KiddiChef has been shortlisted for a Medical & healthcare business award!

Here at KiddiChef we are excited to announce that we have been shortlisted for a medical and healthcare business award. We were nominated by Medilink’s 2014 medical and healthcare business start up awards and it has recently been announced that we have now been shortlisted. It’s exciting that a business which was launched in 2012 is doing so well and being recognised on this scale.

With the change in family lifestyles some working parents do not have time to cook healthy meals which they would like for their children. Therefore KiddiChef aims to help parents provide the nutritious, great tasting meals for their children. Kiddichef is changing parents and children’s views towards food and is encouraging much healthier lifestyles to help stop the obesity epidemic which Britain faces. Our aim is to get as many parents as possible to join us and our cause. This is why KiddiChef is so proud to be acknowledged by a healthcare organisation such as Medilink.

KiddiChef understands that parents worry about their children’s healthy and well being and with approximately 13.1% of 4-5 year olds being overweight and 9.5% being classed as obese KiddiChef aim to be at the forefront of changing this trend towards obesity and educating children and parents on healthy eating. KiddiChef meals have been created with help from experts such as doctors, nutritionists and dietitians.  Each perfectly proportioned meal is packed with all the nutrients your child needs and still tastes amazing.

We hope this pioneering concept will help improve the health and wellbeing of young children and we are honoured by such level of recognition in such a short time.

We can’t wait till the 8^th of January to find out if KiddiChef have been lucky enough to win the award and go through to the national finals.

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Sugar is the New Tobacco?

Recent headlines have outlined that an addiction to sugar is just as harmful to us as an addiction to tobacco. Figures are highlighted in the media on a daily basis, surrounding the amount of sugar that is present in almost all the foods we eat, from fruit juices to McDonald’s products.

But how do we stay clear of these hidden sugars? ‘Half fat’ or ‘reduced fat’ products are currently being criticised as the reduction in fat is replaced with extra added sugars for taste.

Mother of two, Amanda Cable became aware of her family’s sugar intake and decided to make a radical change. She thought by controlling her son’s food consumption by substituting sugary cereals and snacks with ‘healthier’ alternatives, would benefit him. This new regime was scrutinised however, exposing the hidden sugars that totalled to be almost double than of that in his previous eating habits.

Read the article here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2536913/Mother-switched-boys-healthier-diet-MORE-sugar.html

The Recommended Daily Allowance for sugar is 90g or 22.5 teaspoons a day and less for children. Remember: the labels that shout out ‘LOW IN FAT’ or ‘REDUCED CALORIES’ do not always mean less sugar, so read the product labels to know what you and your family are consuming!

Kiddichef is a food catering service that produces fresh, healthy food, from scratch, on a daily basis and especially for children. Through their work ethic and ethos, KiddiChef avoids the issues surrounding these addictive sugars. We accommodate to the particular nutritional needs and dietary requirements of children, and protect your children from consuming hidden sugars.

Our products are honestly labelled, and free from the contributing factors of hidden sugars found in preservatives and genetically modified ingredients, with our fresh recipes incorporating the thriving fruit and vegetables of the current season. For more information on Kiddichef and our dietary and nutritional guidance, visit our website here.

Have you got the Fat Factor?

You might do in 2050, but it’s nothing to brag about. Doomsday is closer than we think; it is currently pencilled in for 2050, when half the UK’s population will be obese. I’m sure you’ve all noticed the constant Change4Life adverts on our screens recently, but is it enough to stop Britain’s waistlines expanding, and is the change for life really working?

The latest report ‘State of the Nations Waistline – Obesity in the UK: Analysis and Expectations’ by Public Health England, has stated that unless hard hitting campaigns such as those against smoking are carried out, the date of doomsday will be even closer in the near future for Britain.

Following this report, this week, from 13^th- 19^th January marks National Obesity Awareness Week, which aims to put the obesity crisis at the top of Britain’s agenda. Schemes are being held all around the country, aimed at all ages to encourage changes to eating habits, ways of exercising and making everyone aware about the risks and problems that arise out of obesity. Find out which changes you can make to your lifestyle at http://www.noaw2014.org.uk.  

