What Is a food Allergy?

When a person has a food allergy, the body reacts as though that particular food product is harmful. As a result, the body’s immune system (which fights infection and disease) creates antibodies to fight the food that triggers the allergy. The next time a person comes in contact with that food by touching or eating it or inhaling its particles, the body releases chemicals, including one called histamine, to protect itself. These chemicals trigger allergic symptoms that can affect the respiratory system, gastrointestinal tract, skin, or cardiovascular system.

What Causes food Allergies?

Doctors cannot predict which children will have food allergies and which children won’t, but some factors may place a child at higher risk for developing food allergies. “The capacity to be an allergic person is inherited,” says Michael Young, MD, a pediatric allergist and immunologist and author of ‘The Peanut Allergy Answer Book’.

There is nothing parents can do that will completely eliminate the possibility that their child will develop food allergies. However, breast-feeding (especially exclusive breast-feeding that is not supplemented with infant formula) can help infants who are especially prone to milk or soy allergies avoid allergic reactions. When an infant consumes only breast milk, she has a decreased exposure to foods that can cause allergies. Some doctors also recommend that allergy-prone babies not be fed solid foods until six months of age or later to avoid exposure to allergenic foods.

Do you know how encourage children to eat more veggies?

Are you tired of your children turning their noses up at carrots, avoiding cauliflower at all costs, or refusing to touch anything green on their plate? It might be time to think outside the kitchen for a solution to this picky-eater problem. Growing a vegetable garden is a wonderful way to encourage children to eat more veggies. It can also teach kids why these foods are an important part of a healthy diet.

Growing vegetables promotes healthier choices

Studies have shown that when children help plant, tend to, and gather vegetables, they eat more of them than kids who don't garden. Children who garden most likely will enjoy harvesting plants they've helped grow. They've already invested time and effort in the process of growing them (having fun while doing it), so you probably should expect them to take pride in sampling the "reward" at the end. Also, vegetables picked at their peak and eaten fresh -- especially right off the vine or plant -- just taste delicious, which means kids are more apt to like them.

A vegetable garden for everyone

You don't need a big yard - or even any yard at all -- to plan and plant your own vegetable patch. Many veggies can be grown in pots or small planters on a deck or patio. With so many different kinds of seeds and plants to choose from, deciding what to grow can be daunting. You don't have to plant a large assortment of different veggies, but a little variety may make the garden more appealing to kids.

Before you plan out what will go where, decide how much space (or how many pots) you'll be able to use. Check with your local garden center or university cooperative extension office for advice on which plants are best suited to your local conditions. They may even offer kid-friendly classes to help you get started.

Here are some themes to help you narrow down the veggie selection:

1) Grow the rainbow. Think outside the leafy green box and feed your child's playful nature by planting a vegetable of each color to grow in your garden. Choose from red chard or tomatoes, orange cauliflower or carrots, yellow beets or wax beans, blue potatoes, and purple string beans.

2) Plant a salad bar. Many kinds of lettuce are fast-growing, which makes them a good choice for impatient kid gardeners. Plant an assortment of leafy greens as well as your favorite salad mix-ins (such as grape tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, and bell peppers) to enjoy throughout the season. You may need to plant them at different times to ensure that they'll be ready to eat at the same time.

3) Stick to a theme. Narrow down your choices to vegetables that are similar, but pick varieties that showcase differences in size, color, or texture. Kids will marvel at the range. For instance, if you stick to root vegetables, choose an array of multicolored beets, radishes, carrots, and potatoes to grow. Or choose leafy greens in a variety of sizes and flavors, from baby arugula and spinach to the larger-leafed rainbow chard and wrinkly dinosaur kale.

Whatever you decide to plant, try to include a veggie or two your child already likes to eat. And be sure to talk about the nutrition each vegetable provides. Kids might be surprised to learn that dark leafy greens contain calcium, just as milk does, or that tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that may protect against cancer.

Building a garden with your children can also boost their self-esteem. That's because children of all ages can help with just about every aspect of caring for the garden. They'll be able to use a trowel to dig holes for seeds. Plus they can water the plants, pull weeds, and pick ripe vegetables.

From garden to table: enjoying the harvest

Now comes the best part -- coming up with tasty new ways to use the vegetables you've grown. Sit down with your child and go through cookbooks or kid-friendly food web sites to search for fun and easy recipes. Together, you can put your harvest to delicious -- and healthy - use.

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Good eating is not a punishment, but an opportunity

Turn on your TV, open a newspaper, or boot up your computer and you're bound to get some confusing news about diet and health. Don't let it drive you to distraction or to the donut shop. Instead, remember four key facts:
   1. What you eat affects your appearance, your energy and comfort, and—above all your health.

   2. America is on the wrong track. Two out of every three of us are overweight or obese. Diabetes and high blood pressure are on the rise. Heart attacks, strokes, and cancer are distressingly common. Many factors contribute to these complex problems, but the basic reasons are simple: we eat too much, we choose the wrong foods, and we don't get enough exercise.

   3. Scientists know what diet is best for health (see below). The fine print has changed and is likely to change some more, but the key facts are in.

   4. Good eating is not a punishment, but an opportunity. If you know why it's important and what to do, you'll find it enjoyable and satisfying. And if you establish an overall pattern of healthful nutrition, you'll have plenty of wiggle room to savor the treats that matter most to you.