Nutrition

NUTRITION

    Eating right helps a person feel great and stay healthy, so you can live well. Food is what provides the energy and nutrients a baby or toddler needs to be healthy. Babies grow at lightening pace – 3 inches or so every 3 months. Toddlers grow a little slower – only 3.5 inches in an entire year. For a baby, breast milk has all the necessary vitamins and minerals. As for children under the age of 2, 50% percent of the calories they intake should come from fat. The toddler years are a time of transitions, especially between 12-24 months, they are learning to eat table foods and accepting new tastes and textures.
    Milk matters. Milk provides the calcium and vitamin D to help build strong bones. Toddlers should have at least 500 milligrams a day and this can be met by 2 servings of dairy foods. Kids under the age of 2 should have whole milk, this helps provide the dietary fats they need for normal growth and brain development. Toddlers should have 7 milligrams of milk a day. After the age of 12 months this can be a problem due to no longer being on formula or breast milk. Iron deficiency can affect growth and may lead to learning and behavioral problems. Lack of iron can also lead to anemia (a decreased number of red blood cells in the body,) Without enough oxygen and red blood cells the body’s tissues and organs get less oxygen and don’t function as well.
    Eating habits are taught and learned in the early year of a child. Introducing new foods, new textures, and new tastes plays a key factor in the intake of healthy foods later in life.   As children move through their preschool years, their eating patterns are more environmentally influenced. 3-year-olds will eat only until they are full. 5-year-olds tend to eat more when a larger portion is put in front of them. A key factor in preventing overweight would be to make sure that appropriate portions are served. Allowing a child to eat when they are hungry rather than on a schedule are not... [continues]

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