hi all,

my protein powder says it is not for kids under 18. I use chocolate or vanilla flavored EAS protein powder from Costco. It is pretty standard stuff. there is no creatine it or anyting like that.

is this a hard and fast rule or can i mix up some "chocolate milk" (protein powder flavored with splenda) to offset some of the carbs my 7 year old is eating?

thanks.

I'd love to be able to answer your question Jeffrey but I've managed to get by without the protein powder for my kid. Fortunately she's not too fussy with her food.

I strongly suspect there's no good reason for the under 18 limitation, other than it absolves the manufacturer of any liability. If anything, kids need protein more than adults as they are still growing. Have you tried contacting the manufacturer and asking them for an explanation?

I do Splenda for myself but would never offer it to a kid (I don't have one). I also would never ever offer a kid a aspartame. Again, I do ingest myself. If you have unsweetened stuff and can sweeten it with stevia or applesauce, etc. the unsweetened protein powder won't hurt. I'm sure that there are worse thing to worry over as a parent...but to me the artificial sweeters (I do include Splenda in that) are yucky. When my niece visits we have snack time with string cheese, apples and either peanut butter or cashews or (more fun) pistachios. Again, I don't have a kid but if you offer better choices rather than try to offset the carbs it may be healthier trying to balance the carbs. How about turkey jerky or something w/tofu or cottage cheese tossed into an ice-cream milk shake? Yes, I don't have children so it's easy for my thought process...

As a mother of 3 children, I would (and have) definitely use protein powder. However, I am picky about what the ingredients are. The less, the better. I would rely on the Zone protein powder that is sold here, or Jay Robb's. Otherwise, I do a lot of label shopping, and if I don't like what is on the label, I don't get it.

Speaking of other snacks, I also offer protein with our snacks for the kids. And, my kids LOVE nuts!

JMO, but I'd say it's better not to feed a child EAS because of the aritficial sweetener it contains, and also because of the food dyes in some of the flavors. It's best for both children and adults to avoid consuming artificial ingredients whenever a viable alternaitve exists (note that I leave leeway; never say never!).

There's a couple of interesting points on this thread. First, the artificial sweetner / aspartame issue. In the UK this is simple not discussed. All diet drinks (Diet Coke, Pepsi, Fanta etc), and many ordinary foods, use aspartame as a matter of course. (Yes Cat, I also label shop, a lot!)

I've even seen aspartame added to surprising foods like pickled onions, beetroot, jalapeno peppers etc! I know there's an alleged cancer link in the US to aspartame, but for whatever reason, that risk hasn't made it across the pond.

Nuts is the other one. My daughter is the most well adjusted 6 year old I know when it comes to eating. She eats and loves virtually any food I put in front of her, including blue steak - the bloodier the better as far as she is concerned! But if there's one thing that's always a struggle, it's nuts. She really doesn't care for them and I'm at a bit of a loss as to how best to get her to eat them. I wonder if peanut butter would be worth a try?

I wouldn't try to get a person to eat peanut butter if they don't already eat it. One reason is that the lectins (proteins) in peanuts are itrritating to most people's digestive systems, to differing extents (and I don't mean only those with known peanut allergies). Second reason, peanuts aren't the most Zone favorable nuts (really a legume) anyway. If you want to try to get her to eat a Zone favorable nut butter, as a source of some good fat, you'd be better off trying almond butter. The drawback to that, for some people, is that it's more expensive.

Thanks for the time Sue, I don't recall ever seeing Almond butter. Will have to keep my eye out for it.

Personally I always hated peanut butter so never have any in the house.

Isn't peanut butter listed in the Top 100 Zone foods? I can't find my copy, but was thinking it was there--I have also seen peanuts listed as a "best choice" in the zone block index.

In "Top 100 ZF" Barry Sears explains that peanuts have a lower Zone fat quality rating than almonds and olives (in fact he's listed thma as the lowest rated fat in the book) because they have less monounsaturated fat.

Oh, you must have misread my post! I am missing my copy of that book, so I am not able to see that, but thanks for expanding on that.

Of course, it doesn't explain how peanuts can be rated as a "best source" of fat in the block lists.

I also noticed that peanuts and peanut butter is listed on the food block guide on www.drsears.com. That list apparently is a list of Zone favorable foods.

Some foods are more favorable than others. "Top 100 Z F" rates and places the favorable foods into 3 categories, basically a good, better, and best type of rating. Peanuts fall into the lowest level (refer to page, 226), not the better or best rating, although they do have other positive attributes in addition to their monounsaturated fat content. Here's an excellent resource to use to make comparisons of the fat makeup of the foods shown on the list Zone favorable fats: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

If you compare peanuts to Macadamia nuts (which Barry gives his highest rating to in "Top 100 ZF", and calls "the Champion of Zone fats"; refer to page 214), you'll see that peanuts contain less than half the amount of monounsaturated fat and more than 10 times the amount of polyunsaturated fat as Macadamias do. Monounsaturated fat is the one we add in the Zone. Polyunsaturated fat is the one we try to avoid in the Zone.

