Child nutrition - nutrition tips for children and adolescents ›

A needs-based, d. H. Wholesome nutrition for children consists of a mixture of animal and vegetable foods, some raw, some processed, e.g. B. steamed or cooked, eaten. The key word is balance, so that prohibitions and restrictions are not even necessary. If this principle is observed, nutrient preparations, e.g. B. vitamins, minerals, protein in the form of tablets or drinks, and food enriched with nutrients completely unnecessary.

Balanced nutrition in children and adolescents consists largely of carbohydrates (50 – 55% of food energy), mainly from cereals, vegetables, potatoes and fruit, to a lesser extent from fat (maximum 30% of food energy), mainly from vegetable fats and Oils, as well as half from animal and vegetable protein (10 – 15% of food energy), from milk, meat, fish, cereals and potatoes.

Vegetables and fruits – rich in important nutrients

Vegetables and legumes primarily provide vitamins, minerals, trace elements and fiber. Raw food is highly recommended. If vegetables are heated, they should be treated in a nutritious manner, i.e. it must not be watered and boiled with plenty of water (steam or steam). If no fresh vegetables are available, frozen products can be used instead without the addition of cream, flour and spices. Cabbage and legumes are valuable sources of nutrients, but are difficult to digest.

If a child temporarily completely refuses vegetables, care must be taken to ensure that they have sufficient potato and fruit consumption. Fruit is most valuable as fresh fruit. Canned fruit mostly have high added sugars. Careful cleaning, washing and peeling of fruit and vegetables, variety in the varieties and preference for local products at the respective harvest time are the most likely to prevent pollution and ensure a good nutrient supply.

Milk – essential for children

Milk and dairy products ensure that children absorb enough calcium (to build bones). Important ingredients are also phosphorus, protein, zinc, iodine and especially vitamins B2 and B1. Quark and cream cheese contain relatively little calcium and are therefore not as suitable as drinking milk, yoghurt, thick milk and buttermilk. The type of milk can vary according to taste and practical considerations, e.g. Shelf life, storage or packaging, can be selected from the common consumption milk types.

One-sidedness easily leads to malnutrition

Unilateral diets, e.g. A vegetarian diet without milk, a strong diet with a lot of meat, sausage and cheese or a diet with mostly sweets and fine flour products can lead to deficiencies in special nutrients, e.g. Trace elements, vitamins and fatty acids. Fixation on certain flavors, such as sweet, sour, salty or spicy, dulls the feeling for the original taste of the food and can lead to monotonous diets without being noticed. The child should be accustomed from the start to eat at least a small amount of all foods. In the event of aversion to individual foods or foods, it is recommended as a compromise that the child may, after consultation with the parents or caregivers, reject up to three specific dishes in the long term. The most important prerequisite for successful nutrition education is the good example of adults.

Cold and warm meals complement each other

Two meals a day, e.g. Breakfast, as well as dinner or lunch, are cold meals. The main ingredients are bread or cereal flakes (as muesli) and milk. In addition there is raw food from vegetables and / or fruit, margarine, butter, lean cheese, lean sausages round off the meal in small quantities. Such cold meals are important for the supply of protein, calcium, vitamins and fiber. The warm meal, e.g. lunch or dinner, consists mainly of potatoes, brown rice or whole grain pasta and vegetables or salad. On some days there is also a small side dish of meat or fish. Such food provides particularly useful iron and zinc from meat, iodine from fish as well as protein and vitamins. Two snacks from raw fruits and vegetables ensure the supply of vitamin C. In addition, bread and, in moderation, pastries or cakes (brushing your teeth!) Can be eaten. The order of meals is based on family habits (e.g. warm meal at noon or in the evening).

Children are not small adults when eating either

Children need more than just a nutritionally balanced diet. The food should be prepared and served in a child-friendly manner. Children should be accustomed to meals from the start that are mildly seasoned with little salt and sugar but plenty of fresh herbs and are nicely served. Let the child largely decide how much to eat and do not fill the plate to the brim from the start. School bread is often eaten when it is appetizingly arranged and packed. Children especially eat with their eyes. A pleasant, quiet environment, friendly atmosphere and quality Table manners complete the meal. A child shouldn’t be sitting alone at the table. Breakfast muffle must be woken up in time. Taking a breather after kindergarten or school can increase your appetite for lunch.

