Diet for children: an overview, features of the diet

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The diet of toddlers and adults is very different. For this reason, each diet for children must be made individually. It will depend on many factors and include only useful and high-quality products. In this article, we will find out what diets for children are and what are their features.

Varieties

Diet is a specific eating pattern. As a rule, the diet is selected depending on any problem that needs to be solved. There are a huge number of different diets, but it is for children that this list is separate. This is due to the fact that a young growing body needs a lot of vitamins and minerals. In general, all diets can be divided into two broad categories. The first includes medical (they are also called tables). All of them are numbered (diet number 1, diet number 15), and the set of products in them corresponds to certain diseases. For example, dietary table number 3 is prescribed for chronic constipation. The diet includes foods that stimulate intestinal motility.

Rational diets can be attributed to the second category. They are intended not so much for treatment as for maintaining a he althy lifestyle. Any diet for children must be supervised by adults, otherwise it can harm the baby. This is especially true for teenagers. Wanting to look beautiful and attractive, very often they go on debilitating diets. This can lead to problems with the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Before you change your child's diet, talk to him, tell him why you decided to do it. Also explain the consequences of malnutrition.

In addition, it is very important to support the child if he is prescribed a diet. The whole family may need to follow the same diet for a while to support the baby.

Peptic ulcer and gastritis

If a child has symptoms of these diseases, most likely, he will be assigned dietary table number 1 or number 2. They are quite similar and include cereals, lean meats and fish, and dairy products. Foods that can irritate the walls of the stomach are excluded from the diet. These include spicy, fried, smoked, heavily s alted foods, as well as carbonated drinks and coffee. It is forbidden to consume acidic foods, especially juices. They can irritate the walls of the stomach and even provoke the development of the disease. It is recommended to eat more boiled vegetables. Such diets for children involve at least 5 meals in small portions. It is best if the dishes are steamed or boiled. These tables are one of the mosthard.

Chronic diseases associated with constipation

Dietary table number 3 is prescribed for chronic bowel diseases, which manifest themselves in the form of constipation and severe flatulence. The diet itself should include a large amount of liquid, as well as foods that activate intestinal motility. The menu should include as many raw fruits and vegetables as possible, various cereals, lean meats and fish. Sour-milk and dairy products are recommended, such as cottage cheese, kefir, fermented baked milk. With diet number 3, the child is contraindicated:

• butter dough,
• fresh bread,
• cabbage,
• legumes,
• semolina and rice.

In addition, it is recommended to reduce the consumption of chocolate, pasta, canned food and marinades. With this diet, it is recommended to drink as much liquid as possible, it is good if it is not only water and tea, but also dried fruit compotes.

Diet 4 for kids

This diet is designed for babies with bowel problems. The menu includes as many protein foods as possible, while reducing carbohydrate intake. The purpose of the diet is to reduce the processes of putrefaction and fermentation in the digestive tract. So, lactic acid products, raw berries, vegetables, fruits are excluded. The child is shown cereals, flour products, lean meat. Strong teas and coffee are allowed.

Diseases of the liver, pancreas and biliary tract

Children quite often have disturbances in the work of theseorgans. In this case, they are prescribed diet number 5. For children, such a diet is beneficial. Many gastroenterologists argue that even he althy children should follow such a diet. It normalizes the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract and is suitable for everyone without exception. So, the diet involves at least 5-6 meals. Long breaks in food are not allowed. Diet No. 5 for children includes all the necessary vitamins and minerals and excludes only products that are harmful and unnecessary for the child's body. Allowed:

• Baked goods, but not the first day of baking.
• Soups with vegetable and meat broths. In this case, preference should be given to lean veal, turkey, chicken. It is not recommended to use too many seasonings and spices. The meat itself should be eaten without skins and tendons.
• Low-fat varieties of fish in boiled and baked form.
• Dairy and sour-milk products. At the same time, you need to limit cream, homemade butter, too fatty cheeses.
• All types of cereals, except for millet.
• Boiled, stewed and raw vegetables except cabbage.
• Fruits such as banana, watermelon, apricot, peach in raw form, the rest in the form of juices and compotes.
• Many types of sweets, except those containing chocolate.

To be deleted:

• smoked,
• fried,
• canned,
• dishes with vinegar,
• legumes,
• sausages and nipples,
• cakes, pastries,
• mayonnaise, ketchup,
• spicy and too s alty dishes.

Diet menu"Table 5" for kids might be next.

• Breakfast: steamed omelet with porridge (oatmeal, buckwheat).
• Second breakfast: baked apple with biscuits.
• Lunch: vegetable broth soup, steam patty, mashed potatoes, boiled beetroot salad, a few slices of yesterday's bread.
• Snack: dried fruit compote, cottage cheese with yogurt.
• Dinner: porridge with baked lean fish.

Allergic reactions

There are also special hypoallergenic diets. Of course, they mean the exclusion from the diet of foods that can cause a rash. Most often, a diet for allergies in a child excludes foods such as chocolate and citrus fruits. They are the most common cause of diathesis. But besides this, there are other foods that can cause allergies. Of course, these are all red and orange fruits and vegetables, eggs, honey and sugar. For some children, meat can be a strong allergen. This applies to poultry that is grown in factories. The special feed that the animals are fed has a strong influence on the quality of the meat. So, recently quite often allergic reactions in children occur precisely after eating white chicken meat. Of course, for children, it is preferable to choose poultry.

A diet for allergies to a child is prescribed only if it is known to which product the reaction occurs. Otherwise, by elimination, it is necessary to determine what exactly provokes the rash, and only then prescribe the necessarydiet. It should also be noted that in some cases, a rash can occur against the background of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Then medical diets for children are recommended (table No. 1, 2, 5).

