If your child does not exactly the recommended amounts every day, do not be concerned. Through regular physical examinations, a doctor can determine if your child is well nourished. The nutrients in food can be divided into certain groups-proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals. Water is sometimes considered as a nutrient.
PROTEINS
Proteins are necessary for the growth and repair of cells. Proteins help build blood and form antibodies to fight infection. They also supply energy. The proteins in food are broken down into amino acids by the body’s digestive system. Then the body cells use amino acids like building blocks to put together new and different proteins. For infants, there are 9 essential amino acids.
The body can make others if it gets these 9, but it cannot manufacture these 9 amino acids. These foods called complete proteins, including meats, poultry, fish, milk, cheese and eggs. Other foods contain some of the essential 9 amino acids. These foods, called incomplete proteins, include cereals, dried beans, dried pies, and nuts.
CARBOHYDRATES
Starches and sugars, two carbohydrates, supply quick energy. Starches are found in cereals, bread and other baked goods, rice, noodles, macaroni, spaghetti, potatoes, lima beans and corn. Sources of sugars include candy, fruit, honey, jams, jellies, syrup and milk.
Other important carbohydrates are celluloses. Celluloses cannot be digested, but they supply roughage. Roughage stimulates muscle contractions in the intestine walls. This helps the body eliminate wastes. The leaves of vegetables and the skin and pulp of fruits are good sources of roughage. If a child does not eat enough digestible carbohydrates, the body burns protein for energy.
A child needs carbohydrates so that the proteins are spared for body-building. Nutritionists recommend meeting the carbohydrate needs of a child mainly through bread, cereals, fruits, green vegetables, milk and potatoes. If a child takes too much of the carbohydrates requirement in the form of sweets, the child’s supply of vitamins, minerals, and proteins from vegetables and fruits may be lowered. Also, a diet high in refined sugar, such as candy, can cause tooth decay.
Excess carbohydrates are converted into fat and stored in the body as fatty tissues. If a child eats more starches and sweets than are needed for daily energy requirements, the child may become overweight.
The “shift to alcohol” among adolescents, may represent a trend toward reconciliation with society’s “drug of choice”. There is no good reason to misuse drugs. But in a world where pills and other drugs are available for the relief of many ills and alcohol is socially acceptable, experimentation with drugs is understandable, though not justifiable.
FATS
Fats are highly concentrated sources of energy. They supply more than twice the energy of an equal amount of carbohydrates or proteins. However, fats are digested slower and cannot be used for quick energy. Fats also supply vitamins A and D. Foods containing fats include cream, butter, margarine, cheese, egg yolk, fat in meats, salad oils, peanut butter, nuts and chocolate. Fat that is not burned up is stored as body fat. Body fat supports and protects vital organs and areas such as the eyeballs, the kidneys, the liver and the joints. A layer of fat under the skin protects the body from losing an excessive amount of heat. If a child eats too many fats, excess body fat is formed and the child becomes overweight.
Fats can be divided into two types: saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature, and unsaturated fats are usually liquid at room temperature. Most doctors recommend reducing the amount of saturated fats in the diet and replacing them with unsaturated fats because saturated fats are known to raise the level of cholesterol, a fatty chemical found in the bloodstream. A high level of cholesterol in the body may lead to heart disease.
Foods high in saturated fats include chocolate, fatty beef, fatty dairy products, luncheon meats and pork. Most margarines, poultry and veal are lower in saturated fats. Foods high in unsaturated fats include corn oil, fish, mayonnaise and special margarines. Fried foods are full of the kind of fat they are cooked in.
MINERALS
Several minerals are also required by the body. These minerals include calcium, iron and iodine. Calcium helps build bones and teeth, helps blood clot, helps muscles and nerves work, and help the body regulate the use of other minerals. Milk, cheese, ice-cream, shellfish, canned sardines, egg yolk, soybeans a green vegetables supply calcium. Iron combines with protein to make haemoglobin, the red substance in blood that carries oxygen to cells.
Good sources of iron include lean meats, egg yolk, dried beans and peas, green leafy vegetables, prunes, raisins, dried apricots, liver, heart, kidney, liver sausage, shellfish and enriched or whole-grain bread, cereal and cereal products. Iodine helps control the rate at which the body uses energy. Seafood and iodized salt supply iodine.
VITAMINS
Vitamins are essential for the utilization of foods for normal growth and for prevention of certain diseases. Some vitamins, such as vitamins A and D, may be stored in the body. Other vitamins must be supplied constantly because the excess is eliminated. Vitamins can be divided into two general classes. Vitamins A and D and others are called fat-soluble because they dissolve in fat. Vitamin C, B-complex vitamins and others are called water-soluble because they dissolve in water.
WATER
It helps carry nutrients to cells and waste products away from cells. It also helps build tissues and. regulates body temperature. Water is obtained from liquids and from foods with a high percentage.
CONSERVING NUTRIENTS
Store and prepare foods in ways that preserve nutrients:
- Keep meat, fish and poultry in a refrigerator or freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap or foil.
- Keep frozen food frozen until it is used, and cook it as it is defrosted. Frozen food loses vitamins after thawing and refreezing. Never refreeze frozen foods.
- Wash leafy vegetables and store them in plastic in a refrigerator.
- Cook vegetables for the shortest possible time in as little liquid as possible
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