Children and Meal Times

Children with meal times can often be troublesome at one phase or another. Some mothers may fuss over the lack of bulky muscle mass in leaner children while others may worry about the chubbiness. In the first case only become overly concerned if your child is underweight and lacks energy. There may be need for a medical examination. Obesity must likewise be addressed early. Some children may pile on extra weight and look chubby, not fat.

This should not be shunned or seen to be wrong. Our bones grow in length up until about age 21. The storage of fat may have been laid down to fuel a latter period of growth spurt. Growing up is a very energy demanding process. As we age in adulthood our calorie needs drop generally. The image of an ideal body size for every one is not healthy. Poor self image often plagues teenagers especially females when their body shape does not conform to coveted models. This unhealthy mental attitude can precede depression, bulimia and other forms of mental ill health. Just as we all have different height, hair colour, eye shape and so on we should realise that ones ideal weight may be different to our peers. As a general guideline, our weight should fall within the normal range of the body mass index. Some individuals genetically inherited quicker metabolisms and thus can eat more while gaining less weight. It is of vital importance to have access to a balanced diet during our whole life. Parents or care givers should avoid the idea that their diet is good as gold for the children. Children need dense nutritious foods and not to be subjected to the fad diets that may lack some essential nutrients in higher levels.

Good nutritious meals support brain function and consequently aid performance in learning. Although a teenager with a distorted image of his/her body weight may curse any thought of fatty foods, it is helpful to implement early education on what is healthy. Healthy is about being active in life. Physical activities require muscle, and remember muscle weighs more that fat! There are various foods that deliver beneficial necessary fats such as fish, which supplies good fats to enhance brain activity, mental functions. The fats that we need in our diet are of different types and each food contains different ratios of types of fats. We need fat to surround our organs and it acts as an insulator against cold weather. Without fat in the diet we are unable to absorb our essential vitamin A and E. Generally animal fats are higher in saturated fats compared to plant foods. Saturated fats are useful to build our fat stores. You may frown to think what good have my fat stores ever done! Fat stores are our energy banks! We place our deposits in via the diet and when we are in times of need we withdraw from our “fat banks” to make more energy. Do not most of us dream of the fat bank account?

Ah yes, but only in monetary forms. Think like this, you can not make money if you do not feel healthy and able to work. To work you need energy. So dream and ogle over the fat bank account but do not pay lip service to your “fat banks”. We are in a rage against fats right now. Fat is seen as the little devil. Before you declare war, just check all the facts! Normal fat stores (by normal we mean not too much and not too little) support periods of growth. Even our recuperation from illness relies on body reserves of energy. There are two essential fatty acids which are the polyunsaturated fatty acids, namely omega 6 and omega 3. Omega 6 is common in foods such as animal foods, nuts, sunflower oil and sesame oil. Omega 3 is common in foods such as sea foods, linseeds and leafy vegetables. Too little of one or too much of another is unsupportive to health, we need a balanced intake. Even though we need more omega 6 than 3, it must be balanced against a little omega 3. Some balanced sources are pumpkin seeds and canola/rapeseed oil.

Frying at high temperatures with polyunsaturated oils creates harmful fatty acids. Trans fatty acids/fats is a term to cover damaged forms of omega 6 and 3 fatty acids. They become damaged by processing and frying. French fries are unhealthy, as they have damaged fats which are harmful (the French fries are cursed by being fried in polyunsaturated oils) Yet, undamaged fats are pivotal for health. Fats are part of our brains! Did you know your brain is like a fat ball? A lump of fat? Well not really, but our bran cells (neurons) transmit high speed electrical messages. These electrical currents travel via insulated neurons. Think of the electrical appliances in your home. There are cords to insulate the transmission of electrical currents.

Our brains need fats for their insulation. On top of that it is true to state that eating healthy fats does support brain power! A high speed brain needs help when it is processing all that data. Of course many other nutrients need attention in boosting brain power. When you eat, you are feeding not only your body but your brain as well. If a child eats little at meal times, note times when they tend to consume greater quantities. Is the atmosphere, food preparation or environment different and if so, try to make amendments with a happy atmosphere. From early childhood we know our dietary link with strong bones. Well give a dog a bone and give a brain something fishy! A portion of fish or other healthy fat source promotes a content brain.