By Lovely Ranganath, Dietician, Al Zahra Hospital, Sharjah


TIME CONSTRAINTS, parents who work outside the home, extracurricular activities and social obligations… a few of the reasons why the need for a quick meal or an 'on the go' snack has developed. Fast food, microwave-in-a-minute meals, meals on the go, and the heat-n-eat are just a few of the marketing gimmicks that have appealed to households everywhere. Meals that once used to take hours to prepare now can be done in a fraction of the time, allowing everyone concerned to continue to be on the go. Have these types of meals affected your child's health and eating habits? You bet your burrito! As children continue to eat on the run, their health continues to run out of control.

Poor food choices can result in your child not reaching his or her potential. Did you know that a healthy diet could improve your child's memory? Nerve cells require acetylcholine for healthy functioning. Acetylcholine is formed in the body from lecithin, found in eggs, sunflower oil and soybean oil. The amino acids present in protein are vital to brain functioning.

Iron is one of the most important minerals for your school-going child. Lack of iron can lead to decreased school performance. With less iron, the blood has a more difficult time delivering oxygen to body tissue, which means children are less able to concentrate, remember and pay attention in class. Also, enzymes that transit information in the brain don't work as well with decreased iron.

Your child also needs plenty of calcium, which is important to build strong bones. Did you know that about half of adult bone structures are developed during the teen years? Sufficient calcium is also needed after you have stopped growing, because the body continues to deposit calcium in bones for 10 years. Adequate calcium intake during younger years may delay the onset of osteoporosis, a disease that generally occurs in the elderly and causes bones with reduced mass to break easily.

A diet heavy in oil, dairy or meat makes your bodywork hard at digestion. When the body has to put a lot of attention on digestion, the brain is actively involved in that process. Thus, mental clarity and receptivity decreases. Ever noticed how you feel after a big dinner? We have replaced our needed "Brain Food" of wild game, fish (omega 3 fats), fruits and vegetables, dried beans and legumes with, "New Foods" like bread, bagels, sugar, sweeteners and fats.

Over the last two decades, beverage consumption ratios, especially among teenagers have reversed. Twenty years ago, teenage boys consumed twice as much milk as they did soda, and girls consumed 50% more milk than soda. Today, girls and boys are generally drinking twice as much soda as milk. At the same time, it's probably no coincidence that childhood obesity has risen parallel to soft drink consumption over the past two decades. Soft drinks provide children on average with 15% to 20% of their daily calories. One 12-ounce can of regular soda contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar. Many of these drinks contain caffeine - another reason to be concerned about the high consumption of soft drinks. A teenager, for example, consuming several of these drinks each day can experience stomach upsets and heart palpitations. Caffeine can also affect sleep patterns, especially if these beverages are consumed late at night.

For children who have fallen out of the milk drinking habit, a breakfast drink or after-school fruit smoothie might be tempting. If you child refuses to drink milk, cheese and yogurt are alternative sources of calcium.

FOOD PYRAMID

Everyone involved need to know what makes up a healthy diet. Occasional fast foods or junk food won't hurt. It is the pattern of your regular diet that you should work on to meet your child's nutritional needs. You are probably familiar with the food pyramid with its foundation of grains, followed by vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy, and the meat group.

The pyramid is topped by foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients, such as fats, oils and sweets. Cakes, cookies, soda, jams and butter are in this group. By choosing suggested amounts from each group anyone can plan a good diet without lots of complicated calculations. Everyday your school going child should eat:

* 6-11 servings from the grain group
* 3-5 servings from the vegetable group
* 2-4 servings from the fruit group
* 3-4 servings from the milk-cheese group which can include milk in any form (yogurt, frozen yogurt, cheese or cottage cheese) * 2-3 servings from the meat group which includes meat, fish, poultry, eggs, beans and nuts.
* There are no suggested amounts from the fifth group. These should be thought of as extra calories only to be chosen when you have room for them in your calorie allowance.
* Lastly, drink lots of water! Water hydrates the cells enabling the body (and mind) to function at its absolute best

BREAKFAST

A child in the classroom whose last meal was dinner the night before has gone about sixteen hours without food, and that child is hungry, whether he knows it or not. A nutritious breakfast will provide energy for several hours - until lunch, in fact. Is any kind of breakfast better than no breakfast at all? Unfortunately, no. A doughnut, for example, provides a quick rush of energy that lasts about 40 minutes, about the length of time it takes the youngster to get from the breakfast table to his classroom!

