It’s not difficult for children to be superior to others! Three essential nutrients

Balanced nutrition is an indispensable element for children's growth and development. Incorrect eating habits, such as picky eating, partial eating, insufficient nutrition for breakfast, irregular eating times, or eating too many snacks and not being able to eat regular meals, will cause children to have unbalanced nutrition and affect their growth.

The Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital's Children's Growth and Development Joint Clinic recently reported to the hospital a 13-year-old junior high school girl named Xiaoling (pseudonym), who always looked smaller than other children of the same age. After examination by a pediatrician, Xiaoling was found to have growth retardation. Her height and weight were both 3 percentiles lower than children of the same age. After nutritional intervention treatment, her height and weight increased significantly.

Nutritional intervention therapy increases height and weight

Hou Yi-cheng, a nutritionist at the Children's Growth and Development Joint Clinic of Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, which treated the case, pointed out that when Xiaoling first visited the hospital, she was 142.3 cm tall and weighed 33 kg. Her blood biochemistry, endocrine and growth hormone tests were all normal. After evaluation by the nutritionist, it was found that her nutritional problems were caused by picky eating, insufficient calorie and vegetable intake.

Therefore, the nutritionist worked with her to set growth goals and provided daily food intake and exercise recommendations. After one month of interventional treatment, Xiaoling's height increased by 1.2 cm and her weight increased by 0.7 kg, which were significantly higher than the standard. It can be seen that Xiaoling's growth retardation was caused by malnutrition.

Nutritionist Hou Yizheng emphasized that height and weight are the two most important indicators of children's growth. Congenital genetic inheritance and acquired eating habits have a great relationship with height development. The problem of congenital genes affecting development and growth can be compensated through balanced nutrition acquired later in life, and balanced nutrition comes from a healthy and correct diet.

Taboos for children's development: Avoid picky eating and excessive intake of processed foods

Generally speaking, the issues that need to be paid attention to at each stage of a child's growth are different, and parents should prepare suitable and nutritious food for their children. However, it should be noted that in addition to children's picky eating habits, processed foods such as snacks, beverages, and desserts sold in the market can easily cause children to consume too much sugar, high fat, refined sodium salt, etc. Frequent consumption will have an adverse effect on children's growth and development.

Therefore, parents should let their children eat unprocessed raw ingredients and adopt the cooking principles of less salt, less oil and less sugar. At the same time, if you want your children to be superior to others, the intake of nutrients such as calcium, protein and vitamins must not be ignored. Hou Yizheng provides the direction of nutrient intake and the recommended ingredients for "children to be superior" as follows:

1. Calcium

1. Calcium is the main component of bones and teeth. It can maintain normal physiological functions, promote bone growth, strengthen, and prevent osteoporosis.

2. Milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu, dried tofu, black foods such as black sesame, kelp and dark green vegetables are all foods rich in calcium.

2. Protein

1. Protein intake is as important for height development as calcium and is an important synthetic element for body tissues.

2. Eggs, milk, yogurt, cheese, tofu, dried tofu, asparagus, broccoli, pumpkin, okra, etc. are rich in protein.

3. Vitamins

1. Vitamin C can help the formation of collagen and also promote the absorption of calcium. Vitamin C is found in vegetables and fruits. Bell peppers, potatoes, bean sprouts, broccoli, dark vegetables, strawberries, kiwi fruit, citrus fruits, etc. are rich in vitamin C.

2. Vitamin D can maintain bone health and strengthen nerve and muscle function. Milk, oats, eggs, alfalfa, cream, egg yolks, sweet potatoes, etc. all contain vitamin D. Moderate sunlight exposure can promote the synthesis of vitamin D and help calcium absorption.

[Nutritionist's Tips]:

Good development and healthy growth are the expectations of all parents. There are many folk remedies for bone growth and health that often cost a lot of money but have limited effects. In fact, a child’s growth is closely related to his or her eating habits. If the child can develop correct eating habits from the stage when he or she already has independent cognitive ability, and parents carefully provide the child with sufficient and balanced nutritious food, it is not difficult to make the child superior to others.