Marián García Martínez went from giving the advice after the counter of a pharmacy in his town (Beltmonte, Cuenca) to do so in networks and on television for all of Spain. Under the name of Boticaria García, this pharmacist, who is also dietitian-nutritionist, has become one of the best known health and nutrition disseminator and nutrition, dismantling food myths and promoting healthy habits in an accessible way with a characteristic touch of humor.
His last goal is to talk about child food: “Our children have it more difficult than us, because they have grown up in a generation in which there is much more cheap dopamine of ultra -processed technologies and foods,” he says during this interview. How to help them then? With the example. This, as García says, starts at home. And also in the supermarket.
That’s the book that has just published to the destination (Mystery in the supermarket)a call to action to the little ones at home to awaken their “curiosity about food and learn, with their own eyes, to see what is inside.” A way to teach them the keys to nutrition without impositions, “by way of discovery and on their own initiative.”
How important is food education in childhood and how does it influence the physical and mental development of children?
It is key because, right now, one in three children in Spain (according to the ALADINO STUDY), has overweight and obesity. And there is a relationship between obesity and overweight in childhood with metabolic diseases in adulthood.
The body is based on neurophysiological mechanisms, this means that the flavors that are introduced into the taste papillae of children are equally engraved as the images in our retinas. It is more difficult to overcome those eating habits, those flavors and those textures to which we have become accustomed to children.
Food education is essential for children, but what advice would you give to parents to also promote healthy habits at home?
I think there is more parental control right now on YouTube and Netflix than in the fridge. That is, the father puts more filters to the audiovisual content consumed by his son than to the foods he consumes and I really believe that sugar should come with a parental warning as well. And in fact in some countries it appears in stamps, but in Spain not. The advice, in the first place, must not be to get carried away by the marketing of fear and stop focusing on things like “gluten is the antichrist.” No, the Antichrist is sedentary lifestyle.
Our children have it more difficult than us, because they have grown up in a generation in which there is much more cheap dopamine of ultraprocessing technologies and foods
The truth is that our children have it more difficult than us, because they have grown up in a generation in which there is much more cheap dopamine of ultraprocessing technologies and foods. Therefore, what we have to do is give example, since they are seeing us: if we get home and have a beer with fried potatoes, you cannot tell the child that the chickpea salad is eaten, because the reason will not understand.
How can we teach children to differentiate between what is a “healthy food” and what is not, especially in a reality where there are more and more healthy options, and where sugary foods are marketed aimed at the little ones?
From the Ministry of Consumer there is a project to regulate the machines of vending (There can be no food in machines vending that have more than 5% sugar per ration). This is something new, and it is very interesting because in the end these foods are superdisponable for children and somehow we have to limit access, yes, without prohibiting it.
For the child it will be very difficult to learn to distinguish a healthy food from what is not when it is very small. That is why the idea of the book is first to understand what we can look for on the labels, what kind of words can be looked for. Next, the father’s work is to make that olive oil or that orange more attractive and accompany not only what is less healthy, but to focus on the positive effects for the body. I think we are more predisposed to give a change when we understand the advantage that supposes us.
Eating disorders are increasingly frequent among Spanish minors, what role do content play on social networks, television advertising and other digital media in children and their relationship with food?
There are studies about how social networks can amplify these behaviors related to eating disorders, because today it is true that you can find more support networks, but you can also find more information.
Clichés and stigma are also enhanced. It is true that there is information on all sides, but the negative in the end have a very large influence. I think changing speech is very difficult when what we perceive through social networks is so contradictory. On the one hand, they demand a wonderful aesthetic canon, especially women but on the other hand, everything that is ‘guay’ are sugar bombs or XXL ice cream. Viral food is always enjoyment Because he enters a lot through the eyes. But it is a problem, and it can also condition us.
The father puts more filters to the audiovisual content that his son consumes than to the food he consumes, I believe that sugar should come with a parental warning too
What do you expect children to learn with this book?
I want to awaken curiosity about food and learn with their own eyes, to see what is inside and not be tax, but by way of discovery and on their own initiative. For me the ideal would be when a child later goes to a supermarket with his parents, when passing through the dairy hall, see the kefir, and imagine his bacteria and his yeasts. I would like them to see them as researchers and spread the colleagues of school and that they also begin to lead this change.
How to involve children in food planning at home and in the choice of healthier options when going to the supermarket, avoiding excess sugar and other whims?
Children do not need us to tell them anything, but we do it at home. They need us to make a purchase that is as healthy as possible, being flexible, because if we prohibit, we can generate eating disorders. If we restrict a child something, this something will want. In addition, the speech of “this is bad because you are going to gain weight”, apart from being dangerous, it will not work since it is important that they understand themselves that, for example, a 343 yogurt, which is the one that has 3% of proteins, 4% of sugar and 3% fat, is the healthiest yogurt. The key to me is for parents to explain food, which are also included, that they make a family educational activity.
The important thing is that fathers and mothers do not stop taking reins and keep in mind that a well -trained child and who has received training and education in nutrition is a child who will make better decisions and will be happier
What other factors can influence child feeding and what measures can be taken to improve it?
Another thing that seems key to me is that the children’s menu does not exist and are the parents. In children’s nutritional guides, the size of rations or quantity of nutrients, but not of specific foods, is spoken. That is, nowhere it says that children have to eat pasta, Nuggetssausages or fried potatoes. We have invented that combo because it is convenient for the child to eat it quickly and not bother. We have to understand that this children’s menu is a cultural, social invention and that it really depends on us
We also have to keep in mind that families with income of less than 18,000 euros, 46% of children have obesity and overweight, according to the Aladino study. And it is not that eating well is expensive, is that eating badly is very cheap. External measures are needed, which affect the environment; Not only to the machines of vending, but to the dining rooms. A Royal Decree of the Ministry of Consumption for School Eaters is approved, which will promote the use of more local seasonal fruits and vegetables. This is fundamental because there are many children that the main food they make per day is in the school dining room and if a good menu is not offered here, those children are convicted.
But, despite everything, the important thing is that fathers and mothers do not stop taking reins and take into account that a well -trained child and who has received training and education in nutrition, is a child who will make better decisions and that he will be happier.
There are many children that the main food they make per day is in the school dining room and if a good menu is not offered here, those children are convicted
What would you say that they are the most efficient pathways for children to be more protected and informed both at home and in the face of food information in schools, media and digital platforms?
The information on food in media and digital platforms, more in this sector, is essential because the code, everything that is the control regulations in the ads with respect to children is very lax. That is, despite the fact that there is a self -control code, in the end everything that is self -control, getting out of control.
In this case, I think we must demand not only as parents, but as a society, that there is a regulation of the contents of advertising, both on television and social networks; what can be offered to children and what not. Children are very vulnerable and will obviously be more predisposed to consume foods consumed by their favorite stars. I am the most flexible person in the world when prohibiting anything, but that influence leads us to consume things that are not healthy, taking into account the data we have …
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