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Does your child eat healthy lunches and snacks?

Our nutrition is determined early on in our lives based upon the food we eat. Studies have shown that metabolism is both genetic and developed, meaning that our youth have a higher likelihood of battling otherwise bad genetics–or supporting good ones!–through physical exercise and early healthy eating habits.

Unfortunately, school lunches have been a widespread debate that has led to an overall sub-par youth dining experience. Slow Down for School Lunches looks how lunches could be improved in today’s K-12 industry.

As a parent, what can you do to improve the diet of your child?

If you have a child that’s picky about the healthy foods you put in front of him or her–veggies, fruits, and such–get them into the kitchen! A child will stubbornly refuse food set in front of them, but if they are part of the cooking / preparing process, it suddenly becomes an adventure to try a new food out.

Do creative things with healthy foods. I’ve read about how moms will make “beancicles” with frozen green beans and how parents make homemade dried fruits that children love as fruit snack substitute. Next time your child wants a fruit roll-up, get an organic FruitaBu smashed fruit and hand that to them instead.

Then there’s the sneaky method. Cook healthy things into your spaghetti sauce, pancake batter, and baked pies, and your children will be eating things they’d otherwise turn their noses up to. Offering undesirable fruits and vegetables in a juice form is also a proven success.

Last but not least, the old saying “Don’t play with your food” is one of the worst things imaginable–if food’s a game, it’s bound to get eaten! For younger children, make eating healthy something fun and it’ll become a much-loved recreation.

Light sensitivity, or an intolerance to light, is called photophobia. This usually means that a person is bothered by bright light–sunlight, fluorescent lights, and incandescent lights all qualify–but extreme cases have been documented as well. Photophobics typically squint or close their eyes to light to block out the discomfort and experience headaches from too much exposure to bright lighting.

Photophobia is not a disease. It typically arises as a symptom to other conditions, such as infection or inflammation of the eyes. Virus-caused illnesses or migraines can also cause photophobia, even though they may have nothing to do with the eyes at all. It’s more common in those with lighter eye color due to the fact  that darker-colored eyes contain more pigment to protect against harsh lighting.

Here’s a list of some of the causes of photophobia:

• Migraines
• Corneal Abrasion
• Uveitis
• Detached Retina
• Contact Lens Irritations
• Sunburn
• Refractive Surgery
• Rabies
• Mercury Poisoning
• Conjunctivitis
• Keratitis
• Iritis
• Botulism
• Central nervous system disorders, such as Meningitis
• Genetic disorders, such as Keratosis Follicularis Spinulosa Decalvans (KFSD)
• Medications, such as Belladonna, Furosemide, Quinine, Tetracycline, and Doxycycline

Glare-control sunglasses help protect against light sensitivity, both in the c ase of sunlight and indoor lightning sensitivities. The ultimate way to handle photophobia though is to identify and eliminate the underlying cause. For example, if you are taking one of the above medications, consider consulting your doctor and discontinuing the drug. There are also prosthetic contact lenses that can be specially colored to look like your own eyes and reduce the amount of light that enters the eye.