Nutrition is essential for every age but it has become one of the prominent elements for kids as it is directly linked to their overall growth and development. Having the right nutrition at the right age is imperative to lead a healthier life. It is obvious that a proper guide of nutritional diet for the kids will lead to better mental and physical health. Good nutrition is vital for cognitive development and therefore, educational success.
When kids don’t adopt the habit of eating healthy food when they are young, it is very difficult to change their eating habits as they become addicted to highly palatable diet
The essential nutrients that are required for kids’ growth, brain development and overall health are Omega 3 fatty acid, protein, good fat, vitamins, minerals, proper carbohydrates, and antioxidants
People may not realize just how important diet is for the development of the brain and the body, and how it impacts behaviour in children. The brain requires certain nutrients in order to develop properly in children. If a child does not receive these vital nutrients from the food they eat, they will experience diet deficiency and their associated negative health impact. For example, deficiencies in iron lead to learning difficulties in later developmental stages
Such deficiency adversely affects behaviors, physical growth and immunity, cognitive development including intelligence, memory, risks of obesity, and performances in sports.
As parents, it is one’s duty to teach them how to eat healthy food and be cautious about their diet. Consulting with a professional nutritionist is highly recommended. Unfortunately, highly processed food is being sold widely and has become easily accessible today. These processed foods do not provide adequate amounts of nutrients. Hence, mental development is affected as well as the physical body, due to the lack of nutrition
As a professional nutritionist, my job is to help transform lives by providing a customized nutrition plan for kids, designed in a way that follows his/her specific activity, lifestyle, culture, taste and liking. Ann Wigmore once said, “The food you eat can either be the safest & most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.”