Some of the most deadly allergies are those caused by food. While some people have no allergies, others are allergic to one or more things. Food allergies are difficult, however, because the offending particle is actually ingested, and therefore harder to remove.

Many children and adults live with a variety of food allergies everyday. It can be stressful and frustrating. Avoiding different foods, educating others about their allergies, and always planning ahead are just some of the constant challenges that face people with allergies. But, the effort is worth it: the more aware we become, the more we can support people with food allergies in their day-to-day living.

Sometimes proteins in some foods can cause allergic reactions. The reaction happens soon after you have had that food, usually within 2 hours. Sometimes you and your doctor can find out what you are reacting to. With a food allergy, the body reacts as though that particular food product is harmful. As a result, the body’s immune system (which fights infection and disease) creates antibodies to fight the food allergen, the substance in the food that triggers the allergy.

The common symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, wheezing, nausea, swelling around the mouth or throat, itchy skin rashes, and abdominal pain. These symptoms develop immediately after you take the food you are allergic to. The severity of symptoms depends on the food.

Most common food allergies for children

• Cow’s milk. Sorry but this could also mean you react to cream, cheese, ice cream and even chocolate!
• Eggs (maybe cakes and biscuits too)
• Peanuts
• Fish and shellfish
• Soy beans, soy milk, soy flour
• Wheat (bread, cakes, biscuits)
• Some berry fruits like strawberries.

But if the right foods are offered at the right times, snacks can play an important role in managing kids’ hunger and boosting nutrition. A well-timed snack can even out spikes in hunger and provide a much-needed energy boost between meals.

Snacks can keep younger children from getting so hungry that they become cranky, and they can keep older kids from overeating at larger meals. And for picky eaters of all ages, snacks can be added insurance that they’re getting the necessary nutrients.

Snacking worries parents and they often try to prevent eating between meals. That isn’t necessary or even helpful. Children’s energy needs are high, and they usually can’t eat a lot at any one time, so they need to eat about every 3 hours. What’s important is that you have control over the time of the snacks and the type of food.

Offer snacks midway between meals. Give snacks long enough after the meal that your children know they’ll have to wait a while to eat again if they refuse the meal. That keeps children from refusing meals and then asking for food a short time later. It will be easier for you to refuse their begging if you know a snack is coming up.

If children have an early lunch and late dinner, they may need 2 snacks. Try having a snack with protein, fat, and carbohydrate in it 2 or 3 hours after lunch. Then offer a lighter carbohydrate snack, such as fruit juice or crackers, later in the afternoon.

Snack Smart Food List

How can you snack smart? Be choosy!

Pick a variety of foods from these groups:

Fresh fruits and raw vegetables

• berries
• oranges
• grapefruit
• melons
• pineapple
• pears
• tangerines
• broccoli
• celery
• carrots
• cucumbers
• tomatoes
• unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices
• canned fruits in natural juices

Grains

• bread
• plain bagels
• unsweetened cereals
• unbuttered popcorn
• tortilla chips (baked, not fried)
• pretzels (low-salt)
• pasta
• plain crackers

Milk and dairy products

• low or non-fat milk
• low or non-fat yogurt
• low or non-fat cheeses
• low or non-fat cottage cheese

Meat, nuts and seeds

• chicken
• turkey
• sliced meats
• pumpkin seeds
• sunflower seeds
• nuts

Others (these snacks combine foods from the different groups):

• pizza
• tacos

Remember to:

• choose sugary foods less often
• avoid sweets between meals
• eat a variety of low or non-fat foods from the basic groups
• brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after snacks and meals

Tips for Smart Snacking

1. Keep healthy snacks in your refrigerator or pantry. Let kids choose their own snacks from among a couple of nutritious options.
2. Offer a variety of snacks, not just the ones kids already likes. Offer new choices, but don’t give up on foods that may have been rejected in the past. It may take several tries before a child accepts a new food.
3. Have a schedule for meals and snacks. This lets kids manage their hunger and learn that it’s OK to skip a meal or snack because there will be another chance to eat at the next scheduled time. Avoid letting kids pick throughout the day, which can dull internal hunger cues and make them more likely to overeat.
4. Don’t let kids eat in front of the TV. Serve snacks and meals at the table.
5. Keep mostly healthy foods in the house, with those high in calories, fat, and added sugar kept to a minimum. This doesn’t mean kids can never have these foods, but they should be offered only once in a while.
6. Serve skim or low-fat milk or water with snacks instead of sugary drinks and soda. Limit 100% juice to one serving per day.
7. Make your preschooler a part of the action! Kids this age feel important when adults let them help out. Let them do what they safely can to prepare their own snacks — whether that’s tossing the fruit salad or putting utensils and napkins on the table.
8. Keep an eye on how your child’s moods affect eating patterns. Preschoolers often confuse boredom or fatigue with hunger. If your child just ate and is complaining of hunger again, see if a change of scenery or some active play could do the trick.
9. Share a healthy snack with your kids, who will follow your lead and get the message that you’re serving something good.

Calcium is a mineral that many parts of your body require. Its main job is to build strong bones and teeth. About 99 percent of your body’s calcium is in your bones and teeth. A very small amount of calcium is in body fluids such as blood. But this small amount performs vital functions, including the following:

• Keeping a strong heart beat
• Controlling blood pressure
• Making muscles move
• Helping blood clot
• Sending nerve messages

If you make the right choices, the food you eat will provide the calcium you need. If you do not get enough calcium, your body will take calcium from your bones to support other vital functions, weakening the bones.