All foods are created equal, but some foods are more equal than others. Eh Sue? ;-)

Yep, more equal, more better. :)

Well, that just doesn't make sense to me. It seems odd that a food that contains nutrients that we need to avoid is published in the T100ZF! IMO, if a food has something in it that we should avoid, it should not be listed in the book, as I would expect only zone favorables to be in there!

But, I guess that is just what would happen in the "world according to Cranberrycat".

Most all nuts contain monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, and saturated fats. Those listed as Zone favorable contain more monounsaturated than they do saturated and polyunsaturated.

[quote]Posted By Sue on 12/12/2007 7:33 PM

Most all nuts contain monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated, and saturated fats. Those listed as Zone favorable contain more monounsaturated than they do saturated and polyunsaturated. [/quote]

Guess what! I found my MTZ book! (now just need to find T100ZF). In any case, since I just put my hands on that book, I promptly went to the back section, pages 332-333, and read the fat block list.

The list is divided up into 3 sections: best choices (rich in monounsaturated fat), fair choices (low in saturated fat), and poor choices (rich in saturated fat). I found peanuts listed right along with all of the other "best choices". Peanuts, peanut butter and peanut oil.

Cranberry,

If you mean that seems to be conflicting info (not sure what you're trying to point out) IMO, it agrees with the info already presented here. The 100 foods discussed in "Top 100 ZF" represent the overall best Zone choices (peanuts included), and in that book, Barry further rates those choices using 3 categories, essentially representing good, better, and best, with peanuts getting the lowest of the 3 ratings.

[quote]Posted By Sue on 12/13/2007 6:35 AM

Cranberry,

If you mean that seems to be conflicting info (not sure what you're trying to point out) IMO, it agrees with the info already presented here. The 100 foods discussed in "Top 100 ZF" represent the overall best Zone choices (peanuts included), and in that book, Barry further rates those choices using 3 categories, essentially representing good, better, and best, with peanuts getting the lowest of the 3 ratings.[/quote]

Not exactly, Sue. That is not necessarily what I am saying.

I am at a disadvantage by not having the T100ZF with me at this time (lost it), but what I am saying is that the other books rate peanuts (and peanut products) as "best choice" fats, meaning that they have a high amount of monounsaturated fat.

In a previous post, you were directing another member to steer away from peanut products (peanut butter, if I recall) because it was not a highly favorable choice for fat.

I am pointing out that all of the sources of information seem to indicate that peanut products ARE a highly favorable choice for fat. The mere fact that peanuts show up in the T100ZF seems to indicate that it IS a best choice, along with peanuts being on the best choice column on the block index; and I do not see any reason why anyone should be directed to avoid it (except in the case of allergies).

[quote]Posted By Sue on 12/10/2007 1:53 PM

I wouldn't try to get a person to eat peanut butter if they don't already eat it. One reason is that the lectins (proteins) in peanuts are itrritating to most people's digestive systems, to differing extents (and I don't mean only those with known peanut allergies). Second reason, peanuts aren't the most Zone favorable nuts (really a legume) anyway. If you want to try to get her to eat a Zone favorable nut butter, as a source of some good fat, you'd be better off trying almond butter. The drawback to that, for some people, is that it's more expensive.[/quote]

Sue, this is the quote from the other message that I referred to in my previous post. I feel that this post gives peanuts a negative label. My intention is to point out that peanuts are GOOD food and good for you. Perhaps, if you hold a peanut next to an almond, the almond may have more benefit, but there is NOTHING wrong with eating peanuts.

For those of you who may be left feeling confused by the info presented about peanuts and peanut butter in this thread, here's Barry Sears' opinion on the topic, which pretty much sums it up: "I prefer that you choose nuts that are rich in monounsaturated fats, like macadamia nuts, almonds, cashews, and pistachios. Peanuts are a good source of monounsaturated fat - though not as good as other kinds of nuts. Remember, nuts, including peanut butter, are primarily a source of fat. And you only need to eat a relatively small amount of nuts or nut butter to get a good dose of the monounsaturated fat that your body needs." This quote is taken from page 40 of "A Week in the Zone" by Barry Sears.

Colin,

Macadamia nut butter and cashew butter are other good Zone fat alternatives. Macadamia nut butter has a runnier consistency than most nut butters, but has a nice buttery smooth feel to it. I love it. Cashew butter is sort "blah" IMO. Funny, because I love roasted cashews, but I can take or leave macadamia nuts. Most cashew butter I see contains raw cashews, if I remember correctly. Once you start looking for these things, you'll be surprised what you can find out there.

I don't think that we disagree on the fact that if you compare a peanut to an almond, that the almond is the better choice.

I am just pointing out that a peanut MUST have a certain amount of monounsaturated fat in it to be able to make it into the "best choice" category, otherwise it would have been assigned the "fair" or "poor" choice!