  

Birmingham based children’s catering specialist KiddiChef offers just this; a fun approach to healthy food for children from the age of 1 year upwards. By aiming at children of such an early age makes it easier to help stem healthy eating patterns that they can adopt for life. KiddiChef services to nurseries, schools and holidays clubs, working with other prominent environments for children. KiddiChef works closely alongside a strong team of experts, such as doctors, paediatricians and nutritionists, who provide the best foods for children, sans chemicals and toxins which are found in fast food.

Children are being targeted especially due to the sudden rises in child obesity over the past decade, and the 25% of children to be obese in 2050 will add to the percentage of obese adults. For children, obesity can start from the earliest ages, when they aren’t exposed to the best foods for them and their ever-changing bodies. Obesity in children can be easily prevented if they are able to have a hands-on approach to what they are eating, to educate and present healthy foods in a fun way. KiddiChef will be opening the first child-orientated restaurant in the West Midlands. The restaurant will have positive and educational approach to healthy foods, inviting children to use all of their senses to interact with the foods they are eating. For further information, contact KiddiChef at 0121 554 0469 and at http://www.kiddichef.com.

 

World Diabetes Day – 14th November 2012

                           

What`s Diabetes?

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most popular metabolic diseases. Its name derives from the Greek and it means “to go across” just because sugar goes across kidneys and it mixes with urine. People who have diabetes can`t use insulin well and so their blood glucose level goes up. Besides, they have problems in regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body.  

Different Types:

Type 1 diabetes is a lifelong condition in which the body can't control levels of glucose in the blood. It develops when the body can’t produce the hormone insulin. Type 1 diabetes is sometimes called insulin-dependent diabetes and is most commonly developed during childhood.

 Diabetes mellitus type 2, which was called “non insulin-addicted diabetes”, develops when the body doesn`t produce enough insulin to maintain a normal blood glucose level or when it can`t use insulin. This one is genetic and it manifests itself in old patients that usually have also other problems like: obesity, high blood pressure and heart diseases.

It is widely speculated that diabetes occurred when inherited genetic characteristics are triggered by environmental factors such as diet or exercise. Although there is no specific diabetes causes, the following triggers may be involved:

• Viral or bacterial infection
• Chemical toxins within food
• Unidentified component causing autoimmune reaction

 

Diabetes in children:

Type 1 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in children: 90-95 per cent of under 16s with diabetes have this type.  

Some studies made by the Queen`s University of Belfast and by the Pecs University said that in 2020 children under 5 affected by diabetes will double! Causes of the growth of them are: bad alimentary habits, highest weight and height at the birth and caesarian births. Diabetes in children could not be only linked with genetic factors. Many scientists think it could be connected with imbalances during the gestation; that`s why it`s important that the mother follows a correct diet during the pregnancy.  Gestational diabetes appears unexpectedly and symptoms are: continuing thirst, tendency to urinate more, to get fat and an increase on the amniotic liquid.

 How to keep children diabetes under control:

Living with diabetes can put families under considerable strain, so access to backup support is crucial. This may be from your GP, the hospital team or social services. Online communities such as Children with Diabetes UK, provides parents with access to other parents who are raising children with diabetes.

 To keep diabetes under control you have to: 

          

- Check  regularly his/her blood glucose level;

- Pay attention on food and sport;

- Help your child to inject insulin;

- Find out when your child feels sick.

It`s very important that your child learn about diabetes and that you make him/her understand that to be diabetic doesn`t mean to be different from others. So, if he/she made you some questions about diabetes you have to answer him/her specifically. Don`t be afraid: your child will be more reassured this way.            

Diabetic children diet:

Parents must be aware that children with diabetes have diet restrictions, and that their activity levels need to be closely monitored. The key to taking care of diabetes is to keep blood glucose as close to normal as possible. The best way to do this is to:

•   Make healthy food choices

•   Eat the right amounts of food

•   Be active everyday

•   Stay at a healthy weight

•   Take your medicines and check your blood glucose as planned with your health care team.

1.    GRAINS, BEANS, AND STARCHY (6 or more servings a day)

2.    VEGETABLES (3 - 5 servings a day)

3.    FRUITS (2 - 4 servings a day)

4.    MILK (2 - 3 servings a day)

5.    MEAT AND FISH (2 - 3 servings a day)

6.    FATS, ALCOHOL, AND SWEETS (in general, you should limit them) 

Make Fish the Dish of the Day: Fish Keeps Asthma Symptoms at Bay!

