Healthy Eating for Children

Transcription

1 Healthy Eating for Children Nutrition is the way your body uses the food you eat to keep you healthy. A healthy diet is important for every age and stage of life. A healthy diet supports growth and learning and helps prevent chronic disease, such as obesity, diabetes and heart disease. It is best to learn healthy habits early in life, but it is never too late to improve your nutrition. Use ChooseMyPlate.gov to build meals from the five food groups: fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods and dairy. Recipe for a healthy diet Make ½ of your plate fruits and vegetables. ÌÌ Choose a variety of colors. Choose whole grain foods most of the time. Choose lean protein and keep it lean by cooking with less fat. Choose low fat (1%) or fat free (skim) milk for children age 2 years or older. Source: USDA: ChooseMyPlate.gov Fruit food group This group includes fresh (raw), frozen, canned or dried fruit. It may be whole, cut-up or pureed. Choose whole fruits over 100% fruit juice. Fruit juice is not as good of a choice as whole fruits. One reason is whole fruits have fiber, which is needed for good health. Fruit juice does not have fiber. When buying canned, frozen or dried fruit, choose fruit without added sugar. Make fruit your everyday dessert..

2 2 patienteducation.osumc.edu Vegetable food group This group includes any raw, frozen, canned or dried vegetable. Vegetables may be fresh (raw) or cooked, and can be whole, cut up or mashed. There are 5 types of vegetables. Eat a variety for a healthy diet: 1. Dark green vegetables, such as romaine lettuce, spinach, broccoli and kale 2. Starchy vegetables, such as green peas, corn, potatoes and green lima beans 3. Red and orange vegetables, such as butternut squash, carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and red peppers 4. Beans and peas, such as chickpeas, blackeyed peas, kidney beans, navy beans and pinto beans 5. Other vegetables, such as asparagus, cucumbers, cauliflower, green beans and celery Grain food group Grains are divided into 2 groups: whole grains and refined grains. Grains are foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley or other cereal grain. Some examples are bread, pasta, oatmeal, breakfast cereals, tortillas and grits. Choose whole grains most of the time. Prepackaged foods usually have refined grains. Whole grains contain the entire grain kernel: the bran, germ and endosperm. Some examples are: Whole wheat flour Bulgur (cracked wheat) Oatmeal Whole cornmeal Brown rice Refined grains have been milled, a process that removes the bran and germ. It gives grains a finer texture, but reduces nutrition. It removes dietary fiber, iron and many B vitamins. Some examples are: White flour De-germed cornmeal White bread White rice Source: CDC.

3 Protein food group patienteducation.osumc.edu Protein foods include meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, processed soy products, nuts and seeds. Choose lean protein to eat. Some examples are: Beef: extra lean ground beef (at least 90% lean), round steaks and roasts (eye of round, top round, bottom round, round tip), top loin, top sirloin and chuck shoulder. Poultry: boneless, skinless chicken breasts and turkey cutlets. Take off the skin of poultry before cooking. Pork: pork loin, tenderloin, center loin, ham and lean pork chops. Other: eggs, nuts/seeds like pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds, nut butters like peanut and almond. Use lean lunch meats sparingly. Seafood/fish: consider salmon, trout and herring, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and good for heart health. Canned tuna is easy to find too. Keep meat lean by cooking with less fat: Trim away all of the visible fat from meats and poultry before cooking. Broil, grill, roast, poach or boil meat, poultry and fish. Avoid frying. Drain off any fat that appears during cooking. Skip or limit the breading on meat, poultry and fish. It can soak up extra fat. Prepare beans and peas without added fats. Skip added high fat sauces and gravies. Dairy food group Dairy includes milk products and foods made from milk. Dairy gives you calcium, which is important for bone health. Choose fat free or low fat (1%) dairy products. Some examples are: Milk or powdered milk (avoid sweetened or flavored kinds) Yogurt (regular or Greek) Cheese Cottage cheese Calcium-fortified soy milk (soy beverage) Butter, cream cheese, sour cream, other creams or foods high in fat with little calcium are NOT in the dairy food group. Source: girlshealth.gov Source: girlshealth.gov 3

4 4 patienteducation.osumc.edu Recommended daily food group servings by age Use this chart to choose servings from each food group. Amounts are for children who get less than 30 minutes per day of moderate physical activity in addition to daily activity. Individual needs do vary, so a child s hunger should be your final guide. Talk to your child s doctor or a dietitian if you are concerned that your child is eating too much. Food Groups Age Group Fruits Vegetables Grains (ounces) Protein Foods (ounces) Dairy Children, ages 2-3 Children, ages 4-8 Girls, ages 9-13 Girls, ages Boys, ages 9-13 Boys, ages What counts as a serving? Fruit food group: 1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice, or ½ cup of dried fruit can be considered as 1 cup from the fruit food group. Vegetable food group: 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or 2 cups of raw leafy greens can be considered as 1 cup from the vegetable food group. Grain food group: 1 slice of bread, 1 cup of unsweetened, ready-to-eat cereal, or ½ cup of cooked rice, cooked pasta or cooked cereal can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the grain food group Protein food group: 1 ounce of meat, poultry or fish, ¼ cup cooked beans, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of peanut butter or ½ ounce of nuts or seeds can be considered as 1 ounce equivalent from the protein food group. Dairy food group: 1 cup of milk, yogurt or soy milk (soy beverage), 1 ½ ounces of natural cheese can be considered as 1 cup from the diary food group. For more detailed lists of serving sizes, please visit ChooseMyPlate.gov.

5 patienteducation.osumc.edu 5 Oils Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature, like vegetable oils used in cooking. Oils come from many different plants, such as nuts, olives, avocados, and some types of fish. They are NOT a food group, but they provide essential nutrients. Foods that are mainly oil include mayonnaise, salad dressings and soft (tub or squeeze) margarine with no trans fats. Check the Nutrition Facts label for ingredients. Choose products with 0 grams of trans fat. Solid fats and added sugars Solid fats and added sugars are empty calories. They add calories to food but few or no nutrients. For this reason, they need to be limited in the diet. Solid fats are fats that are solid at room temperature. Some common solid fats are butter, milk fat, beef fat (tallow, suet), chicken fat, pork fat (lard), stick margarine, shortening and partially hydrogenated oil. Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added when foods or beverages are processed or prepared. In summary Good nutrition is essential for growth and learning and can prevent chronic diseases later in life. Use ChooseMyPlate.gov to give your child the nutrition he or she needs to grow up healthy. If you have any questions or concerns about your child s nutrition, please talk to your child s doctor or dietitian. Talk to your doctor or health care team if you have any questions about your care. The Library for Health Information is available to help you find more health information at (614) or health-info@osu.edu October 21, 2015, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.