The relationship between nutrition, health and learning is undeniably strong. Nutrition is one of the three significant factors that impact a child’s development. Convenient and takeout food can harm your child’s health. These negative effects of unhealthy eating in childhood can develop into lifelong diseases.
Nutrition for children is based on the same core principles as nutrition for adults. Children need the same nutrients as adults but in different amounts. The key is a healthy and appropriate balance of diet and physical activity.
The major nutrient requirements for kids include protein, carbohydrates, fats, calcium, iron, folate, fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C etc. The portions of each respective food group will depend heavily on age, genetic makeup, and physical activity. It is important to understand each food group to develop a well-balanced and nutritious diet for your child.
Let us understand the importance of nutrients in kids’ development:
Protein
Protein is a source of essential amino acids that contribute to the mental and physical health of children. Insufficient protein in kids’ diet can cause fatigue, lack of concentration, slowed growth, lowered immunity and more.
Iron
Iron is a mineral that forms haemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body. If your child’s diet lacks iron, he or she might develop iron deficiency. Kids tend to look pale, experience poor appetite, slowed growth and development, feel tired, weak and irritable.
Calcium & Vitamin D
Children who get enough calcium start their adult lives with strong bones. That protects them against bone-related problems later in life. Similarly, deficiency of vitamin D causes delayed motor development, muscle weakness, aches and pains, and fractures.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps for the growth, development and repair of all body tissues. A child’s growing body can’t produce vitamin C on its own. Insufficient vitamin C may cause fatigue, inflammation of the gums, spots on the skin, joint pain and poor wound healing.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A serves a variety of purposes in both kids and adults. It helps growth, assists the eyes in adjusting to dim and bright lights, keeps skin healthy, and works to prevent infection.
Fats
Fats play an important role in the development of a child’s brain and helps them reach their maximum growth potential. They are important to the brain and play a role in the formation of hormones. Limiting a child’s fat intake deprives him or her of essential nutrients. Many low-fat diets are low in zinc and vitamin E.
Healthy eating habits are more likely to stay with the kids if they acquire them as a child. That’s why it’s important to inculcate healthy eating habits in childhood. It will help them stick with these eating patterns and avoid developing chronic diseases as a child or as an adult.
First thing first – Mindful Eating is not a diet!
Food makes up your body. It is the reason why your body exists. So, besides what you eat, how you eat also plays a crucial role in the making of your body.
In today’s fast-paced world, where everyone is in a hurry and multi-tasking, being mindful, a Buddhist practice of being fully present and sensing without judging, connects you with the environment around you.
Similarly, mindful eating makes you fully aware of the eating experience and your thoughts and feelings about food. It helps in slowing down the eating process and savours every bite. When we pay attention to what we eat, it tastes better and more satisfying.
Understanding hunger, craving and fullness cues
Hunger can be deceiving. Many people may misunderstand the body’s sign of being hungry. You eat and still not satisfied, you don’t eat for a long time and still don’t feel hungry. Mindful eating encourages you to explore and understand the difference in advance of a meal and prevent unnecessary food intake. It may help you in cutting down on your food cravings.
When you pay more attention to the feeling of fullness or focus more on the flavours, you become aware that you have had enough.
Weight loss/ Fitness Goal
Weight loss can be another one of the benefits of mindful eating. It has been observed that when people start feeding actual hunger cues, they’re likely to lose weight.
Mindful eating can also help you change unhealthy eating habits. It can also help curb binge eating, emotional eating and hedonic eating. Because when you eat mindfully, you are not just sitting down and eating. You pay attention to your patterns around food, when you eat, where you eat and why you eat.
Other benefits
Mindful eating can be used as a tool to recognize and change your eating behaviours and thereby develop other benefits as well.
Mindful eating does not restrict any type of food and so allows you to have a wider variety of food on your menu.
Practising mindful eating can aid good digestion, reduce overeating, enhance the flavours of food and improve your psychological relationship with food.
