Healthy nutrition for children
John Gibb

When growing up, it’s important to have healthy nutrition for children. Since their bodies are in a state of constant growth, a lack of vitamins and minerals can result in poor growth processes and problems later in life. It is important for your child to eat a variety of healthy foods, balance the food they eat with regular physical activity, and choose a diet with the right nutrients.

For instance, a child’s growing body requires high levels of calcium and iron, sometimes even more than adults. Iron is crucial to a child’s development since it is used in developing strong muscles and producing blood, while calcium helps bones and teeth grow strong. These substances can be found in various foods, but it can be more helpful to get your children a supplement to help aid these needs.

Children of schooling age require around 1600 to 2400 calories per day, depending on their age and activity level. Once the growth spurt occurs, girls tend to require an additional 200 calories per day and boys need an extra 500 calories. No more than 30% of your child’s diet should come from fats. To maintain healthy nutrition for children, this can help to prevent obesity and other health problems. It is also important for your child to get a daily variety of vegetables. Requiring two to four servings of vegetables per day, children can meet these guidelines by eating such vegetables as salad greens and legumes. These vegetables contain nutrients key to a child’s development.

Children should also have 2-4 servings of fruit per day, and 6 to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice or pasta. 2 to 3 servings of meat, beans, or nuts per day are also key to help a child develop properly. Following these steps, healthy nutrition for children can be a breeze. Just be sure to get all their daily requirements covered and your child will thank you later.

About the Author

John Gibb manages http://www.nutritional-supplement-guides.com

The site deidciated to nutrition

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Healthy Eating Diet Tips
J Bowler

Some (not so) Silly Diet Tips and Why Theyre Not

At first glance some of these diet tips may seem downright silly. You may find yourself thinking, Thats couldnt possibly make
enough of a difference. Plus Id feel silly doing it. I have a response to those negative thoughts. First, the longest journey begins with a single step. And second, would you rather feel silly being overweight and unfit or doing something about it?

Diet Tip 1: Fidget

Every little movement burns calories. Twiddle your thumbs. Squeeze one of those little exercise balls while you watch TV to burn calories and tone your arms at the same time. Take that more distant parking spot. Walk wherever possible. Even if you have physical limitations, you can tailor a program to your needs. Move whatever you can, whenever and wherever you can. And just think – laughing is good exercise. Its like jogging on the inside.

Diet Tip 2: Portions and Proportions

Pay attention to portion sizes according to the eating plan you choose. Use a normal size plate dont supersize it! One plan suggests that of the plate should contain protein and the rest should be fruits and vegetables. You can weigh your food, at least until you become attuned to proper portion sizes or use some of the simple guidelines like 3 oz. of protein is about the size of your palm or a deck of playing cards or one serving of rice is the size of a tennis ball.

Diet Tip 3: Eat More Slowly

This allows your body the several minutes it takes to signal your brain that it is full.

Diet Tip 4: Substitute Low Calorie Density Foods for High

Choose foods with a low calorie density foods that have fewer calories relative to their weight. If you decrease the energy density of your diet, caloric intake will decline, says Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and co-author along with Robert Barnett of The Volumetrics Eating Plan.

Think lower cal fruits, vegetables like salad greens and broths. What these foods have in common is the magic diet ingredient, water! Water has zero calories, so the more volume represented by water, the less room there is for calories. Water also creates a feeling of fullness, helping one to eat less.

Fiber is another low calorie density food. In this category, we again find many fruits and vegetables, as well as whole grains, such as whole wheat bread or pasta, whole grain cereals and brown rice. A study at Tufts University in Boston found that increasing daily fiber intake by 14 grams resulted in a 10% decrease in total calorie intake and a weight loss averaging one pound a month. This is a very small diet change to make. Substitute about 28 calories of fiber for some high calorie density food you have been eating.

Diet Tip 5: Be Aware of What You Eat

Keep a food diary (and be brutally honest no one else needs to see it). Dont forget the spoon that you licked while putting away the leftovers or the sampling(s) you
had while adjusting the seasoning. The purpose is not only to monitor your food intake but to identify what circumstances tempt you to overeat or eat unhealthily. Keep a food diary long enough and patterns will start to emerge.

Diet Tip 6: Try New Spices and Herbs in Place of Butter and Salt

Try some new spices and herbs and cut back on the butter and salt. You might be surprised to learn the antioxidant strength of some herbs another reason to add more to your diet. When food tastes different or more flavorful, we tend to savor it more and eat more slowly.

Diet Tip 7: Add Variety

Along the same lines, The American Dietetic Association recommends increasing variety. Occasionally adding a single new food to your routine can end monotony and increase nutrition.

This year’s ADA “Get a Taste for Nutrition” campaign suggests adding a new fruit, vegetable or grain to your shopping list each week. Among its suggestions: kumquat, passion fruit and pomegranate for fruits; kohlrabi, bok choy, jicama and parsnip from the vegetable aisle; and quinoa, flaxseed, amaranth and bulgur for new grains.

This article is for informational purposes only. It does not purport to offer medical advice.

About the Author

Jean Bowler is a life long fitness freak. She was a ballet dancer and teacher, a private fitness trainer and more. Visit her site, http://www.ageless-beauty.com for advice on diet and nutrition, skin care and more.

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There are so many different diets to lose weight out there that trying to figure out the best one for you is absolutely mind-boggling. There’s the milk diet and the chocolate diet and the soup diet and other extreme diets that will help you lose weight, some very quickly, but, they just do not teach you how to eat better for the rest of your life.

One of the best diets to lose weight is not a diet at all. It is a lifestyle change. If you just make some simple changes with the types of food you eat, watch your portion sizes and get a little exercise everyday you will lose weight.

Here are some simple guidelines. If you drink a lot of pop, stop. Switch to water or green tea. If you switch to green tea get the flavored stuff, it just tastes better. Flavor your water with a little lemon or lime juice. Not only will this give the water some flavor, citrus is a natural diuretic and will help with any and all water weight you have.

If you eat out a lot, stop. Start cooking for yourself more. If you do not consider yourself a good cook then learn a few simple meals and practice. The more you do it the better you will get. Eat a lot of salads, too. They are easy to make, you can just go buy a bag of pre-washed salad greens and add what you want. Throw in 3 ounces of grilled chicken breast, canned tuna or salmon fillet and you have a great meal.

A secret…try a Greek, raspberry or balsamic vinaigrette. They are all very low in carbs just be sure to measure out the correct serving size. A little vinaigrette goes a long way. Or learn to make your own low-fat, low-carb salad dressing. It is totally up to you.

Eat five or six small meals a day. This may seem like a real big pain in the backside but if you plan things out and do it right it will make putting these meals together a snap. Just cook a bunch of chicken all at once and portion it out or buy the small cans of tuna. They are already three ounces, hey, look ma, no measuring!

Keep the already portioned chicken in the freezer and just thaw it out in the microwave when you need it. I would not recommend pre-cooking fish though, it takes no time to cook and is much better if you eat it right after it is cooked.

If you eat a lot of bad carbs, stop. Bad carbs come in the form of all the processed food you see on the shelves at the market. Breads, cereals, anything made from white, flour, white sugar, and even white rice are all considered to be bad carbs. all they do it raise your blood sugar and then add to the fat around your middle.

Like I said, making small changes in the way you eat and what you eat is one of the best diets to lose weight that I have found. Follow these tips and you will soon be losing weight, too.

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