Concerning Children Nutrition Can Be A Worrying Issue For Mothers.

For children nutrition is always a bit of a minefield. Are they getting everything they need? Are they getting enough vitamins, enough protein, too much fat?

Fruit Is An Important Part Of Childrens Nutrition

Actually, as long as they don’t have access to sweets and junk food most of the time, you probably needn’t worry. Children have good instincts and will usually balance their food naturally – as long as they are offered a variety of healthy foods.

It’s more important what kids don’t eat than what they do eat.

Sugar, artificial additives , white flour, fizzy drinks – all these should be avoided as much as possible.

Sugar in any form is highly addictive; so don’t let them get in the habit of having it. For children nutrition should not contain sugar if they want to stay fit (or adult’s, for that matter). White flour loses 42 nutrients in the refining process. In bread and commercial breakfast cereals, four of these are replaced – remember the ads: ‘fortified with thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and iron’? What about the rest then? White bread and white pasta contain calories but very little goodness – including hardly any dietary fibre. Eating them regularly can lead to constipation.

Encouraging regular bowel habits is one of the most important factors in avoiding illness, for adults and children. This is one of the reasons that it’s important to drink lots of water and include high-fibre foods such as wholegrains and vegetables in childrens nutrition. Constipation can cause headaches and tiredness, as toxins are re-absorbed. Chronic constipation has been linked to bowel cancer. If constipation is a frequent problem for your children, replace white bread, pasta, etc with wholemeal and cut down on cheese. For a pleasant, natural remedy, try this recipe.

Childrens nutrition would include wholewheat pasta

Get your kids in the habit of eating wholemeal bread and pasta. Wholegrains are good sources of fibre, protein and B-vitamins. The taste of wholegrain pasta takes a bit of getting used to. My kids will eat it with green pesto or a tomato sauce, from my four year old to my 18 year old. Food additives – though the manufacturers try to deny it, there is a growing mountain of evidence linking artificial additives with health and behaviour problems in children. Real food does not need artificial additives.

Remember with children nutrition will mean fruit. Fruit plays an important role for us all. Make sure you always have fresh fruit available for them, and encourage them to eat several portions of fruit a day. Fruit makes a good snack food – it’s easily digested so it gives quick energy and won’t spoil your kids’ appetites for meals. I find it works to give them a bowlful of peeled and cut fruit pieces without asking them if they want it. If it’s made easy for them they’ll eat quite a lot.

Most kids love strawberries and other berries. These are great sources of vitamin C and bioflavanoids. Vitamin C is the most important of all vitamins. This is one vitamin that I would always recommend supplementing. Even with a really good diet, it’s possible that your kids (and you) aren’t getting enough. Look for a supplement that's free of sugar, as sugar interferes with your body’s uptake of vitamin C.

It can be hard to get children to eat vegetables. It’s easiest to get them used to vegetables when they are very young, but it’s never too late. Don’t make a big issue of it – the main thing is that they try different foods. If you can get children to try a particular food ten days in a row, very often they become accustomed to it and will eat it after that.

Remember that a healthy diet is based on fruit, vegetables and wholegrains Whether for adults or children nutrition involving fruit is important. If that is all that is available, that is what they will eat. Children can be very fussy eaters, but they won’t starve themselves. The fussiest children can grow up to be the most health conscious adults - like my younger brother and sister(vegetarian, eat organic, drink herb teas, etc). Offer them a good variety of home cooked, healthy foods, make sure they get plenty of fresh air and exercise – and try not to worry. If you eat well yourself, they will eventually follow your good example.

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SBI!