How to practice mindful eating
Here are some tips that can help you practice mindful eating:
Come to the table with an appetite.
Take at least 15min to sit down and enjoy your meal.
Avoid distractions whilst eating.
Do not rush. Schedule time to eat your meal when you have adequate time.
Always sit and eat.
Eat everything on a plate or bowl even if it has come in a packet.
Make efforts to chew your food thoroughly and consciously.
Savour and taste your food using all your senses – look, feel, smell and taste.
We eat to nourish our body and provide nutrition to facilitate optimal functioning. Paying attention to what and how we are eating makes you feel better both physically and psychologically.
There were times when carbohydrates were considered as fitness, health and weight loss enemies. And then with so much information around and trends changing from day to day; one day they are healthy, the next they aren’t.
So, how do you know what to believe and what to not?
There is one fact that remains unchanged throughout is that our body needs all the nutrients in our diet. And protein, fats, and carbohydrates being a part of the major macronutrients, they are equally essential for our body to stay healthy and active.
When we talk about carbs, they are a much larger food group that goes beyond bread and pizzas.
Carbohydrates are the sugars, starches and fibres found in fruits, grains, vegetables and milk products, often maligned in trendy diets. The dietary fibres are also a type of carbohydrate found in foods such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. They are necessary to maintain a normal weight and healthy heart and to keep your digestive system regular.
The body uses carbohydrates to produce glucose which is the fuel that gives you energy and helps keep everything going.
So if we jump to the conclusion, carbohydrates are important for a healthy body and weight loss both. Let’s dig deeper and learn more about the myths surrounding carbohydrates.
Carbs make you fat
Yes, carbs are fattening. And if you are on to consuming calorie-dense foods like potato chips and soda, you will become fat. But carbohydrates are beyond soda and chips.
Instead, foods with complex carbs like whole-wheat bread, beans, and fruits contain more fibre and have lots of other nutrients which are important for maintaining a healthy weight.
Our bodies don’t need carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are of various types. Glucose, a type of carbohydrate, is important for the functioning of kidneys, liver, brain and every organ system in the body. The body uses glucose for energy and stores excess glucose as glycogen. This glycogen is used by the body during fasting or exercising.
This is the reason that the body needs glucose.
Low-carb diet is the best way to lose weight
With low-carb diets, people see fast results and therefore these diets have become popular. However, according to many pieces of research, long-term low-carb diets are not sustainable.
Low-carb diet cut out large groups of vegetables, fruits and grains which deprives the body of getting enough vital nutrients to manage the weight effectively.
On the contrary, low-carb diets can increase the risk of micronutrient deficiencies and constipation due to their low fibre content.
Fruits are high in carbs and should be avoided
Fruits are important as part of a healthy diet. Fruits contain fibre, which helps with weight control and digestive health, as well as many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Fruit contains carbohydrates in the form of natural sugar, which is much different than processed sugars. Processed sugar is what contributes to weight gain and increases the risk of chronic diseases.
Thanks to on-and-off diets trends, the fruit has also gotten bad media. People often say that fruit has too much sugar in it. Yet, along with a natural form of sugar, called fructose, the fruit is full of nutrients that our bodies need.
Eating more fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of developing diabetes, along with other chronic diseases.
Carbohydrates are difficult to digest
Although certain categories of food are higher in fibre can make the digestive system’s work hard, all carbs do not fall under this category and therefore should not stop you from consuming them regularly.
Foods that have a higher content of insoluble fibre are more difficult to digest and can cause an upset stomach.
However, soluble fibres that are found in whole grains, bananas, and certain vegetables like cucumbers, can the digestive system back on track.
So, after clarifying these misconceptions around carbohydrates, jumping to the conclusion that carbohydrates are important for a healthy body would not be wrong.
We just need to know the carbs which are essential for our body like whole grains, fruits, and beans and are great ways to meet fibre, vitamin and mineral needs and maintain a healthy body.
A healthy diet requires all the nutrients in the optimum quantity as required for healthy functioning of the body. Any nutrient below or above the required amount can make this functioning, a difficult process.
