Getting the Right Nutrition

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Getting the Right Nutrition

By Melanie Lewis

A visit to the pediatrician is a complex event.   The visit includes – weighing measuring and a questionnaire on eating, peeing, pooping and sleeping.   I wanted to think that I was doing everything possible to give my children the best that was available and doing all I could to see to their physical and social well-being.  A pediatrician’s checkup was a measurement of those requirements.   The Pediatrician recommended vitamin supplementation to fill in the gaps of picky eaters especially for iron, and vitamin D.  Parents see a myriad of supplement choices. I didn’t want to try using a pill or tablet because that seemed medicinal.  I didn’t want to confuse gummy candy with vitamins with the possibility of overconsumption.  I heard of a powdered formula from a friend. They made tasty shakes and smoothies from the powdered formula that their kids consumed with gusto. Ease of preparation and another menu item were the keywords to get me started on the Reliv NOW for kids.

NOW is an acronym for Nourish Our World. The formula was created by Dr. Theodore Kalogris to help combat hunger. It needed to be portable, have vitamins and minerals, and sustenance with protein. The Foundation in his name continues to provide Reliv Now® for Kids to thousands of children and adults around the world; Peru, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Cambodia, Philippines as well as in the US.  The volunteers in the feeding centers reported NOW impacting children more than the bottles of vitamins that they previously had. Girls Town girls have not missed any days of school with their feeding program. These are just a few of the examples of improved general well-being and health.

Of course, a well-rounded menu including fresh fruits and vegetables is still the gold standard. However, your grandparents’ produce contained more nutrition. According to Scientific American,”A landmark study on the topic by Donald Davis and his team of researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at Austin’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry was published in December 2004 in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition. They studied U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional data from both 1950 and 1999 for 43 different vegetables and fruits, finding ‘reliable declines’ in the amount of protein, calcium, phosphorus, iron, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and vitamin C over the past half century. Davis and his colleagues chalk up this declining nutritional content to the preponderance of agricultural practices designed to improve traits (size, growth rate, pest resistance) other than nutrition.”  Other countries have reported similar studies.”

Poor soil quality via erosion, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and overuse contribute to poor nutrient quality according to various Google searches. Few of us can afford or ever seek organically grown non-GMO food.  Yet it appears as though we need to seek more of these types of food.

With a daily drink of NOW, I feel assured that despite cake and ice cream parties, dismissed vegetables and secretive convenience store escapes for Arnold Palmer Half and Half, the kids are getting a good dose of nutrients necessary.