A Basic Guide to Kids’ Nutrition

Home-Cooked vs Fast Food

While fast food, snacks and sugary cereals may appeal to kids, nothing beats a good home-prepared meal for its nutrient content. Don’t underestimate the experience for children of eating food that you make yourself, especially if you involve them in shopping and preparing ingredients.

Perhaps the best way for kids to get a balanced diet is to teach them young and lead by example. Home cooking doesn’t need to be excessively time consuming. Even the most reluctant cook can rustle up popular, easy to make, inexpensive food that children will eat.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are needed for energy and should make up 60% of your child’s daily food intake.Simple carbs are rapidly digested, sometimes giving kids a ‘sugar high’. They’re found in processed cereals, sweets and juices – in fact, many of the foods kids seem to like! Unfortunately by processing food, a lot of fibre and nutrients are lost. Complex carbs are healthier options. They are wholefoods and tend to be less sweet, such as wholegrains, cereals, pulses, fruit and fibrous vegetables.

Best carbohydrates for children are: Fruits, vegetables, wholemeal flour, bread biscuits and crackers, brown and wild rice, wholegrain unsweetened breakfast cereals and muesli, buckwheat.

Proteins

Proteins are essential for bones, teeth, nails, muscles, brain and the nervous system.Proteins digest slowly and if you add protein to a carb meal (eg a turkey sandwich rather than a marmite sandwich), the whole meal will digest more slowly. Children need daily protein, but too much can lead to acidity and weakened bones.

Animal sources of protein are known as complete proteins as they contain all of the 8 essential amino acids that the body can’t make itself, whereas vegetable sources are often incomplete and you will need several vegetable sources to get all 8 amino acids.

Best proteins for children are: Milk, cheese, eggs, plain yoghurt, meat, fish, poultry, pulses, soy and tofu, quinoa, millet and oats. Nuts contain protein but can cause an allergic reaction (especially peanuts) or present a choking hazard.

Fats

Fats are slow to digest and are made up of essential fats and processed fats. Essential fats from natural (unprocessed) foods, are essential to all stages of life. For children, these include optimum brain development, nerve communication and hormone transportation. Processed fats, which include trans and saturated fats are of negligible value to kids, and are found in prepared foods and treats.

Beware of low fat versions of popular foods – they are often full of additives and sugars and so are not the best choices for kids. Avoid anything with hydrogenated or even partially hydrogenated fats in it. These are widely used in the food industry and contribute to cardiovascular disease, obesity and potentially slow development as they compete for absorption with essential fats (the good fats) potentially reducing their levels.

Best essential fats for children are:

• Omega – 3
  Salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, linseeds, pumpkin and sesame seeds, walnuts.
• Omega – 6
  Almonds, pine nuts, avocado, corn, sunflower seeds.
• Omega – 9
  Olive Oil

A healthy balanced meal contains proteins and carbohydrates, preferably with healthy fats and fibre. An example would be salmon with brown rice and broccoli.

Ian Marber, MBANT, Dip ION is a nutrition consultant, author, broadcaster and health journalist. The Food Doctor nutrition clinic in Holland Park, London was co-founded by Ian Marber in 1999.