Of all the nutrients that your body needs, protein is the most important for good health and fitness. Unlike the micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, protein is a macronutrient which is required in large amount to stay healthy.
What is Protein?
Protein is said to be the building block of a human body and is a component of every cell in the body including hair and nails.
Along with Carbohydrates and Fats, Proteins is one of the primary macronutrients that provides the most of the energy to the body. This macronutrient is made up of amino acids which a human body can produce on its own.
Importance of Protein
Besides building bones, and body tissues, protein plays an important role in metabolic reactions, immune response, providing energy to the body, assisting the body in cellular repair, forming blood cells, and more.
Protein is a vital macronutrient for growth and development in young children as well.
Since protein is the component of every cell in our body, not getting enough protein in your diet can cause many health issues.
Sources of Protein
The amount of essential amino acids defines the nutritional value of a protein. The content of amino acids is different in different foods.
Animal products are ideally high-quality ‘complete’ protein containing all of the essential amino acids. Chicken, beef or fish and dairy products are all forms of animal protein.
Besides, soybean products, quinoa and amaranth also have all of the essential amino acids.
On the other hand, Plant proteins including beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains usually do not contain all the essential amino acids and therefore are considered ‘incomplete’ proteins.
People who follow a vegetarian or vegan diet usually have difficulty fulfilling their regular protein requirement. They need to choose a variety of protein sources from a combination of plant foods to ensure an adequate mix of essential amino acids.
Below is the list of food items which are high in protein:
- Eggs
- Almonds
- Oats
- Cottage Cheese
- Greek Yogurt
- Milk
- Broccoli
- Lean Beef
- Quinoa
- Lentils
- Pumpkin Seeds
Supplementing Protein to Fulfill Body’s Requirement
To help improve muscle protein synthesis and promote the growth of lean muscle mass, athletes and fitness professionals many times need to use supplements of the nutrients alongside their resistance exercise. In that case, protein powder is a popular nutritional supplement.
There are many benefits of protein powder:
- Improve muscle size and strength in healthy adults who perform resistance exercise training.
- Reduce muscle damage and improve muscle performance and muscle protein synthesis in healthy adults who perform resistance exercise training.
- Elderly people, people with a chronic illness, athletes and weightlifters may need to exceed the general protein intake on a recommendation.
Types of Protein Supplements
Whey Protein – Whey protein is a mixture of proteins isolated from whey, the liquid part of milk separated from the solid curds during the process of making cheese.
Whey protein provides enough amounts of the essential amino acids as required by the body to carry out the functions that proteins perform in the body. It is normally taken by people to improve athletic performance or meet nutritional deficiencies.
Once the whey is from curd, it is further processed to become whey protein powder that can be added to shakes, meals or protein bars.
Soy Protein – Soy protein isolate is naturally high in protein but very low in carbohydrates. This form of protein supplement has been shown as a source of lean, cholesterol-free and lactose-free protein which aids health needs across the lifespan.
Protein Isolates – Protein is extracted from whole food using heat and acid or enzymes to produce protein concentrates. These concentrates normally contain 60–80% protein and remaining 20–40% fat and carbs. On additional filtering, these fats and carbs are removed to form protein isolate powders which contain about 90–95% protein.
A healthy diet is crucial to maintain an active lifestyle. So, you must eat a variety of foods even to meet your body’s nutritional requirement.
Out of all the nutrients that your body needs, protein helps your body in repairing the cells and making new ones. It is also important for growth and development in children, teens, and pregnant women.
While protein is an important nutrient, other nutrients are equally important to maintaining good health. So, talk to your nutrition expert and ensure a healthy and optimum supply of all the nutrients in your body.
Another diet in trend, vegan diet focusses on plant-based foods and beverages and excludes all animal products. Vegan diet has garnered immense popularity in last few years.
Veganism means the completely removing all animal and animal-based foods from your diet. Apparently, if followed correctly, vegan diet can prove to be highly nutritious, effective weight loss diet which can also reduce the risk of chronic diseases.
