Science now understands that proper nutrition in youth helps growth and development. This is actually older science with many studies conducted over the past two decades, but the conclusion always points to nutrition equaling health.
For babies, breast milk can't be beat. For most educated people, like you, this is a "DUH!" statement. However, I still run across people who are misguided to think formula is better. No matter how you slice and dice it, formula will never be able to fully mimic breast milk. There is a caveat though. Just as breast milk contains vital nutrients, antioxidants, omega fatty acids, and antibodies crucial for the best health of the baby, it also contains toxins, artificial chemicals, pollution, and pesticides that mom is exposed to. This is why it is paramount for pregnant and nursing mothers to clean only with natural cleaners, use only natural bath & body products, and eat as cleanly as possibly (non-GMO, organic, non-processed foods when possible). I also encourage nursing mothers to take a quality multivitamin, calcium, and cold water omega-3 supplement so that their milk contains high amounts of essential nutrients their baby needs.
Infants and toddlers need proper nutrients as well. I run across many parents who expose their young kids to candy, processed foods, and junk foods very early. Soda is not juice, yet I have known several people teach their children that pop in a bottle or sippy-cup is called juice. I have seen toddlers suck on lollipops or ask for french fries when they pass by a certain fast food joint. I have seen babies refuse vegetables but reach for something like a cupcake or candy bar. Please don't introduce your babies and toddlers to junk food. My boyfriend's ex wife potty trained her four kids with Skittles candy instead of something healthier like fruit leather and the bad habits continued to progress into huge problems later on. I'm guessing because you are reading this, you're smarter than that. Children shouldn't be introduced to these types of foods until they are quite a bit older. Instead, infants transitioning to baby food need a healthy diet of vegetables, legumes, lentils, the occasional cottage cheese or yogurt, and fruit as treats. Fresh, clean fish, if available, is also excellent to give to your toddler since they need plenty of omega-3s for brain development. A wide variety of clean foods limits food allergies. Quality liquid multi-vitamins at this stage is recommended to fill in the gaps their food cannot provide.
Pre-elementary school kids mimic adults and their eating habits. If your diet is great, your child's will be excellent too. I must reiterate the importance of not giving your child candy or junk food at this stage. Which means you can't eat those things in front of them either. A young man I know can't eat fruit unless it has sugar on it, which he learned from his parents; now, anything else healthier than jelly beans, soda, or ho-hos is mortifying for him to choke down, all because he mimicked how his family ate, thus he suffers from a long list of health problems and he has not even hit high school yet. A diet of junk food growing up will eventually lead to dental problems, obesity, diabetes, memory problems, stunted growth, clogged arteries, intestinal blockages, allergies, asthma, edema, IBS, cardiovascular issues and/or other major health issues later on in preteen and teen years. Not to mention that kids are mean and the self esteem of unhealthy kids plummets leading to mental issues as well. Some children start to see tooth decay and periodontal disease as early as age 3. Some children struggle to run on a playground or even climb a flight of stairs before they turn 8. I knew one young child who wore Krocks every day because he couldn't bend over far enough to put on tennis shoes. The diet at this age is probably the most important because it sets up the brain's connection to food and associations linked to emotions. This is the stage where children learn to recognize tastes and associate feelings which later develop into attitudes about food.
Elementary school children and middle school children are difficult to please sometimes. School lunches are almost as unhealthy as fast food but packing a lunch doesn't guarantee that they eat what you pack. I remember finding out my son only ate his sandwich then threw his fruit and vegetables away. What's worse is that he admitted to doing it for a long time. Having your child choose their lunch helps with this issue but I have found that the kids are heavily influenced by other kids/peers and by television commercials. The other kids bring in fast food, chips, Twinkies, brownies, soda, energy drinks, candy, sugary yogurt, gummy snacks, and other garbage that your child will also want. Although you can't control everything at this point that goes into their belly, you can control what they eat at home. Nutritious homemade meals are best. Minimize processed meals and junk food. Water or tea (no sugar added) is the best when it is readily available. Avoid juice, soda, energy drinks, and other types of beverages. Despite what the USDA says, milk and dairy is not the best choice for children because it contains hormones and other weird pollutants, especially from inoculated, GMO-corn fed dairy cows, which can cause premature puberty, gynecomastia (man boobs), acne, tumors, weight gain and other serious health problems. Having fruit and vegetables on hand to snack on and throw into dishes can be quite beneficial as well. This is the time to give them multi-vitamins daily since there is less control over what goes into their bodies than you had when they were a toddler. Vitamins not only help with their growth but they help with their development as well.
