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Nutrition

Dec 19
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5 ideas to keep you and your children hydrated this Summer

By Body Systems, Children's Health, General Wellbeing, Lifestyle, Nutrition, Travel

Why is it important to be hydrated?

Your body uses water for so many things, including maintaining temperature, removing waste, and lubricating joints. In fact, every single cell in your body requires water to work correctly!

What is dehydration?

Dehydration is a condition where the loss of body fluids exceeds the amount of fluid taken in. If severe, it can be quite dangerous and can even lead to death. 

What are the symptoms of dehydration?

If dehydration if mild, you may experience:

  • Feeling thirsty
  • Having a dry mouth, lips and tongue
  • Having a headache
  • Having dark yellow urine, and not much of it
  • Feeling dizzy or light headed when standing up

If dehydration is severe, you may experience

  • Feeling extremely thirsty
  • Having a very dry mouth
  • Breathing fast
  • Having a fast heart rate and low blood pressure
  • Having a fever
  • Having little or no urine
  • Feeling irritable, drowsy or confused

What causes dehydration?

You lose fluid every time you sweat, go to the bathroom, or even breathe. When it’s hot, the amount of fluid you lose doing just day-to-day activities increases dramatically. Dehydration can also be caused by vomiting and diarrhea – so it’s particularly important to be mindful of your fluid intake if you experience either of these, and potentially see your doctor if your symptoms don’t alleviate.

 So what are your five tips for keeping hydrated??

Glad you asked! Here they are:

  1. Add a slice of lemon or lime to your water bottle to add some flavor.
  1. If you often forget to drink water, make it part of your schedule – such as drinking when you wake, at each meal and when you go to bed. Alternatively you could drink a small glass of water every hour, or set a ‘water alarm’ on your phone to remind you to take a sip.
  1. Use a phone app to track how many cups of water you’ve had!
  1. Keep a jug of water on the dinner table and encourage everyone to fill their glass once before and once after eating.
  1. Prepare snacks made from water rich foods, such as cucumbers, melons or celery.
  1. Bonus tip! When you’re in the car, turn drinking water into a game, and see who can be the first to take a sip at each light.

Book online to see a GP to discuss any concerns about dehydration —>

Note: if you are concerned that you or someone you know is experiencing symptoms of severe dehydration, please call 000.

Feb 10
Love0

5 Top Tips for Packing Healthier Lunchboxes

By Children's Health, General Wellbeing, Lifestyle, Nutrition

5 Top Tips for Packing Healthier Lunchboxes

It’s that time of year again when all parents are busy settling their children back into school! First term highlights the start to another full year of growth, learning and development for your children.

To help our kids maintain concentration, keep their tummies full and have the energy to play at recess and lunch, it is extremely important we provide them with a nutritious and exciting lunchbox every day!

To help you out, we have put together some handy hints to help you plan and prepare a healthy, balanced lunchbox for your children.

 

Healthy Hint 1: We have 5 main food groups that we should eat from every single day

Try to include at least one serve of each of these foods in your child’s lunch box daily:

  • Fruit –  1 piece of fruit, puree pack/fruit snack pack, cherry tomatoes, small handful of sultanas/dried fruit etc.
  • Vegetables – Carrot and celery sticks, lettuce or cucumber in a sandwich, sweet corn in a salad etc.
  • Dairy – Tub of yoghurt, cubed cheese or sliced cheese in a sandwich, milk etc.
  • Protein – Chicken, ham, turkey, beef in a sandwich/wrap, handful of nuts, tuna etc.
  • Grains and Cereals – (Wholemeal/multigrain options recommended).
    Bread, bread roll, crackers, pasta salad, muesli bar etc.

 

Happy Hint 2: Include lots of variety

Kids love colour so try to include as many different colours as you can in their lunchbox. Try to give them different foods during the week and cut foods into different shapes to keep it interesting.

 

Hydration Hint 3: Hydration is key for concentration

Always ensure to send your child off to school with a water bottle. Try freezing it overnight and packing it in the lunchbox to keep your child’s lunch cool, or you can use it instead of a freezer block for good food safety!

 

Helpful Hint 4: Encourage kids to join in on making their own lunch

Get the kids involved in choosing/preparing/cutting/peeling the foods. Research shows this increases the likelihood of children eating healthy foods. This will also help them learn to appreciate the time it takes mum and dad to make their lunch every day!

 

Hero Hint 5: Set a good example

If kids see you setting great example and eating these healthy foods/putting them in your work lunch box too, they will be much more inclined to give it a go and enjoy the foods you provide.

 

As children spend a large portion of their day at school, their lunch box is a great opportunity to get them eating lots of healthy, nourishing foods to help them perform their best at school. If you have any questions, queries or your own wonderful lunchbox ideas please comment below!

 

For other great tips for packing healthier lunchboxes and more information check out:

 

 

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