5 rules for proper nutrition of a student

Your child goes to school and you are wondering how to eat properly? You do not know which elements of the daily diet are worth paying attention to? Sample menu for a primary school student, which parents often ask, will not provide an exhaustive answer to these questions, which also remain relevant in the case of distance education. Perhaps you already know 12 rules of healthy eating - to make it easier for you to take care of the right one a diet for the student, we shortened this list by more than half. Meet 5 principles of healthy nutrition for children in school age as well nutrition of adolescents i introduce them to your family's life from today.

Take care of the variety of the daily menu

Regarding principles of healthy nutrition for children and adolescents, as well as adults, the most important of them is to diversify their daily diet. Why is it so important? Because there is no product or dish that provides all the nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals) in ideal amounts and proportions. For example: one product has a lot of wholesome protein (e.g. egg), the other is a great source of complex carbohydrates (e.g. rye roll), and yet another provides a powerful dose of vitamin C (e.g. red pepper). If you bet on a greater variety of meals, you will increase it protecting your child against nutritional deficiencies and diseases that develop on their background. Moreover, it is varied student diet prevents the accumulation of too much of one type of unhealthy substances, preservatives and toxins. Of course, it is important to diversify your menu healthy nutrition pyramid for children and teenagers at school agewhich determines what products, in what quantity and how often should be on your child's plate.

Teach meals to be regular and not to eat in between

Healthy student diet it's food at fixed times. Teach your child that regular meals and keeping an appropriate interval between them (approx. 3-4 hours) is the key to health and well-being. How to explain to a child that it is so important? Tell him about that our body requires a regular supply of energy because it constantly uses it throughout the day, incl. for learning, exercising in PE lessons, playing with peers, extracurricular activities. If the breaks between meals are too long, the body "switches" to a slower functioning mode, and the energy from the next meal will be willingly put aside. This may, in the long run, contribute to the development of overweight and obesity. No regular meals it also causes moments of strong feeling to appear more often hunger, which increase the urge to eat sweet and / or fatty products (e.g. sweets) that are high in calories and are not conducive to health and maintaining a proper body weight. On the other hand constantly eating in between meals often contributes to consuming too many calories throughout the day (in relation to the child's needs) and stimulates the pancreas to secrete additional insulin. This, too, can result in your baby becoming overweight and developing a disorder called insulin resistance, which greatly increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Regular meals - no snacking between them - it is worth introducing as soon as possible, because it is difficult to change bad habits acquired in childhood. It may then turn out to be appropriate nutrition of adolescents, Czy healthy diet for teenagers will remain only in the sphere of the so-called wishful thinking.

Include vegetables in every main meal

Diet for adolescents and children going to school must contain vegetables. They provide many vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, natural antioxidant compounds, and at the same time are low in calories. Healthy eating pyramid for children and teenagers at school age leaves no room for doubt as to the key role of vegetables. Experts emphasize that Eating vegetables regularly reduces the risk of developing many diseases, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, ischemic heart disease, and certain cancers.

If in doubt, whether it was found e.g. on the Internet a sample menu for a primary school student will be good for your child, look for vegetables in the first place. The sooner you introduce them to your children's menu, the greater the chance that there will be no need to worry or ask about healthy diet for teenagers. 

Include a bottle of water with school meals every day

Water is an extremely important element when it comes to the nutrition of adolescents, children and adults. Because encourage your child to drink school water all day long. Thanks to this, it will reduce the risk of dehydration, which is associated with the feeling of fatigue, drowsiness, headaches and dizziness, and decreased concentration. Children and adolescents should drink 1.5-2 liters of water a day, including water from other drinks (e.g. milk), food products (e.g. vegetables and fruits) and meals (e.g. soups). Set a good example for your child and also drink primarily water. It is a drink that hydrates most effectively and does not provide calories, which is important in preventing the development of overweight and obesity. Avoid giving your baby sugary carbonated and non-carbonated drinks.

Limit the presence of sugar and sweets in your home and school meals

Sugar, sweets and the aforementioned sweet drinks are products that children and teenagers love. Unfortunately, their nutritional value is very poor, which means that they provide little protein, vitamins, minerals and good fats. However, they are very caloric (e.g. 1 bar of chocolate is about 550 kcal), and these calories mainly come from a large amount of sugar and partially hardened fat, containing trans fatty acid isomers unfavorable to health. Because it is important to limit the presence of sugary products in your child's diet to 1-2 times a week. So, if you or your child are wondering, what to eat at school, the answer is obvious: definitely not sweets, sweet snacks or sweet drinks.

As you can see from the above list, principles of healthy nutrition for children at school age, they do not have to be complicated and cumbersome to implement. Take advantage of them, or use the popular ones 12 rules of healthy eating, to be sure, what to eat at school and beyond should your child and what is the right one diet for adolescents school. 

Źródła:

Charzewska Jadwiga, Wolnicka Katarzyna et al.: Principles of healthy eating and physical activity for children and adolescents. Food and Nutrition Institute, Warsaw 2013;
Charzewska Jadwiga, Wolnicka Katarzyna et al .: Rules of proper nutrition for children and adolescents and tips for a healthy lifestyle; development in the National Program for the Prevention of Overweight and Obesity and Chronic Non-communicable Diseases by Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity for 2007–2011 (POL-HEALTH). Food and Nutrition Institute, Warsaw 2008;
Jarosz Mirosław: Healthy eating and lifestyle pyramid for children and adolescents; website (as of September 24.09, 2020): https://ncez.pl/abc-zywienia-/zasady-zdrowego-zywienia/piramida-zdrowego-zywienia-i-stylu-zycia-dzieci-i-mlodziezy;
Chwojnowska Zofia: How can we counteract the unfavorable phenomena related to improper nutrition of children and adolescents? website (as of September 24.09, 2020) https://ncez.pl/dzieci-i-mlodziez/dzieci-przedszkolne-i-szkolne/jak-mozemy-przeciwdzialac-niekorzystnym-zjawiskom-zwiazanym-z-nieprawidlowym-zywieniem-dzieci-i-mlod