A sign of moodiness, forgetful, fatigue, sugar craves, binge eating, weight issues, period pain, hair loss, pimples, gastric, hyperactive or stress?

They are what you feed them!

The best food for baby is breast milk, while older children and teenagers need a balance of different types of food and exercise to ensure a healthy growth and weight. Until you reach the age of 18, your muscles will grow bigger, bones longer and stronger so your body needs to power this growth.  Eating a variety of foods every day is important to ensure the different goodness from the diet, if they refuse to eat the whole group of food, there is a need to correct the imbalance with other foods, or by supplementation.  

Rapid growth occurs between 11-15 years of age and these spurts will make great nutritional demands and can lead to deficiencies if the diet is compromised or certain major food groups are cut out or missed out. 

Too often regular meals are replaced by snacks high in fat, sugar and salt, fast foods and sugary drink due to hunger or availability. A lot of them also think they can get away without eating healthily at their age as healthy food was boring! Little did they took health very seriously; food promoting obesity and under nutrition leading to preventable disease are on the increase globally.

On average per day, try to aim for 5-8 portions of bread/rice/noodles/cereal/potatoes depending on your activity, 4 serving of vegetables, 3 types of fruits, 3 different calcium fortified milk/soy/cheese/yogurt, 1-2 portions of meat/fish/beans.

Here is a list of nutrients most required by growing teenagers:

Vitamin B group – is required for energy, blood formation and nervous system.  Deficiency will cause fatigue, loss of appetite, irritability, mental confusion, poor memory, poor growth and hair loss.  

To get sufficient from nuts, brown rice, fatty fish, green leafy vegetables and citrus fruits.

Iron – is important for oxygen transportation in the blood and builds resistance to infection when combined with vitamin C to enhance absorption.  Especially for girls who started menstruation to prevent anaemia. It’s found most in liver, eggs, fortified breakfast cereals, green vegetables and red meat.

Zinc – deficiency resulting in poor growth, frequent infection, skin problems and hair/nail growth. Pork, liver, dark poultry meat, beef, eggs, cheese, beans are foods for best metabolism and sources.

Calcium – during adolescence, 45% of the adult skeleton is laid down to form bones and structural health.  Canned sardines, tofu, pulses, almonds, broccoli, fortified bread and dairy products are rich source. 

Magnesium – also helps in bone formation and enhances calcium absorption in the body, transmission of nerves and muscle contraction.  Wholegrain products, cereals, nuts and seeds or take a magnesium only supplement of 150 – 200 mg daily to prevent muscle cramps, palpitation, premenstrual syndrome and insomnia. 

Omega 3 – found mainly in oily fish, such as mackerel and other cold water fishes, and should be eaten 2-3 times a week.  It’s very important for mental health, reducing dyslexia and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) in young and older children, treats depression, improves memory and learning skills and many other health benefits.  Research shows that best source of the most important omega-3s EPA and DHA comes from high quality purified fish oil supplement.

Water – fluid requirement for 11-15 years of age: 55 ml/kg/day. E.g. weight of a 14 year old with 45 kg needs:  55×45=2475 litres of water needed per day.

Food allergies

Certain foods  that cause a distressing symptoms, such as hives, itching, rashes, nasal congestion, vomiting, diarrhoea and cravings for certain foods are all possible indications of an allergic reaction. It is caused by individual’s ability to digest certain food components; assistance from a qualified nutritionist can be helpful to eliminate these problems.

Activity

Too little activity or spending too much time in front of the television or computer, can lead to poor growth and poor health. Try to be active every day in as many ways as you can.

Although being active is important too, obsession with weight-loss can also lead to serious eating disorders, excessive exercise in underweight girls may lead to cessation of periods. 

Finding foods which both taste good and do you good can be part of the fun of eating well, whether as alone or as part of the family.