Photo by Alex Green
Getting that perfect diet can be challenging in a world saturated with fast-food chains, sugary sweets, and oily dishes. But when it comes to children, people should not (and must not!) gamble away their health by NOT eating the right nutritious foods.
Okay, this might sound cliché, but everyone needs to have a healthy diet, especially children.
Those green leafy vegetables and legumes of nuts and beans served a higher purpose than just being a mere level up in beautifying a meal décor. Those fruits and berries possess an ultimate reason for being more than just enhancing a person’s flavor palette and giving color to dish plating. And yes, even meats such as lean beef and chicken breasts bring more to the table than just filling up the diner’s stomach.
All of these foods classified as healthy bring fantastic benefits to people, specifically kids.
Before we dive into the gist of what kids can benefit from a healthy diet, let’s break down the food type into what’s commonly known as Grow, Glow, and Go foods.
Why a Child Should Eat “Grow” Foods
Grow foods are defined as foods that build and help develop the muscles. These are elements of a meal that are high in protein and aid children in growing and staying strong. These foods are needed if your kids want to grow strong and resilient bones, teeth, and muscles.
Growing foods include meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, beans, and nuts.
Why a Child Should Eat “Glow” Foods
Your glow foods are brightly colored fruits and vegetables packed with vitamins and minerals that strengthen the immune system and maintain good eyesight and healthy skin. Especially during the raging COVID-19 pandemic, a robust immune system is a must for kids.
Why a Child Should Eat “Go” Foods
For an active and energetic child, give them “go” foods. Go foods are considered the fuel provider to the body. These are dish elements high in carbohydrates and mainly consist of grains or starchy foods such as bread, rice, oats, or pasta. So, if you want your child to maintain energy and stamina throughout the day playing and studying, you know what to do!
Payoffs of Having a Healthy Diet
Now, let’s dig deeper.
There are many benefits a child can gain from having a healthy diet besides the ones mentioned above. As a general theory, the food a person eats is ultimately reflected in their overall well-being, which could include – aside from their physical health – their mental and emotional health.
So, if children live off of nutritious meals, they generally live more positive and healthier lives than those who are not eating right. A healthy diet doesn’t only mean eating the right foods; it also pertains to the right amount or quantity of servings.
Read on to learn more about the benefits of a healthy diet for your kids.
Normal Development
Normal development covers a child’s growing phase, including height, weight, and shape. A nutritious meal serves as a supplement, a support base that helps push for the child’s body-needed development. For instance, healthy food ensures a child receives sufficient calcium and vitamin D for strong and healthy bones.
Bingeing on low-nutrient foods will likely produce adults inclined (if not already) toward obesity. A proper proportion of healthy foods can lead to a balanced weight.
Supports Mental Health Development
It’s advisable to start them young when it comes to healthy eating. These actions of striving towards consistently eating nutritious foods become a discipline that later on turns into a habit and is ingrained into a child’s lifestyle as they grow into adulthood.
Good mental health begins with an excellent lifestyle, which should include having a proper diet to support brain and heart activity. There is an exciting link between the physical body, brain, and heart; if one of them gets sick, it eventually affects the rest. For instance, if your body is sick, your mind takes on this dull and weary toll that’s feeling the impact of the body. And if the mind is affected, the heart also takes on the effect by getting impacted by the feelings of stress, anxiety, and even depression.
Instill a Good Habit
It’s all about habit, too. Training a child to start liking, no, loving those green leafy veggies, fruits, nuts, and lean meats will help them become responsible individuals later in life. Remember that when a child is born, they don’t have any preference for the type of food they want to eat – none, zilch. Their tastes are like a blank piece of paper that gets filled out depending on the influence they get from the environment.
If you start them off at a young age liking nutritious foods despite the taste, they’re sure to become resilient adults who can face whatever challenge life throws.
Getting On the Right Track
How a child turns out as an adult is determined by how they were raised and exposed to as a young child. Like being able to communicate appropriately, talking and interacting at a young age is equally important, just as author Jo Ann Gramlich describes in her book Talk, Play, and Read with Me, Mommy.
So, do you want your kids to grow up as responsible and healthy adults? Then, start them young with a healthy dose of their grow, glow, and go foods!
The Happy Hammock 