Teenage is a very sensitive and significant year of a person’s life. Their body, both physically and mentally, changes from a child to an adult.
Otherwise, you would be malnourished in your physical and mental strength. The worst part is it takes lots of dedication and hard work to move from malnourished to healthy, later in your life.
Hence, you need a proper diet plan during your teenage years.
Here are the nutritional needs you should consume as a teenager.
1. Calories :
You often see the appetite of a kid increases as he or she enters puberty. This foreshadows the upcoming growth in his diet for the next few years.
As a parent, you should take note of it as it is a sign that you need to buckle up and feed your kid.
The first item on the list should be calories. An average teenager should consume 2000 – 3000 calories per day. Hence, prepare your daily meal keeping in mind.
If you don’t see the surge in their diet, ask them to run or play sports to encourage the surge from within.
2. Protein :
Did you know that 50% of our body total weight is due to protein. Hence, it is very important to consume protein regularly and more than average. The good news is that you can get protein from almost any food you eat.
The chief source of protein is meat, whether it is beef, chicken, turkey, pork, eggs, or fish. If you eat any of these foods daily, you won’t have to worry about proteins.
As a vegetarian, cheese and soya beans are the best source as you can make delicious and healthy dishes from them as well.
3. Carbohydrates :
Carbohydrates, which are found in starches and sugars, are a major fuel in our body. However, not all carbs are equal to our body.
For example, simple sugar doesn’t help our bodies. On the complex carbs provide sustained energy in our body.
This is why marathon runners often eat lots of pasta before starting their race. Hence, you need to increase your carbohydrates, but keep in mind they need to be complex ones.
Carbohydrates are also a good source of fiber and nutrients which fill your body and have a low-fat quantity.
4. Dietary Fat :
Fat should make up less than one-third of your diet no matter which stage of life you are at. Fat is important for your body as it supplies energy and helps your body absorb vital vitamins.
However, over dependency on fat can lead you to gain weight if you don’t exercise.
Moreover, fatty food is also a source of cholesterol, which is a bed-rock for a lot of diseases such as diabetes, heart attacks, blood pressure, and more.
So, it is better to keep such habits under control from a young age so that you don’t have to suffer later in life.
5. Vitamins and Minerals :
Lastly, to round off your diet, you need to add vitamins and minerals to it. For vitamins, there is no better place than green vegetables.
There was even a cartoon Popeye, the Sailorman, to promote the eating of spinach . Then you can move on to carrot, sweet potato, fruits. Nuts, etc.
For minerals, you can go back to the meat, or if you are vegetarian, sit with dairy food throughout the year. Other good sources are cereals, dry fruits, and pulses.
Both vitamins and minerals are easy to consume and can contribute to a delicious meal.
Conclusion :
Teenagers are rebellious by nature, so as a parent, it would be hard convincing them to abandon fast food for healthy food.
That is why you should start the change slowly and steadily. Nowadays, everyone has access to the internet, so use it to cook tasty food from green vegetables.
For example, if your kid doesn’t eat salad. Give him the salad in the form of a sandwich with some little cheese for taste. This won’t be an easy process at all, but it is a necessary one.
So, get into the habit of eating healthy food for a brighter future.