Show Kids the Way

As you read in Chapter 1, a shocking number of children are overweight and obese, and doctors are seeing increasingly high levels of cholesterol in children, even those with no family history of high cholesterol.To help your kids maintain a healthy diet and healthy cholesterol levels:

Pack their lunches, That way you can at least try to ensure they get something healthy instead of the fried and starchy foods that dominate most school cafeterias. (The three most common foods ordered in elementary schoo! cafeterias are ground beef, chicken nuggets or patties, and cheese.)

Limit fast-food. Set a cap of no more than one or two fast-food meals a month, and when you do make a fast food visit, push the salads, plain baked potatoes, and broiled chicken. If the kids must have hamburgers, order them without cheese.

Forget white. White bread, whiterice, white pasta, that is. Serve their peanut butter and jelly on whole wheat bread and their meatballs on whole wheat pasta.

Make it easy. Cut up a bowl of fruit and put it before yourT V-gazing kids, They’ll eat it as if it were popcorn, Better yet, turn the TV off and serve the fruit to them after they’ve finished a bike ride around the block.

Set an example. The best way to make sure your kids live a heart-healthy lifestyle is to live one yourself. Follow the Plan and you should see benefits not only to your cholesterol, but to your children’s as well.