A Healthy Diet Can Help Prevent Diabetes, Heart Disease and Colon Cancer

Parents can remember the feelings of indestructibility nearly all of us had as teenagers. Fortunately, most of us don't die when we are children, and it is understandable that we don't anticipate our health deteriorating. Nevertheless, the choices you make for your kids and the habits they leave your house with will affect their future health. Heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer are among the leading causes of preventable or partially preventable death in our society.

Both obesity and diabetes lead to an increased risk of heart disease and stroke. Obesity can also lead to certain types of cancer, not to mention low self-esteem that might seem worse than cancer to a teenager. Diabetes can lead to blindness and kidney disease. No parents want to inflict this type of pain and suffering on their children, and yet by feeding their kids an unhealthful diet based on fast-food cuisine and giving in to their desire to play video games instead of running around outside, parents are unknowingly contributing to the process.

Cardiologists will tell you that inactivity and high-fat diets lead to preventable heart disease in far too many people. With the epidemic among our children of obesity and inactivity, the future looks bright for cardiologists. They will be swamped with clogged arteries and poorly functioning hearts. The bad news for us as parents (and for our children) is that it is our children who will be their patients. The good news is that it's never too late to start eating healthy.

These problems are almost 100% preventable. At the most basic level, maintaining your health simply involves eating sensibly and exercising regularly. There are many ways you can decrease the risk of your children developing diabetes, heart disease, and colon cancer. Most importantly, encourage them to eat well-balanced meals filled with fruits and vegetables. You put the food in front of them, so pick healthy foods that are high in fiber, low in fat, and low in sugars.

Going hand in hand with encouraging your children to eat well is encouraging them to exercise daily. This means they should be running, jumping, and tearing up the neighborhood for a minimum of thirty to sixty minutes a day, much as we ourselves used to do in the days before Pac-man and Donkey Kong. Keep an exercise log of your activity and your kids' activity. For every hour of moderate to intense physical activity, such as running, swimming, biking, or playing soccer or basketball, give them sixty minutes of screen time.