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Kids back to school nutrition
Hello hello community , lot of infos about back to school nutrition for kids , so i feel very confused , any professional suggestions for kids to eat healthy , nourish thé body without excess weight and to boost their mental performance and immunity
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4 Replies
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Hey ,
I could provide you with plenty of tips. But perhaps you could tell me:
1. What topics do you find most confusing?
2. How old are your kids?
3. How would you describe your kid’s eating preferences? Are they good eaters? Do they like healthy stuff or do they have a sweet tooth?
4. Are there any health conditions your kids have?
5. Are they using any medications? (Birth control also falls into this category!)
6. Are they using supplements?The more we know, the more targeted our response will be!
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Dear sir
1-macros , some says carbs every meal , some says eat snacks some says no etc
2- 9-11
3- of course sweet tooth , here people love eating carbs ( adults , kids etc )
4- no just getting sick quickly
5- no
6- no too , doctors here say no need for supps for kids
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Hey ,
I think the discussion on macros isn’t really difficult. My advice would be to focus on the quality of food. This matters most.
I’m not saying macros aren’t important. They still are, but it’s less difficult than you would think. When it comes to quantity, I think protein is the most important to get right when it comes to quantity. A lot of people don’t get enough.
Especially when your kids start growing, proteins are important. The optimal amount isn’t the same as the recommendations you often see on the internet, unfortunately. This article on examine.com is a better recommendation: 1.5 grams of protein per kg bodyweight for children between 4 and 13 years.
Increased protein intake can also cause more saturation leaving your kids with less desire for sweets.
I always told my clients that the ‘second macro’ to get right, isn’t fat or carbs.
It’s fibre.
Fibre isn’t a macro of course. It is a carb that can’t be digested by the body. It is however important for the microbiome. Bacteria in the gut can break some fibre down and change it into short-chain fatty acids like butyrate. Although fibre is a carbohydrate and doesn’t really contribute a lot to caloric intake, it should be counted as fat.
How many would kids need?
• Boys 9 to 13 years: ~31 grams of fiber/day.
• Girls 9 to 13 years: ~26 grams of fiber/day.If your children are healthy, the rest of the calories can come from fats and carbohydrates. The ratio doesn’t matter much. Just don’t try to avoid one group or the other. So don’t try to avoid fats or carbohydrates. It’s more about the quality of the foods you choose.
I would use the VPF principle (just watch this video) as much as a base.
If you feel your kids are sick often, it might help to give your kids some exposure to sunlight. A lot of people are deficient in vitamin D and vitamin D is an important nutrient for the immune system.
Zinc is another nutrient that is important for the immune system. 8 mg of zinc is recommended for children between 9 and 13 years old. Examples of good sources of zinc are meat, fish, pumpkin seeds, lentils and oats.
Vitamin A is also needed for the production of white blood cells. you can find precursors of vitamin A in orange plant foods. Examples are sweet potatoes, carrots, and pumpkin, but spinach and peppers also have a good amount of vitamin A.
The king food source of vitamin A is still liver. In the library, you can find some recipes to make liver more tasty (right here). The vitamin A in animal sources is different from the vitamin A in plant sources. It doesn’t need conversion in contrary to for example betacarotene (this is the carotenoid that gives carrots and sweet potatoes their orange color)
Another tip is finding stuff your children see as treats, but are healthier variations. You know your kids the best and it might be a little bit of a search in the beginning. Fruits can be a healthy solution. A little tip: If you let your kids prepare a tasty healthy recipe, they are more likely to eat it as well!
I hope these are helpful tips. Let me know if you need some more!
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Hi B and Family
Great question, I wan to know the same for my grand daughter who’s 8 years old. Just want boost her immunity especially that COVID is still around, you know how kids are getting into each other faces.
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