However, it is not easy to go 100% vegan even for Indian vegetarians. Besides, there are many nutrients which lack in this plant-based diet like calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12, fatty acids, iodine etc.
So, it is important to research and understand the pros and cons before shifting to vegan-only diet.
Advantages of vegan diet
- It aids weight loss
- It reduces the risks of serious diseases
- It is environmentally sustainable diet
- It encourages mindful eating
- It has more variety of foods
Disadvantages of vegan diet
- It may lead to nutrient deficiencies
- It is difficult to dine out with vegan diet
- It requires dedicated efforts
- It is difficult to meet the requirement of proteins
- It can prove to be complicated in following
Bottom line
You cannot expect miracles from vegan diet. It takes its own time to show its benefits according to your body.
Talk to a nutritionist before shifting to vegan-only diet. They can suggest you to take dietary supplements to avoid any nutritional deficiencies.
Not every diet works for everyone. So everyone needs a diet customised according to their own body requirement. Similarly, following a vegan diet can also go wrong for some individuals.
Besides, any diet that involves eliminating a certain type of foods can be difficult to follow. Think and process!
When trying to lose weight, you likely have some type of goal in mind. Figuring out how much weight you want to lose is the first step on a new weight loss journey.
There are many different ways to come up with a long-term goal that’s both realistic and aspirational. Setting your sights on the future can help fuel the motivation needed to make healthy changes.
Here’s how to get started.
Set realistic goals
Set specific short-term goals to maintain motivation. If you’ve got a nebulous goal, then your efforts seem like an endless mission.
Also, do not set a specific weight goal tied to the scale. That’s because your weight is affected by lots of variables, including how much muscle you have, how much fluid you’re retaining and how depleted your carbohydrate stores are.
Set a sensible timeline
Losing half to one kg per week is a realistic expectation. You can lose a lot of scale weight fast with a crash diet. But that’s not fat loss, and it’s not permanent.
It’s also important to consider you may gain muscle while losing fat. It’s important to look at weight trends over time, and focus on comparing average weights over several months rather than across days or weeks.
Measure your progress continuously
Aside from scale weight, it’s important to have other ways to see if you’re getting closer to your goals. Don’t go off-scale weight so much as body fat percentage. If you don’t have access to a body fat scanner, using the fit of your clothes and taking tape measurements can be good fat-loss indicators.
Think beyond weight loss
Setting non-weight loss goals may also help speed your progress. People who have health-related goals tend to succeed faster than those who have aesthetic-related goals.
There are always exceptions, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to look good, but it’s easier to maintain motivation long term when your health is on the line.
That’s one of the reasons there should be multiple goals when trying to lose fat. If you’re only focused on the number on the scale, you’ll miss out on all the other benefits of exercise and healthy eating.
Additional weight loss goals to consider
- Improving sleep
- Improving posture
- Increasing strength
- Reducing blood pressure
- Building better confidence and self-esteem
Considering what you can maintain long term is also an important part of setting a realistic weight-loss goal. For most people, the notion of losing weight is daunting. It’s also largely something many of us have considered but not been able to sustain, for a variety of reasons.
Approaching weight loss from a more comprehensive perspective enables you to get in tune with the aspects that have contributed to weight gain in the first place.
Changing your diet will always be a great step in the right direction but to truly optimize well-being, attention needs to be given to other areas, too.
The human body requires micronutrients like vitamins and minerals for its growth and fitness. Since the body cannot produce these nutrients on its own, they have to be consumed through the diet.
When we eat food containing these nutrients, our body absorbs it and supplies it to the entire body to help it grow. When our body does not get the nutrients it requires, it leads to nutritional deficiency. This deficiency leads to health problems like digestion, skin problems, and even dementia.
In this article, we have shared some of the symptoms of the most common nutritional deficiencies. Read on and find out if your body is showing any of these symptoms.