Every child has their own needs

Table values for recommended amounts of food or energy (joules or calories) only give average values for different age groups. They are not binding for each individual child, but only serve as a guide. Tender children, who are small or quiet for their age, need less, lively children usually more energy than their age-appropriate standard. However, care should be taken to ensure that the child does not have too many high-energy foods, e.g. Candy chips, lemonade, consumed, otherwise there may be an undesirable weight gain beyond normal growth.

Water – the most important food

Water is the most important food. While the body can get by without solid food for weeks, people die after two to four days if they do not consume liquid from drinks and solid food. The younger one Child is, the more sensitive it is to insufficient fluid intake. On hot days, during sports and games, the fluid requirement of healthy children can increase more than twice. Ideal thirst extinguishers are tap water that is monitored by waterworks, mineral water – for young children without carbonation or after bubbling out – as well as herbal and fruit tea without added sugar from tea bags or loose dried herbs. Pure fruit juices naturally contain around 10% of various types of sugar and should therefore be diluted at least 1: 1 with water to quench your thirst. Vitamin juices are superfluous with varied mixed foods. Fruit drinks, fruit nectar, showers, cola drinks, lemonades and malt beer are not suitable for quenching your thirst because they contain a lot of sugar. Coffee beans, strong black tea and cola drinks contain caffeine and should therefore be rejected as stimulant stimulants.

Children do not eat the same amount every day

The normal eating habits of healthy children include large fluctuations in food consumption from day to day. In a child who eats poorly for several days, there is usually no risk of insufficient care. Appetizing juices and tonics are therefore superfluous. A child who eats significantly more than his needs for several days does not get fat. In the event of long-term conspicuous eating habits, the meal plan should be discussed with your pediatrician, a pediatrician or a nutritionist (dietician, nutritionist) to rule out malnutrition.

Cereals – ideally as whole grains

Vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fibers and important unsaturated fatty acids are found in the outer layers and the seedling of the grain. These are lost when grinding the grain into fine flour (extract flour e.g. type 405). Fine flours and products made from them (e.g. toasted bread, white bread, rolls) therefore contain hardly any important nutrients apart from carbohydrates in the form of starch. Wholemeal flour, flour with a high number of types, e.g. Type 1050, oatmeal, whole grain bread and crispbread, in addition to starch, provide valuable nutrients from the outer layers and the seedling of the grain. At least half of the amount of grain eaten in bread or muesli should therefore consist of whole wheat flour or whole wheat flakes. There is nothing to be said against eating the remaining portion as baked goods made from fine flour.

Potatoes and side dishes – deserve more attention

Potatoes should be cooked as freshly as possible. Puree should be made from potatoes with milk and margarine. French fries, fried potatoes, chips, etc. are less suitable because they contain a lot of hidden fat. Every day, potatoes or rice, pasta and other cereals such as millet and greens should come on the table. Brown rice and whole grain pasta contain more important nutrients than refined products such as husked rice and pasta made from fine flour.

Pasteurized or ultra-high-temperature whole milk (3.5% fat) or semi-skimmed milk (1.5%) are suitable. The choice of milk should always be related to the overall diet. If the child prefers to drink the higher-fat whole milk, other hidden fats, e.g. in meat, sausage and cheese. On the other hand, higher-fat sausages, e.g. the popular salami, spread sausage or bratwurst, can be eaten when partially skimmed milk is drunk. Commercial cocoa and milk-based drinks, fruit yoghurt, fruit curd, ready-to-eat desserts usually have high added sugar. As an alternative, yogurt or thick milk can be bought without fruit and mixed with fresh fruit, or fruit yoghurt is diluted 1: 1 with natural yoghurt. Pudding should be made from milk and a little sugar in the home. If children completely reject milk, sour milk products such as yogurt, thick milk and buttermilk in the same amount as drinking milk, or sliced cheese such as Gouda and Edam (a thick slice per day for approx. 10-year-old children, approx. 50 g) can fill the calcium gap in the food. The high salt content of cheese is a disadvantage. It is also possible to include drinking milk, dairy products and cheese in other dishes, e.g. Hide pudding, sauces, soups or casseroles. Children with a cow’s milk allergy cannot tolerate milk and milk products. However, the milk must not be painted without a replacement. Your doctor or nutritionist can advise you of suitable milk substitutes.

