Why Is Good Food Important for your Kids – What Is Good Food?
Everyone needs the same kinds of nutrients for good nutrition. These nutrients include vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber. Children have different requirements according to their ages.
Why Is Good Nutrition Important?
Proper nutrition is critical for good health. It’s important for children to grow properly, learn, have energy, and feel good about themselves. It helps maintain a healthy weight and so avoids obesity-related diseases such as diabetes. Carbohydrates, for example, give the body fuel. Fiber helps avoid constipation and lowers risks of diabetes and heart disease. Calcium and vitamin D are important for bone health.
How Do Children Learn to Eat Healthy?
Parents play a big role in helping children develop eating habits. Parents who eat low-fat, low-sugar, high-fiber foods teach their children to like these foods. Child care providers, friends, and the media also shape eating habits. If parents help children be aware of these other pressures, children will more likely make healthy choices themselves.
What Are Good Foods?
Children older than 2 should eat various nutrient-dense foods: fruits, vegetables, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products, lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and whole grains. Diets should be low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and sugars. Low-carbohydrate diets are not usually best for children. Children also need the right amounts of fluids and electrolytes (special chemicals such as sodium and potassium). Children who eat healthy diets probably don’t need vitamin supplements, but always discuss this with your child’s health care provider.
Ways to help children eat better include making sure children eat breakfast—the most important meal of the day. Offer a wide variety of foods. Give a snack or two in addition to three daily meals. Limit the amount of added sugar in the diet. Cook with less fat and salt. Bake or grill meat, and take skin off chicken. Involve children in planning and fixing meals.
Parents who follow alternative diets such as vegetarian and vegan may need to check with a nutrition counselor make sure that children get enough of the correct nutrients and vitamins.
What Are the Best Food Choices?
Food groups include grains; fruits; vegetables; milk, cheese, and yogurt; fats; and meat, poultry, fish, dried beans, and eggs. Five daily servings of fruits and vegetables are recommended.
Eating whole-grain breads and cereals (high in fiber) and healthy proteins such as lean meat, nuts, and eggs is important. Broccoli, cooked greens, and canned salmon (with bones) provide calcium. Food sources of iron include meat, fish, poultry, iron-fortified cereals, spinach, greens, and dried beans and peas.
Babies and toddlers should snack because they need high energy and have small stomachs. Teens who grow and develop quickly also need snacks. Healthy snacks include fresh and dried fruits, nuts, low-fat yogurt, and air-popped popcorn.
Be careful about portion sizes: a clenched fist is about a cup, the amount for a serving of pasta, rice, cereal, vegetables, and fruit. A meat portion is about as big as the palm. Eating out can be a challenge.
At fast-food restaurants, choose healthier foods such as grilled, not fried, sandwiches. Order side salads instead of fries. Most restaurant servings are three or four times the right size, so share meals or take doggie bags home. Drink water or low-fat milk instead of sodas. Eat meals on smaller plates. Instead of buying lunches, take favorite healthy foods to school.
DOs and DON’Ts in Providing Good Nutrition:
- DOlimit fast food and junk food
- DOoffer water and milk instead of sugary drinks andsodas.
- DObroil, grill, or steam foods instead of frying them.
- DOread nutrition labels on foods before you buy them.
- DOprovide at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables.
- DON’Ttell children to clean their plates, which may make them overeat.
Seek Additional Information
Contact the following source:
- The Endocrine Society
Tel: (301) 941-0200, (888) 363-6274
Website:http://www.endo-society.org - The National Institutes of Health
Tel: (301) 496-4000
Website:http://www.nih.gov - The Obesity Society
Tel: (301) 563-6526
Website:http://www.obesity.org - The American Academy of Pediatrics
Tel: (847) 434-4000
Website:http://www.aap.org