According to several studies, children who eat a good breakfast show higher performance in school tests. Traditionally, teachers schedule "heavy" subjects, such as reading and arithmetic, during the morning hours, and so it becomes even more important that the child's brain be fueled. The following suggestions have proved useful in sending youngsters off to school, ready.

* Put the blender to good use. Concoct a shake or smoothie with milk and vanilla. There is an unlimited assortment of blended breakfast drinks with all sorts of combinations: oranges, bananas, apples, wheat germ, etc. Eight ounces of such a drink served over shaved ice with a couple of slices of whole wheat toast will keep any youngster on his toes till noon. Fruit juices are not a substitute for fresh fruits. Children are under a lot of stress resulting in cramps and constipation. Eat more fibre to keep the digestive system moving. For breakfast, eat whole fruits instead of fruit juice.

* If the youngster likes cereal, dry or cooked, give it an extra boost with a sprinkling of wheat germ, chopped nuts, raisins, or other fruit. * Layer yogurt, fruit and granola in glasses for a parfait look. * Try a breakfast buffet with sliced fresh fruits, finger food vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, whole-wheat muffins. The more colorful, the better and kids love to help themselves.

LUNCH

The sack lunch! Does the child give, trade, or throw most of it away? (The clue is if he comes home ready to eat anything and everything in the refrigerator). The following suggestions may help:

* Apples and oranges certainly qualify on all counts-nutritious, no preparation, relatively inexpensive. But they are also easy to toss in the garbage can! Get a couple of plastic containers with lids that stay on and fill them with fruit cocktail, applesauce, mandarin, orange slices, yogurt, or even popcorn or crackerjacks.
* Use cookie cutters to shape sandwiches, crinkle-cut carrots, stuff some celery…If your youngster is a peanut butter addict, add any of the following to peanut butter for a change from the tried and true peanut butter and jelly sandwich: chopped dates or nuts, raisins, bacon bits, applesauce, crushed pineapple.
* Mix tuna fish or salmon with sliced cucumbers, sprouts, grated carrots, hard-boiled eggs, chopped celery, etc.

AFTER SCHOOL SNACKS

Once a child has entered the primary grades, it is no longer possible for him to eat whenever he feels hungry, and it can be a long time between lunch and the final bell. Most youngsters arrive home wanting and needing an immediate energy boost. It's a great opportunity to add in some nutrients to your youngster's diet. To many youngsters, a snack automatically means something sweet; however, sugar should be removed from the diet as much as possible except for special occasions.

* Keep a supply of trial mix in a moisture-proof container. The combinations are limitless: nuts, coconut shavings, dates, sunflower seeds, pretzel sticks, banana chips, etc.
* Most youngsters like dried fruits, especially if they can spread them with peanut butter or a fruit butter.
* Popcorn - youngsters love it as a snack, and it can also be sprinkled on soup.

DINNER

The time-honored tradition of breakfast, lunch, and dinner seems the best way to ensure a balanced diet, but the fact is that we may not need three meals a day. A better solution for some families may be more frequent, lighter meals. Common sense, flexibility, and creativity go a long way to make the evening more pleasant.

* Make food look attractive and interesting. One mother cuts liver into bite-sized pieces and sticks toothpicks in each piece. Her children eat the pieces lollipop-style with a great degree of gusto!
* Involve your youngsters in the family menu. Let them suggest foods, familiar and unfamiliar.
* Occasionally, take your children to the grocery store. It's a good place to give them choices (Do you want broiled chicken or fish for dinner?) What you don't buy is as important as what you do buy. If you don't buy potato chips and sodas, your youngsters wont be able to snack on them.

Whether your eating-on-the-run take place in the bus, in the mall, or on the street, you can make healthy low-fat, high-fiber choices.

Finding a happy medium between convenience and healthy eating requires some thought and planning … which is definitely worth the effort put in!

Photo courtesy: nhlbi.nih.gov & lha.org

Ms Lovely Ranganath, Dietician, M.Sc (Food Science & Nutrition), Dip. Fitness & Nutrition, Al Zahra Hospital, Sharjah and Al Zahra Medical Centre, Dubai will be regularly writing on Diet and Nutrition on womenone.org. She would also be answering readers' queries related to diet and nutrition.