The best way your teen can maintain a healthy weight is to eat a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, no-fat or low-fat milk products, beans, eggs, fish, nuts, and lean meats. Eating healthfully means getting the right balance of nutrients. As your teen grows, he or she will require more calories and an increase of key nutrients including protein, calcium, and iron.
Seven ingredients essential for growing teens and tweens.
1. Protein Lean protein is necessary for muscle development as well as weight management and sports recovery for teens and tweens. A study in the Journal of Nutrition found that afternoon snacking, particularly on high-protein soy foods, improved appetite, satiety and diet quality in adolescents, while beneficially influencing aspects of mood and cognition.
2. Whole Grains Whole grains are an important healthy source of many essential nutrients such as fiber, magnesium, protein and iron. Teens should get 6 ounces of grains every day. One-ounce equivalents include one slice of whole grain bread, ½ cup of whole grain pasta or brown rice, 1 cup of bulgur, or 1 cup of whole grain breakfast cereal.
If you get all of your grains from whole grains, choose some whole-grain breads or breakfast cereals fortified with folic acid. Folic acid is a form of folate. Eating a variety of whole grains ensures that you get more health-promoting nutrients. A variety also helps make your meals and snacks more interesting.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to benefit heart health and may also help cognition. A supplementation trial published in the journal Nutrients found a possible indication that krill oil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acid content, can encourage a higher information processing speed and less impulsivity in adolescents with a higher omega-3 index.
4. Probiotics Probiotics have been shown to play a role in both immunity and digestive health for adolescents. Another study in Pedatrics showed that supplementation for six months supported respiratory health with symptom duration shortened from 6.5 to 3.5 days.
5. Prebiotics Prebiotics benefit digestive health but also have been shown to aid in calcium absorption, which is important for teens and tweens who are still growing. A study in the British Journal of Nutrition suggested moderate daily intake of soluble corn fiber, a prebiotic, increased short-term calcium absorption in adolescents consuming less than the recommended amount of calcium.
6. Blueberries: Blueberries are among the most nutrient-dense berries. A 1-cup serving of blueberries contains
- Fiber: 13% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Vitamin C: 14% of the DV
- Vitamin K: 24% of the DV
They are also about 85% water, and an entire cup contains only 84 calories, with 21.5 grams of carbohydrates. This makes them a good source of several important nutrients.
7. Dairy Foods Adolescents tend to fall short of their daily quotas of calcium, iron, zinc and vitamin D. All of which can be found in dairy foods, as well as other essential nutrients including protein, vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin, niacin, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium.
It is important to discuss your adolescent’s diet with his or her health care provider before making any dietary changes or placing your adolescent on a diet. It is also important to include your children in the selection and preparation of foods and teach them to make healthy choices by providing opportunities to select foods based on their nutritional value.
In addition adolescents need at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity on most days for maintenance of good health and fitness and for healthy weight during growth. To prevent dehydration, encourage children to drink fluid regularly during physical activity and drink several glasses of water or other fluid after the physical activity is completed.
Being a teenager can be fun, but it can also be difficult as they go through body changes and adapt to new social environments. Poor eating habits formed during adolescence can lead to obesity and diet-related diseases in later years, following these tips can help insure healthy teen years.
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