A new study carried out in Rotterdam has found that introducing fish into your child’s diet between the ages of 6 months- 1 year can help in reducing the risk of developing asthma later on in life.

 The study assessed the medical records of 7210 children, along side their early fish consumption levels, and found that 40-45% of the children who were not introduced to fish until after the age of 1 had developed symptoms of asthma, compared to 30% of children who consumed fish between the ages of 6 months and 1 year.

The study concludes that introducing fish into your child’s diet during this window of opportunity can reduce the risks of developing asthma by around 36%.

It was also found that the benefits of fish to children’s health was not dependant on the amount of fish consumed, meaning that introducing even a little fish into your child’s diet during this time will give them a better chance of staving off asthma.

Jessica Kiefte-De Jong, lead author of the study, states ‘introduction to fish between 6 and 12 months- but no fish consumption afterward- is associated with a lower prevalence of wheezing.’

It is believed that these health benefits are a result of certain fatty acids that fish contains that can help to protect the body against the symptoms of asthma.

Paediatrician T. Bernard Kinane comments that these results are not surprising, stating that they ‘make reasonable sense because that’s when the immune system is getting educated.’

Even though the benefits of fish in the protection against asthma only appear to fall between the ages of 6-12 months, this does not mean that fish should not be included in your child’s diet at any age.

Fish have many other health benefits, the fact that they are a great source of protein and are high in Omega-3 fatty acids helping greatly in growth and organ health, as well as being a “brain food” for a healthy mind.

Willy Wonka of the Art World Set to Change How Children View Healthy Food!

You would be forgiven for thinking, on first glance, that Carl Warner’s creations were just mystical, intricate landscapes; however, look a bit closer and you’ll get a tasty surprise!

The Willy Wonka of the art world’s latest venture of Foodscapes, a series of landscape photographs created entirely out of food, are to be published in his new book,  ‘A world of food,’ and are set to explore food in a fun and creative way.

Warner’s aim for his latest Foodscape project is to get children interested in healthy food options, as opposed to just wanting a plate of chips or a cake. Warner states ‘I use my work as a vehicle to get kids to think about what they are eating.’ Warner’s landscapes certainly do this, his pasta and cucumber trees, chilli pepper scorpion and banana hot-air balloon, complete with melon fruit basket, giving a whole new fun and creative meaning to healthy food choices.

Warner has said that he wants to change the face of healthy food with his images, making them more engaging and appetising, tempting children to pick fruit and veg at meal times over a less healthy option: ‘…make Asparagus become a rocket or turrets on a castle and it makes it much more engaging for them.’

Through Warner’s images, it is no longer a ‘yucky’ plate of broccoli in front of your child at the dinner table, but an enchanted, creepy forest that they can’t wait to explore. Seeing food in a more imaginative and engaging way at meal time, as opposed to ‘boring greens’, will encourage children to want to choose these healthy food options more, and in turn lead to a happy, healthy future generation.

British obesity epidemic leads to heart disease in children as young as 5.

A recent study carried out by Oxford academics on nearly 50000 5-15 year olds in Great Britain came to some very shocking and indeed worrying findings regarding the health of our children.

The study concluded that children as young as 5 are suffering from heart damage as a result of obesity, a problem more commonly thought to be associated with much older generations. The obese children that were assessed were found to have significantly enlarged hearts, have a 40% higher blood pressure, and have cholesterol levels 9X higher than their healthy peers. This means that obese children are much more likely to develop severe health problems early on in life as a result of their weight, and it is predicted that, unless a change in lifestyle is implemented immediately, obese children have a 40% increased likelihood of dying from a heart attack or stroke as adults.

Currently in Great Britain, just under 1 in 10 5 year olds and 1/5^th of all 11 year olds are classified as obese, according to NHS records. These shocking statistics have been commented upon by researcher of the study, Dr. Matthew Thompson, stating ‘It’s almost like a ticking time bomb of damage going on in their hearts and blood vessels… Most of the damage that happens in kids will still be there in adults. But it can be reversed-it’s just difficult because you’re talking about changing lifestyles.’ From this data, and with Britain currently having the highest rate of obesity in Europe, it is clear that change is needed IMMEDIATELY to reverse this childhood obesity epidemic, and prevent these fears for our children’s future health becoming a reality.