# 61: How to snack and not put on weight • But our kids are getting fat • Homeopathic Tip of the Week: What to do after overindulging

How to snack and not put on weight
A useful source of health information can be found at http://health.yahoo.com

This week, in their nutritional and fitness tip of the week they have some suggestions about what to eat when you feel inclined to snack. Recommended are foods that are low in fat, high in fibre and relatively low in calories. Some of the more innovative snacks recommended included frozen grapes and frozen bananas. Yahoo don't tell you how to freeze a banana or a grape though. I've never frozen grapes but frozen bananas are absolutely delicious. This is how you make one: Peel the banana, wrap it in silver foil freeze it and there is a healthy delicious snack waiting for you in the freezer.

Yahoo go on to recommend popcorn. Obviously you should make your own and not add sugar! Raw vegetables dipped in low-fat dressing or hummus is mentioned and there is an innovative snack recipe for those with a sweet tooth. "Try low-fat, high-calcium "Pudding Kisses" -- drop level teaspoons of chocolate pudding (made with nonfat milk) onto wax paper, freeze and enjoy!" Well that sounds like a real treat! If you enjoy it, be sure to send a thank you email to Yahoo.

But our kids are getting fat

This is a fact. Childhood obesity is such a problem that it made the headlines on the front page of the Guardian on Monday. Apparently it's now become a serious epidemic. The suggested remedy - stop advertisements for junk foods. That's what some 'experts' are suggesting - not the author of this column. The American comedian Dick Cavett once made the point that just because there is a lot of comedy on TV does not mean there is a lot of comedy on the streets. I find it hard to believe the advertisements for fast food is the cause of childhood obesity. There are many people, including children, who enjoy fast foods without becoming clinically obese. In addition children have always had tuck shops to tempt them with all sorts of unhealthy foods containing empty calories. Some behaved like Billy Bunter; most did not. Children do not naturally overeat. Many obese children eat because they are lonely, worried or sad. They need to be helped to balance things in their lives including what they eat. To play the Blame Game and point a finger at the manufacturers of fast foods is ridiculous. Overweight kids need a little help and if the whole family is overweight, then family therapy should be considered. Good organizations, like the British Heart Foundation (www.bhf.org.uk) constantly offer good advice on healthy eating. That's all we need. A nannyish attitude that bans advertising 'unhealthy food' risks giving fast food a cult status. Much better to advocate moderation in fast foods as we would for sugar, salt, fats etc. etc.

Homeopathic Tip of the Week

Well what do you do after overindulging in fast foods and feeling slightly sick and guilty. Well you could take the homeopathic remedy, Nux vomica 6c (one dose) or you can do something brave and simply have fruit for your next meal. This is called 'compensation' and is an important principle to understand for those who want to keep slim. Instead of giving up your program after a lapse in your healthy eating, you simply compensate at the next meal and eat a very light meal. More on this next time...