The Best Dietary Tips for Kids with Congenital Heart Disease to Stay Healthy

A congenital heart defect is a concerning condition that affects several kids and people worldwide. It is a condition where a heart defect or disease is present at the time of birth of the child. Congenital heart disease represents an array of birth defects that affect the normal functioning of the heart and that prevail since birth. Every year, the 14^th of February is recognized as International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness (CHD) Day to raise awareness about CHDs and their impact on individuals and their families. It’s an annual campaign held to honour and remember everyone who is born with a heart defect and all of the families and friends touched by children born with heart defects. It’s challenging for every child/individual born with congenital heart disease or defect to lead a healthy life. There are various types of CHDs. Some of them are simple and do not need intensive treatment; while some of the CHDs are quite complex and call for medication and surgery. If a child has congenital heart disease, the kid should lead a healthy life and stay active and fit. And, if you are wondering how it’s challenging for a child with CHD to stay healthy and which dietary and lifestyle modifications can help the kid lead a better life, think no further. Learn everything about it below.

 

Why Congenital Heart Disease Increases the Risk of Obesity in Children?

Kids having CHD are at a high risk of turning overweight and obese. Here are some prominent reasons for the vulnerability of kids with CHD to obesity.

• Requires Greater than Normal Calories in Early Life

Babies born with a CHD happen to have a hard time gaining a healthy weight because they happen to burn greater energy than normal by breathing faster and eating the food. For their healthy growth, they are provided with high-calorie supplements or formulas. However, post-surgery or over time, despite the child’s symptoms happen to alleviate and his health experiencing improvement, parents continue using the same high-calorie feedings. As a result, the child may turn overweight or obese.

• Exercise Restrictions 

For kids with CHDs, the doctors used to recommend limiting physical activity in the past. Unfortunately, the children who began to lead an inactive lifestyle happen to continue leading that type of lifestyle. And, this increased their risk of turning overweight or obese. Of late, health experts consider that exercise and play activities for kids have health benefits and many of them are also safe for kids with CHDs. However, even when doctors recommend appropriate activities for kids, parents continue to be concerned about their child’s health if they do some exercise and restrict their kids’ physical activities. This contributes to unhealthy weight gain in CHD patients.

• Certain Risk Factors

Medical studies have revealed that certain groups of children are at risk of turning overweight and obese. These include children with CHD:

• Having a family history of obesity with one or both parents being obese.
• Having a BMI (body mass index) in between the 85^th and 95^th percentiles
• Have excessive weight gain in teenage
• Initially were quite active but have turned inactive now
• Gain weight at a greater speed than the growth of their height at a young age OR have BMI that increased quickly before they turned 7 years old.
• Are inactive generally, particularly in adolescence.

Children with CHD falling in any of these groups are at risk of turning overweight or obese.

How Kids with CHDs can Maintain a Healthy Weight?

The health experts or paediatricians will monitor your child’s growth and weight and ensure that the weight stays in the healthy range. If your kid is gaining weight quicker than normal, the healthy expert may recommend some healthy lifestyle modifications. Consulting certified nutritionists and dieticians can help your child have the right diet to maintain a healthy weight and enjoy improved health and immunity. Here’s a list of healthy diet tips that can help children and teens with CHDs have a healthy weight.

1. Increase Your Kid’s Intake of Dietary Fibre

Making your child’s intake of fibre to a minimum of 14 grams per 1000 eaten calories can help promote and maintain a healthy weight. So, include fresh vegetables and fruit in your kid’s diet. Also, add whole-grain foods, such as brown rice, peas, whole-grain pasta, and corn, to the diet.

2. Reduce Your Kid’s Intake of Fats

To help avoid excess weight gain and help your child stay in a healthy weight range, make sure that his consumption of dietary fats is less than 30% of his daily calorie intake. Some easy yet effective ways to ensure this by cutting the fats include:

• Choosing low-fat or fat-free foods, such as low-fat yoghurt, low-fat cream, low-fat gravy, herbed cottage cheese, and low-fat salad dressing.
• Prefer lean meat, such as fish and skinless chicken. Avoid red meat.
• Opt for healthy oils, such as olive oil and canola oil, in your child’s diet. Go for vegetable oils that do not have any sort of trans fats.
• Choose fat-free cooking procedures, such as grilling, steaming, and baking.

3. Restrict Cholesterol Intake

While your child with CHD relishes his/her favourite foods, make sure that you limit cholesterol to less than 300 mg daily. Limiting fried foods, processed meat, and full-fat dairy to a minimum can help avoid excess weight gain and enjoy better health.