Meat – lean varieties in moderate amounts

Meat contains easy-to-use iron as well as high-quality protein and vitamin B12. The iron in vegetables and grains is not available to the body as easily as iron in meat. The availability of iron in plant foods can, however, be doubled by adding small amounts of meat or vitamin C. Meat should be lean. It should not be seared too much, because the roasted products that result are unhealthy in large quantities. It is best to eat lean pork, beef and poultry alternately. Pork contains a lot of vitamin B1, beef a lot of zinc. If liver is eaten, pork liver should be chosen because it is particularly rich in iron. Because of the pollutant load and because of the recently greatly increased levels of vitamin A in the liver, pork liver should not be served more often than every 14 days.

Sausage with a high percentage of hidden fats, e.g. Permanent sausage, bratwurst, homemade sausage (40-50% fat), should only be eaten from time to time. It is better to choose lean sausage and meat products, such as Scalded sausage (fresh sausage cuts), corned beef, lean cold roast, cooked ham without a fat rim and veal liver sausage. You should get used to not eating meat on some days. A good substitute are cereal dishes with vegetables or fruit. The mixture of grain and fruit or vegetables containing vitamin C ensures that iron from grain can be better used. Eggs are rich in vitamins. Egg yolk also contains very large amounts of cholesterol, which can increase blood lipid levels in some people. Depending on the age of the child, a maximum of three eggs should be eaten per week.

Sea fish – an important source of iodine

Lack of iodine leads to an enlargement of the thyroid gland and in the worst case to a goiter. Sea fish, especially saithe, cod, haddock and plaice, are the main sources of food for iodine. Since there is very little iodine in other foods, sea fish should be eaten once a week. Another good source of iodine is iodized iodized salt. The most recent addition of table salt has been found to contain fluoride to prevent tooth decay, as well as iodine. It is important that the table salt contains 0.02 mg iodine / g salt (read list of ingredients!) This salt should only be used sparingly in the household. Recently it has also been allowed to add iodized salt in food production. If the food contains iodized salt, the package is printed with iodized iodized salt. Ask your baker and butcher about bread and sausage with iodized salt.

Fat – save and note the variety

Children and adults today consume 40% of their food energy as fat. Since such high fat consumption over many years can lead to diseases of the cardiovascular system, the fat consumption should be reduced to at least 30% of the food energy. This means that you have to save on fat. Above all, hidden fats, e.g. in fried foods (coconut fat), sausage, cheese and cream, as they contain predominantly saturated fatty acids. Saturated fatty acids can increase the level of fat and cholesterol in the blood.

Fats are also hidden in chocolate products and most pastries and cakes. The fat intake should mainly be covered with margarine and edible oils (preferably soybean oil, otherwise sunflower, corn germ or olive oil). Vegetable fats, apart from coconut fat, consist largely of valuable unsaturated fatty acids, e.g. Linoleic acid and oleic acid. They also contain fat-soluble vitamins. Butter contains a lot of unwanted saturated fatty acids and should therefore only be eaten from time to time.

Sweets – in measure and at the right time

Almost all children like sweets. However, if this preference is given too far, tooth decay, overweight and one-sided nutrition easily occur. If little is sweetened in infancy, getting used to sweet taste can be avoided more easily. Desserts, ready-to-eat desserts, ice cream and many drinks contain hidden sugar. In any case, sugar should be used sparingly in the household. Honey, brown sugar, cane sugar, syrup, etc. do not offer any advantages over common table sugar.