Healthy nutrition for schoolchildren: a diet for successful learning

How to make a menu for students: expert recommendations.

Nutrition should fully meet human needs in energy, food and biologically active substances. For schoolchildren, a carefully thought-out diet is especially important, as it is food that first of all creates the conditions for intellectual and physical development, supports immunity and protects against diseases.

Experts have presented a list of products that must necessarily be included in the child's menu. If you adhere to these recommendations, the child's body will receive the full range of essential vitamins and minerals.

Meat: chicken, turkey, rabbit, pork, beef.

Benefit: high content of protein, necessary for the growth of muscles and tissues, B vitamins (B6, B12), iron, zinc.

Preference is better to give low-fat varieties and do not get carried away with duck and goose meat, as it has a lot of fat. This can negatively affect the work of the gastrointestinal tract.

Meat should be given to the child 4-5 times a week. 

Subproducts: liver, heart, tongue

Benefit: high content of nutrients necessary for hematopoiesis - zinc, copper, manganese.

It should be borne in mind that in the composition of offal there are a lot of extractive substances that can adversely affect digestion. Therefore, more often than once in 7-10 days to include them in the menu is not worth it.

Fish and seafood

Benefit: high content of easily digestible protein, iodine, fluoride, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.

In the diet of a schoolchild is better to include low-fat varieties of fish that do not burden the intestines: haddock, pike-perch, cod and others.

Fish should be given to the child 2-3 times a week.

Do not regularly give children seafood (crabs, shrimp, trepangs, squid, mussels, scallops and others), as they often cause allergies. Nevertheless, they contain complete protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, iodine, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.

Eggs

Benefit: easily digestible protein, in the egg yolk - polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3, vitamins A, D, beta-carotene and lecithin.

A schoolchild can be offered egg dishes 2 times a week. In addition, eggs are used in the preparation of various dishes.

Milk, dairy products

Benefits: easily digestible protein, calcium, vitamin B2.

The optimal fat content of liquid dairy products for schoolchildren's nutrition - 2.5-3.2%, sour cream - 10-15%, cottage cheese - 5-9%. Of cheese should choose hard and semi-hard varieties.

Dairy products should be consumed daily.

Sour milk products

Benefit: microorganisms that normalize the intestinal microflora.

They should be consumed daily. Dairy and fermented milk products should be given to schoolchildren 2-3 times a day.

Fruits and vegetables

Benefits: natural sugars, dietary fiber, vitamins, including vitamin C, PP, beta-carotene, folic acid and many others.

In winter, when the choice of fruits and vegetables is limited, you can use frozen products (after "shock" freezing) - they retain their valuable properties to the maximum.

Vegetables should be given 280-320 g (in addition to potatoes) per day, divided into 2-3 portions; fruits - 200-250 g per day. In addition, you can include dried fruits in the diet.

Bread, bakery products, pasta and cereals

Benefits: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, B vitamins, magnesium, iron, selenium and other minerals. Due to the high content of carbohydrates provide the body with plenty of energy.

It is better to choose whole-grain bread, and pasta - from durum wheat. Among cereals, buckwheat and oatmeal take the first place in nutritional value. They have more protein, minerals (magnesium, iron, zinc, copper), vitamins B1, B2, PP, dietary fiber. However, in the diet of a schoolchild should be present and other cereals.

Legumes (beans, peas, chickpeas, lentils, soybeans)

Benefit: a large amount of vegetable protein, dietary fiber, vitamins B, C, E, PP, beta-carotene, minerals (potassium, magnesium, etc.).

Legumes are quite a heavy food, so you should not give them to your child more often than 2-3 times a week in small portions.

Nuts

Benefits: vegetable protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, magnesium, iron, zinc.

Nuts can be added to dishes (salads, porridge, confectionery), as well as given as part of a snack (for example, with fruit). However, the high fat content (more than 50%) can adversely affect the GI tract, so the child should be limited to the amount of nuts that fits in his own handful.

Mushrooms

Benefits: a lot of vegetable protein and dietary fiber, there is also potassium, magnesium, iron, B vitamins, vitamin C.

However, all these nutritional substances are poorly digested, especially in children, so mushrooms can be used in the schoolchild's diet only in small quantities and occasionally, provided that the child has no problems with the tolerance of the product.

Vegetable oils

Benefit: polyunsaturated fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6.

Vegetable oils are best added to salads. The norm for school-age children is 15-18 g (1 teaspoon of vegetable oil - 5 g).

Foods to be consumed with caution

Sausage and sausage products (sausages, wieners, all kinds of sausages)

Their nutritional value is much inferior to natural meat. Sometimes you can include in the menu sausage products made especially for children - no more than once every 7-10 days.

Confectionery, candy, sugar

Excess sugar and confectionery increases the risk of obesity and tooth decay. School-age children are recommended 30-35 g per day, that is, 5-6 pieces of sugar.

It is not necessary to completely exclude confectionery from the diet. It is important to monitor the amount and never substitute candy and cakes for the main meals. 

Salt

Its amount should also be regulated. Children 3-7 years of age are recommended 6 grams of salt per day, 7-11 years - 7.6 g, 11-14 years - 8.4 g, adolescents 14-19 years - 9.4 g. Excess salt leads to fluid retention in the body, creates an additional load for the cardiovascular system and kidneys, adversely affects metabolism.

Drinks

In the diet of schoolchildren should be clean drinking water, sours, morsels, compotes - preferably cooked at home, you can include strong teas and a drink of chicory, which favorably affects the gastrointestinal tract, vascular, immune and nervous systems.

Cocoa should be given only in the morning hours, as it contains the alkaloid theobromine, which has a tonic effect.

Do not offer children sweet carbonated drinks and packet juices - they are very high in sugar.