, our children are eating poor-quality food at home, at school and in restaurants. Children who consume fast food also consume more calories, unhealthy fats, total carbohydrates, added sugar, less fiber and fewer fruits and vegetables than those who don't. It's simply not a good recipe for good health.
| Age |
Females |
Males
|
| 6-8 years |
3% |
7% |
| 9-13 years |
21% |
21% |
| 14-18 years |
32% |
52% |
Particularly concerning is the trend in soda consumption. The chart below illustrates just how bad the problem has become - particularly for kids over age 8.
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The following are a few ideas of how to incorporate XoçaiTM products into your child's diet:
- Pour ActivTM over low-fat ice cream, yogurt or cereal.
- Make a healthful chocolate milk shake using ActivTM.
- Replace less healthful snacks with the Powerhouse Cookie.
- Use the Nuggets with a fondue dipping pot.
- Offer the Omega Square as a healthy snack replacement.
- Make your own healthful granola using chopped Nuggets.
- Transform hot chocolate using ActivTM instead of typical chocolate powder or syrup.
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References:
Children's Diets in the mid-1990s...USDA Food and Nutrition See vice , 2001.
The antibacterial activity of plant extracts containing polyphenols against Streptococcus mutans. Caries Res. 2007;41(5):342-9.
Chocolate consumption in Pregnancy and Reduced Likelihood of Preclampsea Epidemiology. 2008 May;19(3); 459-4464.
The effect of cacao polyphenols on the growth, metabolism, and biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis. Eur J Oral Sci. 2006 Aug; 114(4);343-8.
Anti-cariogenic properties of a water soluable extract from cacao.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2003Dec; 67 (12); 2567-73.
Inhibitory effects of cacao bean husk extract on plaque formation in vitro and in vivo. Eur J Oral Sci. 2004 Jun; 112(3); 249-52
