Between the various 'diets' (which should more accurately be called 'weight loss technique') and trends going around, it can be hard to get a good idea of what you should be eating. There are those who say meat is horrible (for one reason or another), others who say you should eat the way of the cave-man. There's the low-fat, the low-protein, and the low-carb fabs. But, really, what should you eat?
In elementary school, I was taught the food pyramid. You know, the one where sugar and salt were at the top, and meant to be used sparingly, and grains made up the heavy base at the bottom. In fact, in 1990, the US government recommended 2 servings of fruit, 3 servings of vegetables, and 6 servings of grain daily, along with a diet low in fats, and especially saturated fats.
Recently, the food pyramid has changed. The new pyramid, referred to as My Pyramid, changed the recommendations some. It placed a heavier emphasis on whole grains (at least 3 servings per day), oils for fats, and fewer meat and more of other sources of protein. It also placed heavier emphasis on physical activity with the stairs on the side of the pyramid.
Even more recently, the pyramid has been done away with completely, in favor of the My Plate method. Personally, this is my favorite way of showing portion sizes during meals, because it can be easily demonstrated with hands. You place your hands together. Your left palm represents the amount of meat or protein you should eat. For smaller kids, it's a smaller amount, and for adults, it's a larger amount. Your right palm represents the amount of grains, such as rice, bread, etc, you should have with each meal. Your fingers, then, represent the vegetables you should eat. You can spread your fingers to get more vegetables, but cannot expand your palms to get more protein or grains. Since most kids don't get enough vegetables on a day-to-day basis, this is a great way of encouraging them to eat more if they are still hungry.
For general child health, we make a few other recommendations. For instance, the dietary guidelines put out by the government only apply to those over age 2. Under that, we recommend whole milk because the children need the extra fat for brain development. Things like soda and koolaid are not recommended, because they provide no vitamins, minerals, or any other nutrients besides sugar. Even fruit juice, which provides some of the benefits of fruits and vegetables, aren't recommended in lieu of the actual vegetables, because you get the fiber and feel fuller when you actually eat the vegetables.
Milk is both good and bad. Kids all need calcium in order to develop strong bones, especially in adolescence. However, too much calcium can also work against you, and decrease the ability of the blood to carry oxygen, resulting in a very tired and potentially sickly kid. So, we recommend a total of 2-3 cups (or 16-24 oz) per day of milk or other dairy products. Another issue we see a lot is that kids who drink a lot of milk will get full, so won't eat as much solid foods, and it is still important once they are past 6 months to a year for them to get other nutrients. And please, no milk at bedtime--it does have sugar that can rot the teeth.
Fiber is also super important. Why? Because all kids are constipated. I've seen so many kids come in with abdominal pain, we get an x-ray, and see their intestines just filled to the brim with stool. I've seen one kid who was so constipated, that he had to get surgery to fix the problem. Fiber comes in all fruits and vegetables, but also whole grains. And when in doubt, Miralax is an amazing medicine.
So, a summary of our recommendations:
- A generally balanced diet, with sufficient protein, fat, and carbohydrates for growth. If they're gaining weight, they're getting enough calories.
- Lots of vegetables, and some fruits. In whole form.
- Limit juices, even fruit juices
- Lots of fiber
- Milk, but in limited amounts and not at bedtime
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