NUTRITION PART 1 — GENERAL NUTRITIONFOR THE NEXT THREE EPISODES WE WILL TALK ABOUT NUTRITION.

IN THIS FIRST EPISODE WE WILL COVER GENERAL NUTRITION.

WHY ARE NUTRITION DISCUSSIONS SO IMPORTANT IN YOUR PREVENTION DISCUSSIONS?

NUTRITION IS SO FOUNDATIONAL WHETHER YOU ARE HELPING CHILDREN TO THRIVE IN SCHOOL OR IN SPORTS OR TO COMBAT FATIGUE AND HEADACHES

WHAT ARE THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO LOW BLOOD SUGAR?

KIDS HAVE A NEED TO EAT MORE FREQUENTLY THAN ADULTS DUE TO THEIR FASTER METABOLISM

HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH KIDS AT SCHOOL?

IS IT UNHEALTHY TO SCHEDULE EATING VS. WAITING UNTIL A CHILD IS HUNGRY?

SO WE TALKED ABOUT THE TIMING OF EATING

LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW THE KIND OF FOOD MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE WITH THEIR PHYSIOLOGY

AND WHEN YOU ADDRESS LOW BLOOD SUGAR YOU ALWAYS COUPLE THAT WITH GOOD HYDRATION--WHAT IS A GOOD WATER GOAL?

DO PARENTS NEED TO BUY GATORADE OR OTHER FLAVORINGS?

AND MAYBE ONE MORE PLUG IN FOR ADEQUATE SLEEP

IS THIS A HARD ASK FOR SOMEONE TO COMMIT TO?

A LOT OF KIDS COME IN WITH CONCERNS FOR FATIGUE AND DIZZINESS AND STOMACHACHES AND HEADACHES AND THE MEDICAL WORK-UP FOR THIS LIST OF PROBLEMS IS MASSIVE.

WHY DOES FOOD MATTER? WHY DOES NUTRITION MATTER?

AND THIS MAY MEAN SOME COMPROMISE ON FOOD CHOICES LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT WITH PICKY EATERS

WE SAY THIS OFTEN IN A COUPLE WAYS: PARENTS CHOOSE WHAT AND WHEN AND KIDS CHOOSE HOW MUCH; OR, SAID ANOTHER WAY THAT PARENTS CHOOSE THE CHOICES

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE BROAD STROKES THAT WE CAN PAINT NUTRITION WITH. WHAT IS ENERGY DENSITY AND NUTRITION DENSITY?

WHERE DO HIGHLY PROCESSED FOODS FIT INTO THIS DISCUSSION

WOULD YOU SAY THE SAME ABOUT ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS?

AND MAYBE JUST A QUICK BASIC COMMENT ON ENERGY CONTENT OF EACH TYPE OF FOOD:

IS THERE A PLACE FOR FOCUSING ON PLANT-BASED FOOD?

LET’S SPEND SOME TIME TALKING ABOUT SPECIFIC NUTRITION COMPONENTS WE NEED TO WORK ON. THERE ARE SOME NUTRIENTS AND MICRONUTRIENTS THAT CAN BE CHALLENGES TO GET INTO KIDS.

FIBER FIRST. WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR AND WHO IS AT RISK FOR DEFICIENCY?

HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT PARENT’S MODEL BEHAVIOR?

CALCIUM

AND IF THEY WON’T DO MILK. CAN WE GET THIS ANY OTHER NATURAL WAY?

VITAMIN D—THIS HAPPENS NATURALLY WITH SUN EXPOSURE IS IT ENOUGH?

VITAMIN A

IRON

ZINC

WITH SUPPLEMENTS--WE ARE NOT TRYING TO REPLACE A WELL-BALANCED HEALTHY DIET, BUT SOME KIDS NEED THIS TO BE HEALTHY

LET’S TAKE THAT THOUGHT AND SEGUE TO OUR LAST SECTION ON HOW WE CAN HELP PARENTS ASSESS THEIR CHILD’S EATING. WHERE DO WE START THE EVALUATION?

IS THERE A DANGER TO SCREENING AND CATALYZING EATING DISORDERS?

WHAT IS A 30,000 FOOT LEVEL VERSION OF HOW YOU WANT TO HELP PATIENTS?

HOW ARE YOU TRYING TO COME AT THIS FROM THE PATIENT / PARENT OWNERSHIP INSTEAD OF A RIGHTING REFLEX

PARENTS WORRY MOST ABOUT THINGS THAT ARE THE HARDEST TO CONTROL: TOILET TRAINING, SLEEP, AND EATING

PORTION SIZES WITH UPSIZING THINGS AT FAST FOOD PLACES AND ENCOURAGING KIDS TO EAT ALL THEIR FOOD

SO TRUSTING KIDS HUNGER AND FULLNESS CUES AND LET THE GROWTH CHART TELL THE TALE IS A KEY

RESOURCES:

FIRST IS THE Website: myplate.gov WHICH HAS SOME GOOD GENERAL FOOD PRINCIPLES

Deceptively Delicious BY JESSICA SEINFELD