Hair, skin and nails problems
Dull and damaged hair, dry wrinkled skin or brittle nails can be all signs of nutrition deficiency. One major nutrient responsible for this is protein. Protein is the building block of our body. Our bones, muscles, skin, hair, and nails all contain protein and that is the reason the insufficient supply of protein can cause problems in many parts of the body.
Besides, deficiency of fatty acids like Omega-6 can also lead to dry, flakey, itchy, or cracked skin. Other symptoms of fatty acids include dandruff, hair loss, and dry eyes.
Weakness and fatigue
If you feel tired and exhausted even after taking rest, it is a sign of magnesium deficiency. If you are constantly feeling weak and drained out, you need to include some magnesium in your diet.
You can provide magnesium to your body by consuming seeds and nuts including almonds, peanuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, chia seeds etc.
Pale skin
The paleness in the skin occurs when the blood losses its colour. This happens due to low levels of haemoglobin in your red blood cells which makes the skin, nails and gums lose their natural, healthy colour making it look pale. When the body does not get the required amount of iron, the level of haemoglobin in the body goes down. You need to consume an iron-rich diet or take iron supplements.
Unexpected weight gain
Unexpected weight gain is a sign of iodine deficiency. Iodine produces thyroid hormones which help in controlling metabolism. Insufficient amounts of iodine will make your body burn fewer calories and store fats.
Deteriorating vision
If you are experiencing vision or eyesight challenges, it can be due to deficiency of vitamin A in your body. Lack of the vitamins deteriorates your night vision and the sharpness of your sight over time.
A diet rich in vitamin A, including milk, eggs, mangos, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes and apricots can help in keeping your vision sharp. If you are not able to meet the requirement through your diet, you can also take supplements.
The treatment for these deficiencies is fairly simple if diagnosed on time. So it is important to keep identifying the changes that your body goes through.
For the past few years, there has been a new trend in eating for weight-loss and diabetes that has been doing the rounds – eating smaller portions more frequently. While this trend has become an approved topic of conversation, certain people would like to understand the rationale behind it. How eating less more frequently can help improve your health?
Whether you are on your weight-loss journey or trying to control your blood sugar or ensure proper nutritional intake, small meals a day is what your doctor, fitness coach or dietician prescribed.
Together with a good exercise routine, eating 5-6 times a day can transform your body into a lean, toned, fat-burning machine.
Benefits of eating small frequent meals
Here are the major benefits of eating 5-6 times a day:
- It keeps you energised.
- You feel less hungry.
- It reduces your cravings for unhealthy food items.
- It controls blood sugar levels & insulin production.
- It reduces body fat storage.
- It increases and maintains lean muscle mass.
The only rule behind this way of eating is that every meal you eat should contain lean protein, good carbs, and healthy fats in about a 40:30:30 ratio.
Here’s how small meals can help you in sustaining a healthy and fitter lifestyle.
Weight Loss
Eating smaller portions more frequently can prevent the development of becoming overweight or obese.
According to research, people who eat only two or three large meals over a day tend to eat more calories than people who eat smaller portions of five or six meals. This goes as when you eat your breakfast at 8:00 am and lunch at 1:00 pm, your stomach is hungry for almost 4 hours at a stretch. This makes you consume more calories than are necessary to help satiate your hunger or what your body requires. This increased calorie intake is the reason your body gains the extra weight.
Decreased Chance of Nutritional Deficiencies
Eating 5 meals a day may help to ensure you’re getting all of the vitamins and minerals that you need to keep your body in proper working order. Research has found that people who eat several meals through the day tend to vary their diet more than those who simply eat two or three large meals.
Getting the proper amount of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients are essential both for good health in people of all ages and genders.
To summarize, when you eat smaller meals, say five meals a day, you are less hungry and do not overeat, you feel more energised and have a more positive outlook. Smaller frequent meals enable more stable blood sugar and less craving for unhealthy foods.
Tips for eating small healthy meals frequently:
With all said and done, it is important to understand that these smaller meals must be healthy and full of nutrition. Here is how you can ensure this:
- Ensure protein or fibre in every meal.