4. Reduce Sodium

Restricting the intake of sodium to less than 2000-2500 mg daily or even less than that can help prevent weight gain and promotes good health.

5. Limit or Avoid Sugary Beverages

To prevent weight gain in children with CHDs, it is advisable to avoid or restrict the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. If you can’t avoid it, limit it to less than four ounces daily. Instead, encourage your kid to drink plain water.

6. Manage Your Serving Sizes

Pay attention to the serving size when you serve your kid. For this, learn actual serving sizes. For instance, a piece of bread amounts to one serving size and not two. Consulting a dietician can help you learn more about serving sizes and offer your child all the necessary foods in the right serving sizes. This will prevent your kid from overeating and help them have a healthy weight and enjoy good health.

7. Read the Labels

If anytime you need to buy any packed food items, read the nutrition facts labels and prefer to buy foods that have less saturated fat in every serving.

Along with these dietary modifications, help your kid follow the necessary exercise recommendations and have adequate sleep that the health expert or doctor would recommend for children to help lead a healthy life without excess weight gain.

So, let’s spread the word this International Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day and motivate kids and individuals with CHDs to follow these healthy dietary practices and enjoy good health. Consulting nutritionists, such as health experts at Health Total, will help you have a customized diet plan for CHD that will not only help your child manage weight but also improve your kid’s overall health, immunity, and nutritional status. So, hurry up, get in touch with us at Health Total, and step up to help your kid with CHD enjoy good health with a personalized diet.

Sign up for a FREE consultation with Health Total experts to get more tips on improving your child’s health with diet or for managing any other health condition. Call toll-free at  1-800-843-0206 and book an appointment!

The post The Best Dietary Tips for Kids with Congenital Heart Disease to Stay Healthy appeared first on Health Total.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it worth eating green leafy vegetables every day?

It depends on what you mean when you say “worth”. If you are referring to health benefits, then the answer is yes. If you are referring to cost-effectiveness, it is likely not.

If you’re looking at the long-term costs (e.g., will they save me money over the next 10 years), there isn’t any evidence suggesting that eating them regularly is beneficial.

You can also look at short-term expenses (e.g. Are they better for my waistline or long-term costs? If you answered yes, it’s worth it.

I find this question interesting as it focuses on two key aspects of nutrition – cost-effectiveness, and health benefits. We have strong evidence that regular fruit and vegetable consumption can reduce the risk of certain cancers. On the other hand, the evidence for cost-effectiveness is less conclusive.

The best way to determine whether eating healthy food is worthwhile is to consider both factors simultaneously. This is the Health Economic Assessment. This involves analyzing the expected health outcomes of different foods and the associated costs.

Do smoothie cleanses work?

It is important to know if you are eliminating toxins from your body. If you are not, then there may be another problem.

For a cleanse to work, it must remove all the toxins from your system.

If this doesn’t happen, either you aren’t drinking enough water (or haven’t been eating properly).

This could also be a sign that you need to decrease your intake of salt or caffeine.

You could also be experiencing other reasons why you are not seeing results.

• Your digestive system isn’t functioning correctly. This means your body is not absorbing the food you are eating.
• Not enough protein is being consumed. Protein helps build muscle tissue.
• Carbohydrates are too high in calories. Carbs are stored energy.
• You’re consuming too many sugars. Sugar can cause insulin spikes in the bloodstream. This can slow down your metabolism.
• Insufficient fat intake is a problem. To absorb certain vitamins, fats are necessary.
• Too few essential fatty acid (EFAs) are being consumed. The benefits of EFAs have been shown to decrease inflammation.
• You are consuming too little fiber. Fiber absorbs excess cholesterol. It also speeds up digestion.
• You are not consuming sufficient vitamin C. Vitamin C is needed for proper collagen production. Collagen keeps skin firm and elastic.
• You are consuming too small portions. Measurements of portions should be done using a standard cup-measurer.
• Too much alcohol is being consumed. Alcohol is very dehydrating.
• High amounts of caffeine can cause you to be addicted. Too much caffeine is toxic for the liver.
• You are consuming too low levels of magnesium. Magnesium, which is necessary for healthy bones & muscles, is needed.
• Too little potassium is being consumed. Potassium is necessary to maintain fluid balance.

What herb melts bodyfat?

It might not be possible without diet but herbs can help you lose weight. Over the years, many people have used herbs to achieve this goal. You can use them for this purpose: Green tea, Ginko Biloba and Ginseng.

Herbal remedies can be either taken orally or topically. They contain nutrients that increase the metabolic rate of the body. These nutrients help speed up the destruction of glycogen stocks and lipids inside the cell walls. This causes the release in the bloodstream of free fatty oils, which can then used to burn as fuel.

