Nine Important Nutrients That Need To Be Included In Your Kids’ Diet

As parents, it’s but normal that you make sure that you are choosing the right kind of food for your children. You always do your best to give your kids a healthy and balanced diet. You might even be guilty of acting like a detective, scanning every label of the food your kids eat. What is more challenging to the parents is that not all kids are the same.

One would love fruits and vegetables, but others would love fries and chicken, or worse, very picky eaters. And when it comes to kids’ nutrition, there’s always a constant challenge to give kids food that they need, especially food that is healthy and nutritious.

These are the nutrients that are essential in your kids’ growth.

Protein

This is what they call the building blocks of the cells.  Protein helps build the cells, especially when you sleep. It also breaks down food and converts it to energy. Protein also fights infection and aids in carrying oxygen from your blood to your brain. Foods that contain a high amount of protein are fish, eggs, nuts, beans, meat poultry, dairy products, and nuts. Kids aged two to eight years old should at least take three to five ounces of protein per day. While kids aged ten to fourteen must at least have five or eight ounces.

Calcium

This is the mineral that is stored in bones and teeth. This is essential in the kid’s growth and even adolescents since it maintains healthy bones and healthy teeth. Calcium also assists in muscle contractions, blood regulation, and nerve stimulations.  Good sources of calcium are dairy products such as milk, soy milk, tofu, and dry cereals. For kids aged four to eight years old must take one thousand milligrams of calcium per day, while kids aged nine to thirteen must take at least one thousand three hundred milligrams per day.

Vitamin D

This vitamin aids in building strong and healthy bones.  Kids of all ages must take six hundred international units of calcium per day. Children can choose the right amount through vitamin supplements.

Carbohydrates

The main action of this nutrient is to serve as an essential source of energy. This nutrient also helps in building and repairing body tissue with the aid of fat and protein as well. Good sources of carbohydrates are bread, pasta, potatoes, crackers, cereals, and rice. Growing children and adolescents need to take two hundred twenty-five to three hundred twenty-five grams of carbohydrates a day.

Iron

This is very important in your kids’ diet because having the right amount of iron will help build your kid’s red blood cells, which are responsible for carrying oxygen to the cell all over the body. Kids that lack iron can get anemia. Good sources of iron are beans, green leafy vegetables, red meat, eggs, tuna, and even iron-fortified cereal. Kids aged four to eight years old must have ten milligrams of iron a day.

Folate

It’s not only pregnant mothers that need folate but kids as well. Folate Vitamin B is essential in the development of kids’ cells. Good sources of folate are brussels sprouts, beans, whole grain cereals, lentils, chickpeas, spinach, and asparagus. The folate recommended daily intake for kids aged one to three is two hundred mcg and 300 mcg for kids aged four to eight.

Vitamin A

This is essential not only to kids but to adults as well. It assists the eyes in adjusting to dim lights to bright lights. It also keeps the skin healthy and prevents infection too.  Good sources of Vitamin A are carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, fish oils, squash, egg yolks, and apricots. Kids and adolescents should at least have two thousand IU of Vitamin A and more as they get older.

Fiber

Fiber is also essential in your kids’ diet since it helps to regulate the bowel. It also helps reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Good sources of fibers are whole grains, kidney beans, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, and seeds. Growing kids must at least 25 grams of fiber a day.

Fats

This is an excellent source of energy, especially to very active kids. Fats also help in the usage of the other nutrients in the body. Good sources of fats are cooking oils, meat, fish, and whole milk dairy products, as well as nuts. Growing kids should at least have eighty-six grams of saturated fat.

 While it’s essential to always plan out proper and healthy meals for your children, don’t deprive them of the occasional junk food. But always encourage them to eat healthily to ensure that they grow up to be in the best health possible.