Preteens and teens are much more difficult to force feed healthy food. By the age of 12, society has given them the opportunity to experience chemicals such as RED40 and MSG. MSG is a food additive which causes suppression of satiety and food addiction; and it is hidden in just about every bit of processed food you can think of. Other artificial chemicals put in foods capture the interest of this age group as well. I know my son was exposed to Takis by the neighbor kids and he fell in love with the wretched things. I discovered that he had been exposed to a lot more than I could have imagined: Hostess snacks, Ego Waffles, Monster, Gushers, doughnuts, Pop Tarts, and Ramen Noodles just to name a few. I was flabbergasted but this is what other kids his age normally eat so he must "fit in," plus many of these junk foods taste good. Thus, it is a losing battle with junk food unless you move far away from any civilization and home-school your children. However, that's where training your children young comes in handy. Teaching toddlers about good food choices carries on into preadolescence. Kids who are taught good food verses junk food understand it, believe it, and follow it as they mature. Kids who have not been exposed to junk food early on normally do not crave junk food when they are older. And hopefully your teen will have less exposure to garbage foods when they reach this age. This is the age where they need to take a quality multivitamin every day. As soon as my son started taking Oligo vitamins he shot up two inches almost instantly and then grew another four inches over the next couple of months. He also is never sick, even when other kids expose him to colds and influenza. I then started recommending multivitamins to other parents and the results are very similar. The teens who take a quality multivitamin have better health than those who do not and seem to grow stronger, smarter, and with less complications than those who don't. However, multivitamins should not be used in place of a poor diet. There's many factors that go on in a youth's health, including antioxidants, macro-nutrients, fiber, and limiting processed foods.
Do I recommend adult vitamins for preteens and teens? Yes, because they are growing and the human body needs a lot of nutrients to grow, mature, and thrive. Start with half an adult vitamin with breakfast. When your teen exceeds 120lbs add another half with dinner. When your child exceeds 125lbs add another half of a vitamin during lunch. By 130lbs your child should be taking two full multivitamins each day.
What type of multivitamins do I recommend? I prefer Oligo Vitamins because they have an 87% absorbency rate and they do not oxidize in the intestine. I have tried several different brands for myself and my son but the results just were not that impressive. I have heard of other brands that are just as good but the price points are a lot steeper.
What I do not suggest is buying any brands from the grocery store, mall, or health store. Quality is a huge issue in these brands because the markup is such that the main ingredients in them have to be cheap fillers in order for their manufacturer (usually in a different country) to make a profit. My mother, who is quite stubborn, uses a $7 multivitamin from Walmart. If 25% of the manufacturing price goes towards profits and 60% of the market price goes to the advertising, manufacturing, processing, bottling, shipping, distributing, and the stocking of such product, then less than $1 goes towards the ingredients per bottle, which equates to roughly $0.01 per vitamin. So I asked her these points:
- Do you feel a difference after you take them?
- Can you tell when you miss a dose?
- Is your urine bright yellow?
- Does your skin glow?
- Do you feel nauseous if you take them without food?
- Are there clinical studies on such vitamins?
In which she couldn't answer "Yes" to any of these. Again, she is quite stubborn so after explaining to her that she should feel the difference and know when she misses a dose, she changed her answers to a "I am pretty sure they do," even though we can all guess that her multivitamins from Walmart are cheap and worthless.
With quality multivitamins your child should:
- Grow
- Be energetic
- Have a good memory
- Develop normally
- Do well in school
- Have strong teeth, hair, and nails
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Fight off pathogens quicker
- Have healthy looking skin and good eyesight
- Look, act, and feel overall healthy
If your child does not exhibit most of these attributes after a month of use then switch brands. It might be a trial by fire for a few months before you find the right multivitamin for you and your child.
