Growing Up Healthy: Proper Nutrition for Kids as They Age
Do your children insist on eating ONLY chicken nuggets and ketchup every day? Or maybe they simply refuse to eat, leading you to believe they’ll be impossible to cook for as they get older... Getting kids to eat what’s on their plate can be challenging at best. Most of them only eat what they want, so how do you know if they’re getting enough vitamins, minerals and nutrients to support healthy growth and development?
Kids’ bodies are pretty effective at extracting nutrients and growing up strong. Even so, kids today are getting fewer essential nutrients and are less healthy than in the past [1]. This can make them more prone to conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and adolescent hypertension; which will likely lead to heart disease, adult onset diabetes and other lifestyle-related diseases later in life [2].
So, are your kids getting enough nutrients? We’ll give you our opinions on what they should be eating and how much. And, you’ll learn how to boost their daily nutrition without having to force-feed them their least favorite vegetables and cod liver oil.
Which Nutrients Should Your Kids Get Each Day?
See the table below (PDF) for a basic look at how much nutrition your kids should be getting every day. The table also contains some common nutrient deficiencies for each age group. Keep in mind that these numbers are estimates and address overall nutrient intake and not individual micronutrients (vitamins, minerals and other critical nutrients); they differ between boys and girls, especially during puberty.
What you’ll want to take away from this chart is that many nutrient deficiencies start at a young age and remain through the late teens.
Click here to view Nutritional Chart (PDF)
Are Kids Getting Enough Essential Nutrients?
If your child consumes the recommended portions in the chart above, they are probably getting the critical nutrients they need for healthy growth. But, many children are not meeting their required daily nutritional needs. Too much refined grains, sugar, and not enough fruits and vegetables can result in deficiencies of important nutrients.
Did you know that up to 42% of preschool-aged children are iron deficient [8]. A study in the UK found that about 1 in 5 school-aged children don’t get enough vitamin C and that only about 1 in 3 are eating enough vegetables. Vegetable intake gets worse as kids get older. Only about 1 in 18 teens eat even a single portion per day [9].
If your child doesn’t have a balanced diet, they are at risk of becoming deficient in one or more essential vitamins and minerals.
What can you do about it?
How to Boost Your Child’s Daily Nutrition
You can easily increase the number of critical nutrients in your child’s diet with supplements. Supplementing a child’s diet with extra nutrition is nothing new. In fact, most breakfast cereals are fortified with vitamins and minerals to help kids meet their daily needs.
Doctors commonly recommend vitamin D (especially for kids who are lactose intolerant and/or have no dairy in their diet), vitamin C, and multi-vitamins to parents whose children are picky eaters or skip breakfast.
One problem is that many children don’t like swallowing pills. But that can easily be fixed with liquid vitamins like Manna’s Liposomal Vitamin C and Vitamin D3 + K2. These two nutrients are commonly lacking in kids’ diets. Adding a teaspoon to a cup of juice, water, or smoothie gives you a daily serving of these ever-important vitamins. And they taste good, so your kids won’t complain about taking their vitamins.
Interested in vitamin and mineral supplements for your child? Talk to their pediatrician or doctor first to get the go-ahead, and learn more about Manna liposomal nutrition here.
- http://pediatric-house-calls.djmed.net/children-health-less-healthy-50-years/
- https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/ug2061
- https://www.eatright.org/food/nutrition/dietary-guidelines-and-myplate/what-and-how-much-should-my-preschooler-be-eating
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4023304/
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/childrens-health/in-depth/nutrition-for-kids/art-20049335
- https://truesport.org/nutrition/top-3-nutrient-deficiencies-teens/
- https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2019/08/20/most-common-nutritional-deficiencies/39976101/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18498676/
- https://foodfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Peas-Please-Veg-Facts-2021.pdf