Your bones are like a bank. The calcium that you eat is put into the bone bank. The bone bank donates calcium to your blood to make sure blood levels always stay normal. If you do not eat enough calcium, the bone bank will become empty. It is very important to eat lots of calcium-rich foods to keep blood levels up while keeping your bone bank full and strong!

During childhood and adolescence, the body uses the mineral calcium to build strong bones — a process that’s all but complete by the end of the teen years. Bone calcium begins to decrease in young adulthood and progressive loss of bone occurs as we age, particularly in women.

Teens, especially girls, whose diets don’t provide the nutrients to build bones to their maximum potential are at greater risk of developing the bone disease osteoporosis, which increases the risk of fracture from weakened bones. Younger kids and babies with little calcium and vitamin D intake (which aids in calcium absorption) are at increased risk for rickets. Rickets is a bone-softening disease that causes severe bowing of the legs, poor growth, and sometimes muscle pain and weakness.

When kids get enough calcium and physical activity during childhood and the teen years, they can start out their adult lives with the strongest bones possible. Although there isn’t definite scientific proof yet that taking in these amounts of calcium will result in stronger bones when kids grow up, the current recommendations are:

• 1 to 3 years — 500 milligrams of calcium daily
• 4 to 8 years — 800 milligrams
• 9 to 18 years — 1,300 milligrams

Breast milk is the perfect food for babies. Breastfeeding is recommended for the first six months of life and beyond with the addition of complementary solid foods starting at six months of age. Not only does breast milk have the right nutritional balance for your baby, but it also contains growth factors, antibodies, and other mechanisms that protect your baby against infections and other diseases throughout his lifetime.

In most cases, breast milk is the most perfect food for your baby. It contains easily digestible proteins, many factors that support your new baby’s immature immune system, and other factors that aid in digestion. It is also low in cost and requires no preparation. Breast fed babies are also less likely to have colic, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, constipation, asthma or allergies.

We know that breastfed babies have fewer illnesses, infections, allergies, and a lower risk of obesity in their life compared with those who are formula fed. Breastfeeding is convenient and free, and also bonds mothers and babies in a unique way that meets their needs and builds a strong relationship of trust. Human breast milk is recommended as the best milk for all babies — all babies should be breastfed.

Your newborn should be nursing eight to 12 times per day for about the first month. If you feel like you’re feeding your little one more often than someone you know whose baby is formula fed, you may be. Why? Because breast milk digests easier than formula, which means it moves through your baby’s digestive system faster and, therefore, makes your baby hungry more often.

Breastfeeding will also burn up almost 500 calories each day, helping mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight sooner. And it also reduces the mother’s risk for developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer later in life.

Breastmilk is the normal food for your baby.

• It is natural and specially made for your baby.
• There are lots of things in breastmilk that are good for your baby, that are not found in formula milk.
• It is safe for your baby, and easily digested.
• It contains all the food and drink your baby needs for the first six months of life.
• Together with other foods, it is very good for the next six months and into the second year as well.
• It is always ready when your baby needs it.
• Your baby will be less likely to get infections, allergies and many other diseases.
• Your baby may grow and develop better.

Because milk has contain many nutrition, so it has many benefits,among others:

1. Prevent osteoporosis and maintain strong bones remain. For children, milk work for the growth of the bones to make children grow to be high.
2. Lower blood pressure.
3. Prevents damage to teeth and maintain oral health. The milk able to reduce mouth acidity, stimulates saliva, reduce plaque and prevent tooth hollow.
4. Neutralize toxic metals such as lead or that may be contained in food.
5. Prevent the occurrence of cancer or cancer kolon intestine.
6. Prevent type 2 diabetes.
7. Refine skin, make it more shining.
8. Helping to be more quickly to sleep. This is because the contain of milk will stimulate melatonin hormone,that make our feely sleepy.

Types of milk available in the market is also diverse. There are the terms of the substance contained in the milk that you may not know. Some of these terms are:

1. Full Cream, containing 4% fat and usually contain lot of vitamin A and vitamin D.
2. Low Fat, because the fat of it composition only half of full cream milk.
3. Skim, milk which contain very low fat, less than 1%.
4. Evaporation Milk, milk which that part of the water has evaporated so that it becomes thick. Similar to the sweet condensed milk, but taste of this type is insipidity.
5. Pasteur Milk, the milk that through the process pasteurisais (heated) 65 ° to 80 ° C for 15 seconds to kill pathogenic bacteria that can cause disease.
6. Flavoured, actual full cream milk or low fat is added to a flavour of variation. For example, chocolate milk, strawberry, banana, and other flavour. It contain more sugar because of the addition of this flavour.
7. Calcium enriched, high calcium milk, and it fat has been reduced.
8. UHT, Is the abbreviation of Ultra-High-Temperature Treated. This type is milk which heated in a high temperature (140 ° C) for 2 seconds and then immediately placed in cardboard hermetic. It can be stored for a long time.
9. CLA, this milk useful for people who want to streamline the body. The representative of the CLA is Conjugated Linoleic Acid, which will help in accelerating the formation of muscle and burn fat.