The immune system can be boosted and diseases prevented by herbal remedies. This makes them ideal if you don’t want drugs or surgery.

Many people are familiar with the benefits of herbs. Many people don’t realize the power of these natural substances. You can buy herbs online, in pharmacies and at health food stores. Most herbs last for several weeks.

Green tea is one example of a herb that can increase the metabolic rate. Green tea contains epigallocatechin galate (EGCG), which enhances the activity of enzymes that break down fats in cells. EGCG has also been shown to improve glucose tolerance. This reduces the chance of developing diabetes.

Ginger root is another example. The ginger root acts like a stimulant. It increases metabolism and stimulates digestive tract. Ginger aids in the elimination of toxins from the body.

Other herbs that boost the metabolic rate are ginseng, licorice root, mullein leaf, rosemary, turmeric, and valerian root.

Most herbs can be taken as teas. This allows the active ingredients to enter the bloodstream quickly and efficiently. When taking herbs internally, ensure that you do so under medical supervision. You should not apply herbs to your skin if you are going to be using them externally. Other areas could be affected or inflamed.

How can I reduce my appetite?

You can stop eating when hungry by eating small, frequent meals throughout the day and not just three big meals at mealtimes. This keeps your blood sugar levels in check and helps reduce hunger pangs.

It may turn out that drinking lots of water or taking herbal supplements such as bitter melon, ginseng or ginseng is better than relying solely on food.

Avoid foods high in carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, as they can give you a short boost that then leads to a crash.

Choose protein-rich foods like lean meats and fish, eggs, legumes, and nuts. These foods will give you energy for long periods and help keep your blood sugar stable.

Sugary snacks and drinks like chocolate bars, doughnuts and cakes, as well as soft drinks and juice, should be avoided. These can make you feel hungry and bloated.

Choose healthier options such as fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grain cereals.

If you are trying to lose weight, don’t depend on miracle cures or fad diets.

Is there any side effects to African Mango Extract?

There are no known side effects associated with taking African mango extract. It is possible to experience stomach upset, diarrhea, or other side effects from this product. Stop using the product immediately and consult your doctor if this happens.

What is an African mango?

The fruit was first discovered by British explorers on an expedition to Africa. Although it has been grown in South America for many centuries, the fruit’s production is declining due to climate change, deforestation and other factors.

The African Mango Project attempts to reverse this decline by developing sustainable ways of growing East African mangoes.

They are also working toward creating local jobs, and improving the livelihoods in communities around plantations.

They aim to harvest the first commercial crop within five years.

Statistics

• On average, they may help you lose 3–9% of your body weight compared with a placebo (56Trusted Source (healthline.com)
• According to a 2014 review, even prescription weight loss pills don’t work as well as you might assume. (healthline.com)
• A 2008 survey noted that 33.9% of American adults trying to lose weight took dietary supplements (1Trusted (healthline.com)
• A 2003 meta-analysis of studies found that people taking orlistat for 12 months in combination with lifestyle changes saw a 2.9% greater weight reduction than the placebo group (26Trusted Source (healthline.com)
• In a total of 54 randomized controlled trials in healthy adults with overweight or obesity, the authors found no difference in weight or body fat percentage between the Garcinia Cambogia group and the placebo group (3Trusted Source (healthline.com)

External Links

healthline.com

• Glucomannan – Is it an effective weight loss supplement?
  

cdc.gov

• Products – Data briefs – Number 376 September 2020
  
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  

webmd.com

• African Mango: What you need to know about Irvingia Gabonesis
  
• Goji Berries Side Effects, Health Benefits
  

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

• IGOB131, a novel extract from the West African plant Irvingia Gabonensis, dramatically reduces body fat and improves metabolic characteristics in overweight people in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study – PMC
  
• A case of renal failure developing in association with African mango consumption – PMC
  

How To

The Best Natural Appetite Suppressants for Weight Control

Natural appetite suppressant to weight loss is any substance that can be used to reduce food intake without side effects, such as vomiting or constipation, diarrhea and dizziness.

There are many options for naturally losing weight. One way is through dieting. The goal of dieting is to reduce calories compared to the usual food you eat. This means that you eat fewer calories than usual and that you cut back on certain foods. Another way to lose weight naturally is through exercise. Exercise is about increasing your physical activity. You can do this by walking fast, running, aerobics, swimming, dancing, cycling, hiking, jogging, playing sports, working out at the gym, doing strength training, doing yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, etc.

Natural appetite suppressants work well because they don’t have side effects such as nausea, constipation and heartburn. They are safer than prescription drugs that can cause side effects. You can try them if you wish. But before trying these products, make sure that you consult your doctor first.