Everyone is talking about antioxidants- there are even companies making chocolate and promoting it for its antioxidant effect. What does this really mean? And what are the free radicals they are supposedly fighting off?
When the body metabolizes food into energy, the body consumes oxygen and produces free radicals. Free radicals are cells that have a missing electron in their outer shell and try to take back or bind up an electron from other cells to stay chemically stable. The problem is that they steal these electrons back from important other components of the body, namely DNA, fats and proteins. The damage caused by free radicals can potentially lead to longterm health problems.
Antioxidants donate electrons to free radicals, essentially neutralizing their electron charge imbalance and thus preventing damage to other cells. They also may help reduce the impact of chemicals and pollution on the body caused by chemicals and pollutants.
However, some antioxidants, known as Phytates or phytic acid can decrease mineral absorption by binding with iron, zinc, manganese and weakly to calcium. These phytates are found in nuts, seed and whole grains. This is a concern for many vegetarians, especially if they eat a lot of wheat bran.
However, for most children’s diets, the benefits of phytates outweigh the risks because they are shown to have anti-inflammatory effects and, like other antioxidants, help normalize cell development against free radicals.
The best way for your child to get antioxidants is to eat a varied diet. This should consist of fruits, a variety of vegetables, and some whole grains. Encouraging you child to have a varied diet insures he or she will consume all the necessary vitamins, minerals and antioxidants for healthy growth and development.
this is a new product from Nestle that tastes great and provides complete balanced nutrition with every serving- 25 Vitamins and minerals, 7 grams of protein as well as antioxidants, Vitamin C, E, selenium. The straw provided with BOOST Kid Essentials Drink is specially formulated to deliver an effective daily dose of the probiotic Lactobacillus reuteri Protectis. Recent clinical trials have shown that infants experienced decreased fever and sick days and children experienced less diarrhea when fed the probiotic provided by BOOST Kid Essentials Drink. 
2. Earths Best has now come out with a line of antioxidant rich baby foods rich in vitamins A and C and phytochemicals.there are several new flavors- and a daily jar of Earth’s Best Antioxidant Baby Food will provide your baby with extra vitamins as well as develop a taste for antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables. 
3. Natural and organic candy- not that one ever needs to promote candy eating- but this company is an impressive mom and sisters business with a huge selection of high quality candy including organic, vegan, kosher and all-natural. Just in time for Halloween. 
Why all the hype lately? In the past several months I have come to realize the ease of the message. Being involved with eco-minded building design for nearly 10 years has been a struggle, but not as of late. Financiers, economists, and environmentalist have marked December 2007 as the BEGINNING of the green revolution. Oh and what a revolution it has become.
1. : This new line of cleverly packaged drinks are organic, low calorie healthy drinks for kids. These drinks are considered “developmental drinks” because they provide the vitamins and minerals essential to a child’s healthy growth. They come in four “flavors”: Bone, Brain, Immune and Muscle waters- each containing nutrients to boost the natural function of your body. They taste great and are all organic- even the packaging is recyclable. 
For all those children suffering from food intolerances or allergies, finally comes some fun, allergy-friendly chocolate bars for that special treat: I recommend the BOOM CHOCO BOOM choclate bars- they are the first ever dairy-,nut-,soy-,And gluten free chocolate bars. They are made without wheat, peanuts,tree nuts, egg, soy, fish or shellfish AND without casein, potatoe, sesame or sulfites. Hard to believe they taste this good. 
3. BioGaia: I recommend Gut HEALTH by Bio Gaia, a probiotic, for many of my patients, and for good reason. They come in convenient powder packets that can be carried around and mixed in juice, applesauce, ice cream remininiscent of the old Pixie Sticks. There are also chewable tablets for those kids who want something to bite into. Gut Health restores normal bowel function, strengthens intestinal immunity, maintains intestinal health and prevents diarrhea. 
5 vedaRX Console Ear drops: I have been working on these for several years and can now take pleasure in reporting the effectiveness of these all-natural drops for your child’s ear when they begin with a cold or complaints of ear pain. Using them at night, while thebaby sleeps, can drastically reduce the need for antibiotics, by absorbing the mucus and fluid within the ear, and offering pain relief. Since 85% of ear infections are usually viral anyway, these drops can help your baby make it through the three days of ear pain and avoid antibiotics if possible. 
