Youth and Education
The Silent Kid Killer: Five ways to protect them
by Makeisha Lee, Health and Nutritional Advisor
Columbus, Ohio (BlackNews.com)--There is a killer on the loose and not her or him, but "it" is showing no signs of being caught. The silent killer we are referring to is pediatric hypertension.
Based on late breaking news, a new study has been released by the American Medical Association of hypertension being missed nearly 75% of the time in children. That is equivalent to 3 out of 4 cases of undiagnosed hypertension.
According to Dr. David Kaelber of the Boston Children’s Hospital, there are approximately 2 million children in the country aged 3 to 18 who have high blood pressure or hypertension.
This is a scary situation for our young that are extremely vulnerable and depend on us for protection and safety. No doubt there is a not a parent amongst us that wouldn't give our own life to protect our young from the danger of a killer.
The good news is that we don’t have to with hypertension. We need only to fortify them now with the proper arsenal to keep them safe.
Here are some suggestions:
1) Get them to a healthy weight.
Elevated BMI is strongly associated with elevated blood pressure; particularly in African American children.
2) Insure that their diet largely consist of organic fruits and veggies high in fiber.
There are some super food combinations in powder form for convenience that contain all the daily recommended values in the proper proportions. These can be supplemented along with some fresh varieties.
3) Increase their physical activity.
With 20 million obese children in North America, fitness is paramount to decreasing the incidence of Hypertension as it relates to obesity.
There are many programs available that are focusing on fitness for kids, so get them involved!
4) Decrease their intake of high fatty and salty foods.
Most snack foods on the market contain too high levels of sodium. We should heavily monitor what in fact they are eating by paying particularly close attention to labels. School season has begun where foods currently served are processed with high fat content and sodium laden, so parents revisit the idea of packing a lunch from home!
5) Start teaching them NOW how to effectively cope with stress.
They get stressed too with all the rapid changes taking place in their bodies through physical development, emotional, mental and the like, so don’t wait. According to Mayo Clinic, they found that people with Hypertension are more likely to suffer a decline in mental ability as they age.
So this presents an even greater need to implement these five protective defenses against hypertension; as the children's mental acuity should be on the incline.
Implementing these recommendations may be a little challenging initially, however the payoff is well worth it.
We may be able to handle being charged with a D.U.I (Driving Under the Influence) on our record with little more than a monetary price to pay.
In retrospect being charged with a D.W.Y (Dying While Young) is not something any parent is prepared to have on their conscience.
It’s your choice--to make sure the kids have one!
Makeisha Lee is a health and nutrition consultant. For more information about cleansing and detoxifying your body, contact her at 614-595-1425 or znck04@yahoo.com or learn more at www.CleanseFormula.com.
