Everyone is talking about your child's diet at the moment.  Too much fat, too much sugar, not enough fruit and vegetables, too many additives so much to think about and you have a child who won't eat anything green!

What can you do?  And why bother?

What exactly is a balanced diet?

What should I avoid?

Check out organic food and drink

Other helpful sites

What can you do?  And why bother? 

Well, from what I've been reading lately, your child's diet now will have a profound effect on their health in the future.  Not to mention the effect it will have on them today on their ability to learn, to enjoy sport and to have fun.  We really are what we eat.

But it's all very well having the government, school and health experts telling parents what to do it's not that simple.  Have they considered the following factors'

• Genuinely fussy children
• Families on a budget 
• Parents and carers who have never been taught about nutrition
• The huge temptations lurking in every supermarket aisle

Well yes, some organisations have.  The best I have come across is Organix, who have been campaigning since 1992 for improved food standards for children and not just babies.  The emphasis is on making food manufacturers improve the way they produce, label and advertise their products.

What exactly is a balanced diet?

A balanced diet (for a person with no special diet requirements) is a combination of the five major food groups:

1. BREAD, OTHER CEREALS & POTATOES
2. FRUIT AND VEGETABLES
3. MILK AND DAIRY FOODS
4. MEAT FISH AND ALTERNATIVES
5. FOODS CONTAINING FAT AND SUGAR

Health experts (British Nutrition Foundation www.nutrition.org.uk ) recommend you try and stick to the following amounts of each food group per day/meal*:

 * this chart does not take into account any special dietary requirements or allergies.

What should I avoid?

Always read the label when buying food, especially highly processed and prepared meals - fresh, tinned, frozen and dried in packets.  If the label doesn't tell you about salt, sugar or fat content then consider not buying it at all.  Here is a list of items to avoid because they have a negative effect on your child's health:

FOODS AND ADDITIVES TO AVOID
HIGH SALT FOODS	No more than 0.5g sodium or 1.2g salt per 100g
HYDROGENATED FAT	AVOID
SATURATED FAT	No more than 5g per 100g
REFINED SUGAR	AVOID
MECHANICALLY RECOVERED MEAT	AVOID
MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE - E621	AVOID
SODIUM R-RIBONUCLEOTIDE - E635	AVOID
ASPARTAME	AVOID
ACESULFAME	AVOID
SODIUM SACCHARINE	AVOID
SODIUM BENZOATE E211	AVOID
SULPHAR DIOXIDE E220	AVOID
QUININE YELLOW E104 BRILLIANT BLUE E133 SUNSET YELLOW E110 CARMOISINE E122 PONCEAU 4R E124 INDIGO CARMINE E132	AVOID

source: Organix

Salt

From 'governornet' website:

''To help schools and parents monitor children's salt intake, the Government's expert Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has published salt intake targets for children in its report 'salt and Health?'':

Target average salt intake (g/day)

Age 1-3 years:  2g
Age 4-6 years:  3g
Age 7-10 years: 5g
Age 11-14 years: 6g

Check out organic food

Organic food is becoming more popular and therefore more affordable.  It has been grown naturally without chemicals or unnatural additives being used in its production.  Organic alternatives to most food and drink items are available.

It is a little more expensive, so why not try just going organic with your top ten items'  You can buy organics in the supermarket or online from specialist suppliers or from the original source, such as a farm or orchard.

Here are some ideas:

Vintage Roots

www.vintageroots.co.uk

Vintage Roots - fruit juices, cordials, wines and beers.  We have sampled these - just order online and they deliver.  You can choose form international wines and beers, juices, cordials, chocolate (Green & Blacks) and coffee.

Organix

They have a fabulous website which I strongly recommend you visit:

http://www.goodies.uk.com. 

Lots and lots of information on children's health and a chance to lobby for improvements. 

• Healthy Eating Guide

Organix have produced a Healthy Eating Guide (call 0800 393 511 for a copy) to go with their range of organic snacks. You can also access two reports on their sister website www.babyorganix.co.uk  (not just about babies) which are very reader-friendly and informative: Carrots or Chemistry? (2002) - child health report

• Snacks

Lots of convenient items to add to your lunchbox which are guaranteed to be free of artificial colourings, preservatives, sweeteners and processed sugars.  They also use only organic ingredients and ensure low levels of salt and saturated fat.  The prices aren't bad either ' 35p for a 15g packet of tomato and cheese curly puffs or '2.09 for a pack of 6 raspberry and apple bars.  Not the low prices you might pay for a multi-pack of less healthy crisps, but you're getting a different kind of value for money.

See their second report: Carrots or Chemistry? - Snacking and Child Health (March 2004)

Just to give you a taster, Organix surveyed 283 snack foods for children and found:

• the average snack food contains 5 additives
• 70% of snacks contain flavourings or flavour enhancers

Other helpful sites

http://www.foodstandards.gov.uk general up-to-date information on all aspects of food health - according to the Food Standards Agency :

• nine out of ten children's lunch boxes contained foods with too much salt, sugar or fat

http://www.dole5aday.com ' fruit and vegetable ' really good advice on how much to eat and how to encourage your children to try it

http://www.britegg.co.uk/home.html - all about eggs!