- Eat a reasonable portion.
- Try eating with your hands to ensure optimum portion size.
- Plan your meals beforehand
- Take help of professionals to ensure optimum nutrient intake and right meal size.
Are you looking for a meal plan that suits your objective? Want a meal plan that can control your hunger, make you feel full and energized? Looking for a meal plan that can help you lose weight? Looking for delicious and convenient meals that will help you achieve your goals?
If you are looking for expert advice to help you plan what to eat and when to eat, talk to our nutrition expert today!
When you begin your weight loss journey, the first thing that you do is to note your weight since this is the benchmark that you keep to mark your progress.
However, when you start exercising for weight loss, you burn calories, lose fat and build muscle. Ironically, a kg of muscle weighs the same as a kg of fat.
So, how do you measure?
It is important to understand that both fat and muscle are necessary for a healthy body. So in the case of fat vs. muscle there can be no clear winner. It is the balance of the two that really matters.
Technically fat has a greater volume whereas the muscle fibres have a greater density. This means, a kg of muscle takes up less space and looks smaller than a kg of fat. So you may see differences in your body composition, strength and energy, but not on the number on the scale.
Also, fats cannot be converted into muscles. Muscles grow when you put them to work. No exercise, no muscle. On the contrary, they will decrease in size, slowing your metabolism and increasing your fats.
Muscle boosts your metabolism and is therefore important for your body and overall fitness. They burn more calories even while at rest. So, if you have more muscles, you will burn more calories and eventually not accumulate extra fats.
Muscle surrounds the bones and works to strengthen them and reduce the risk of bone injuries.
Another benefit of developing muscles is an improvement in your core strength and balance.
Muscles improve your blood circulation, digestive health and the overall health of all your organs by being continuously engaged in calorie burning activity.
When you understand the difference between muscle mass and fats and work towards balancing the both, what you achieve is a better body definition.
It is only possible when you follow the two-dimensional process of weight loss and fitness – right diet and right physical exercise.
So, follow the diet that is right for you, do regular exercise and focus on overall fitness rather than just the scale.
There are many diet plans prevailing in the market which promises quick weight loss. If things are as simple as they say, why ain’t they successful?
There is one common saying “ Slow and steady, wins the race.” And this holds true for the weight loss process as well.
These fad and crash diets either completely change the way you eat, completely remove certain foods from your diet or make you eat only certain food items repeatedly.
Is this way of losing weight actually safe?
Through this article, we are sharing some insights on temporary weight loss versus the right way of achieving fitness. Because we know there is a difference! Read on to know how!
Temporary weight loss can never be permanently healthy
The fad and crash diets will help you lose weight, but not in a healthy way. These diets do not burn calories or remove fats or sustain a healthy weight in the long run. The number on the scale will decrease, and so will your overall health.
You will lose weight but temporarily. On the contrary, the body may gain weight once your crash diet course is over.
They don’t emphasize on exercising
“Lose weight without exercise.” Isn’t the statement funny in itself?
Primarily, exercise prevents regaining the extra fats that your body burns. The fatty acids in our body are utilized by the muscles, which helps in maintaining healthy body weight.
They are risky for your overall health
Fad or crash diets can cause some serious health issues. These diets can deprive you of the necessary nutrients and can even lead to major heart problems.
If you follow these diets for a longer period of time, your body cycle gets dependent on it for its regular working. When you stop following them, it can lead to health and lifestyle disorders.
It’s dangerous to follow the trend
A diet which worked for your friend may not work for you. Not just that, if it worked on your friend’s body, it can prove to be equally harmful to your body.
And if you are already at a risk for diseases these diets can even make the situation worse.
There are healthier alternatives
There is no quick fix to healthy weight loss. It is important to plan and discuss with experts before taking any diet plan.
There are many alternatives for weight loss plans which are worth the effort. Talk to our experts and see what works for your body.
Remember, it is all about preserving your health, leading a disease-free life and eventually feeling good about yourself.