Stomach or intestinal flu

Most often this disease is also called rotavirus infection. Main symptoms: fever, upset, vomiting. However, only an experienced doctor can make a diagnosis, since this disease has similar symptoms with other gastrointestinal diseases. Of course, a diet for rotovirus in children is mandatory. This is necessary in order to reduce the load on the organs of the digestive system and prevent dehydration. In addition, in order to speed up recovery, it is necessary to exclude the use of foods that are an excellent nutrient medium for pathogenic microflora. These include:

• milk,
• sweets,
• raw vegetables and fruits.

Diet for rotavirus infection in children involves the use of the following foods:

• rice and semolina porridge without oil,
• steam omelet and cutlets,
• low-fat broths and soups.
• strong tea.

This diet is prescribed for children for a week (minimum) and can significantly improve the patient's condition. After that, you should gradually introduce other products. With rotavirus infection, nutrition should be very fractional. During this period, the child may refuse to eat at all, and should not be forced. However, be sure to drink plenty of fluids.

The diet of obese children

Ifin an adult, excess weight is primarily associated with an aesthetic problem, then for a child, obesity is a disease that can cause tremendous harm to the body. The thing is that still unformed organs cannot fully function. Against the background of excess weight, a child can develop a variety of concomitant diseases, which over time will become chronic. First of all, it is worth noting that unnecessary kilograms disrupt the work of the cardiovascular system, shortness of breath, rapid pulse appear. You can determine if a child is overweight using the formula: child's weight divided by height squared.

For example, a girl weighs 59 kilograms and is 1.4 meters tall. Then: 59 / (1, 41, 4)=30, 1.

The resulting number is the body mass index, which should normally be 18.5-24.99. If the number is greater than this limit, then the child (or adult) is obese.

Of course, extra pounds also indicate that the diet of the child does not correspond to his physical activity. Does it contain enough vitamins, minerals, nutrients? The diet of obese children should primarily depend on their physical activity. Should be excluded at least for the first time:

• fast food,
• carbonated drinks,
• sweets.

An obese diet should include as many proteins and carbohydrates as possible, and fat intake should be reduced. Of course, they cannot be completely ruled out. It is best if these are fats thatfound in fish and nuts. To correct nutrition for obesity, diet number 5 is perfect.

It is balanced enough to provide normal nutrition to the child, but at the same time normalizes the metabolism in the body and will contribute to weight loss.

Of course, it should be noted that it is not easy to persuade a child to diet. First of all, it should be explained that malnutrition disrupts the entire gastrointestinal tract. The main task of parents is to make the right diet for children. The recipes are very diverse, you do not need to put the child on bread and water. The menu can be not only useful, but also tasty. Of course, sweets and cakes will have to be completely abandoned, but this does not mean that desserts are absolutely contraindicated. Just focus on natural products. For example, pumpkin baked with cottage cheese can be a great alternative to any cake. For its preparation you will need:

• pumpkin,
• cottage cheese,
• vanilla,
• honey,
• white of one egg.

The main ingredient - pumpkin - must be washed, cut off the skin and make a small depression. Separately, mix cottage cheese, vanilla, honey and protein until a homogeneous mass is obtained. In this case, the cottage cheese can be rubbed through a sieve. Stuff the pumpkin with the resulting mass and place in a baking dish. It is necessary to bake at a temperature not lower than 170 ° C until the pumpkin is soft. The dish tastes best when it is slightly warm.

Varied diet

A sample menu for a week that will help reduce weight in a child may look like this:

1. Breakfast should be light and satisfying enough. For example, you can choose one of the following options:

• omelette, bread and compote;
• buckwheat porridge and fresh vegetable salad;
• oatmeal with milk.

2. The second breakfast is a snack. It should not be too satisfying, because it is necessary that the child has time to get hungry for dinner. It is best if it contains fast carbohydrates:

• an apple and 2 biscuit cookies;
• cheese sandwich and tea.

3. Lunch must be complete. Of course, most children have lunch at school, and it is impossible to regulate this meal. But on weekends, lunch can consist of these dishes:

• chicken broth soup, rice cakes, a few slices of rye bread;
• vegetable stew with lean beef, cinnamon bun;
• fish soup with fish pieces, mashed potatoes, rye bread.

4. Afternoon snack:

• steamed chop sandwich;
• cottage cheese casserole.

5. Dinner should be light. The last meal should be no later than 7 pm:

• meatball puree;
• steam cutlets with beetroot salad;
• porridge with baked hake fillet;

How to monitor your child's diet

Even if the child does not have problems with digestion and excess weight, proper nutrition will not be superfluous for him. In such a case, it can be appliedrational diet. The menu for the child should be made depending on his preferences and physical activity. If the son or daughter plays sports, then more proteins and carbohydrates should be added to the diet.

Of course, you should not force your child to eat what he does not like. Everyone has their own personal preferences, and the more you insist on the use of a particular product, the more the child will resist. Always offer an alternative. Let's say a child doesn't like rice. To begin with, try to cook the dish so that he does not notice this product there. For example, add rice flour to an omelet. Only after the baby likes the dish, you can tell him that there was his least favorite food. Perhaps then his opinion will change. If not, then don't force it.

Rice can be replaced with other equally he althy cereals: buckwheat, bulgur, barley, oatmeal and so on. Almost every product has an alternative. Also, sometimes children are very difficult to wean from sweets and carbonated drinks. And this is not their fault. Such is the peculiarity of the work of taste buds. A person gets used to any taste in 30 days. Therefore, within a month, you should try to limit the consumption of sweets. You will be surprised, but after 30 days, cravings for cakes, puffs, sweets and cookies will noticeably decrease, and the child will begin to show interest in proper nutrition. Or at least not resist him.