Pregnancy health

Children's health and nutrition

Zinc, iron, vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, omega 3 and magnesium are critical for healthy brain function. Blood sugar swings from a diet rich in process carbohydrates will contribute to poor behaviour.

• Zinc: Children taking an extra zinc responded more quickly and accurately on memory tasks and had better attention. More than 70 enzymes depend on zinc to perform their roles in digestion and metabolism. Children who don't get enough zinc risk stunted growth. Here is the RDA: Ages 1-3 years: 3mg per day, 4-8 years: 5mg per day, 9-13 years: 8mg per day. Oysters, beef, crab, Lamb, pumpkin seeds, beef, lobster and dark chocolate seem to come out on top in zinc intake. Care must be taken if children are consuming too many nuts and seeds, as these contain phytates that bind to zinc.
• Vitamin A is critical for child development. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin and potent antioxidant. It plays a critical role in maintaining eye health, brain function, healthy skin, immune function, reproduction and cellular communication. Vitamin A also plays a critical role in the normal formation and maintenance of the heart, lungs, kidneys and other organs. We can get vitamin A from foods containing vitamin A and Beta-carotene (a nutrient your body converts to vitamin A. Our advice would be to give your child a mix or retinol and beta-carotene food sources as you can’t guarantee a good conversion of beta-carotene. Lots of carrots, red peppers, mackerel, pastured eggs, quality tuna, grass fed butter. Try and eat at least a couple of sweet potatoes a week plus a liver product twice a week (liver, liver wurst or liver pate). Halibut oil capsules are a great back up.
• Vitamin D is a fat-soluble wonder compound for children, responsible for increasing intestinal absorption of calcium, magnesium, phosphate and multiple other biological processes. Low vitamin D in children will result in poor bone growth, even with a calcium rich diet. Vitamin D is present in few foods (such as salmon, cod liver oil, sardines, tuna, mackerel, fortified yogurts, fortified milk, fortified cereals and eggs), plus it's also available as a dietary supplement. Your body is get vitamin D from the sun when UVB rays strike the skin and triggers vitamin D synthesis. Children should be encouraged to go out in the sunshine for short periods. Only about one percent of solar UVB radiation ever reaches the earth’s surface even in the summer at noon time. During the winter when living above and below approximately 33° latitude very little if any vitamin D₃ can be produced in the skin from sun exposure. Children who live farther North and South often cannot make any vitamin D₃ in their skin for up to 6 months of the year, so they must get vitamin D from food and supplementation. The safe upper limit for infants up to 12 months old is 1,000 to 1,500 IU daily. For kids 1 to 8 years old, the safe upper limit is 2,500 to 3,000 IU each day (an infant isn't going to get too much from food).
• Vitamin C is critical to a child's development. Don't give your children fruit juice for vitamin C, fruit juices are loaded with sugar and lack the fibre present in the whole fruit.Vitamin C is a crucial antioxidant. Children need vitamin C to synthesise important compounds such as collagen, which is needed for growth. Guava is the star (1 fruit): 400mg. Kiwi fruit (1 fruit): 80mg. Papaya (1 whole): 180mg. Blueberries (1/2 cup): 80mg. Medium orange: 70mg. Pineapple (1 cup): 90mg. Red or green peppers (1 pepper): 110mg. Strawberries (1 cup): 90mg. Kale, cabbage, broccoli (1 cup): 60-100mg.  Children ages 1-3 should not get more than 400mg of vitamin C a day. Children ages 4-8 should not get more than 650mg a day. Children need to grow up with fruit, nuts and seeds as snacks - rather than chocolate, candy, crisps, biscuits and junk. Avoid buying supplement such as "gummy bears" that contain sugar or artificial sweeteners.
• B vitamin deficiencies often contribute to ADHD type behaviours. Particularly vitamin B6 and vitamin B12. Liver based foods, seafood, nutritional yeast and vegetables are great sources of B vitamins. Supplementation is also very cheap and effective.
• Nutritional yeast is a great source of complete protein and vitamins, in particular B vitamins. It’s low in sodium and fat, gluten-free, and doesn’t contain any added sugars. It is also contains zinc. The fortified yeast version contains vitamin B12 as well as vitamin B6. Small amounts of yeast can be added to many drinks and meals (mashed potato, pasta and soups). It has a mild nutty, cheesy taste so a spoonful in a big dish will go largely unnoticed. 1 teaspoon (3.5g) of fortified yeast contains large amounts of vitamin B (185% RDA of vitamin B1,  135%RDA of vitamin B2, 70% RDA of vitamin B6, 55% RDA of vitamin B3. 70% RDA of vitamin B12, 65% RDA of vitamin B9 (folate).
• Omega-3  is probably the most well known child supplement, usually taken as a fish oil. 95% of fish oils are heavily processed and contain the rancid oils of farmed or low quality fish. We recommend krill oil supplements in capsule form. As well as being rich in omega-3, the krill oil also contains the potent anti-oxidant called astaxanthin. The three types of omega−3 fatty acids important to the body are α-linolenic acid (ALA), found in plant oils, and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA is important for a child's developing brain), both commonly found in marine oils.  Just like the omega-6s, omega-3 fatty acids cannot be made by the body and children must get them from the diet. Current evidence indicates that omega-3 administered during pregnancy or breastfeeding has no effect on the skills or cognitive development of children in later stages of development. Evidence regarding the improvement of cognitive function  for children inconclusive. However, omega-3 is a critical micro-nutrient for children and a quality fish or krill oil is a good idea. Try and get your child to eat oily fish on a regular basis.
• Probiotics and prebiotics: Probiotics are foods that contain bacteria that are beneficial to the gut microbiota, such a yogurts and fermented foods. Prebiotics are foods that pass undigested through to the colon, where they feed the gut bacteria, such as fibre. Foods that have been fermented contain many micro-nutrients as well as billions of bacteria. Choose foods such as natural yogurts, kimchi, sauerkraut, natto and blue cheese. Natto is an amazing fermented food because it contains vast amounts of vitamin K2. Sauerkraut is also super high in vitamin C. The microbes in fermented foods are also far more likely than most other bacteria to make it safely down and develop in a child's colon, because they are extremely resistant to acid, having developed in an acidic environment.
• Calcium is essential for bone health. Go for quality full-fat milk and yogurts. But make sure children are getting enough vitamin D and magnesium as these are required for calcium absorption.
• Collagen is needed for growth. Collagen is a type of protein found mainly in bones, tendons, ligaments, skin and other connective tissue. Without vitamin C, collagen formation is disrupted. Try and encourage your children to eat meat and fish with the skin on, also go for meats on the bone. Bone broth is a wonderful thing the whole family can benefit from, it's cheap to make and can be used as a base for delicious soups and stews.
• Salt and electrolytes are critical for development. Deficiencies in sodium can result in severe symptoms and potassium is hard to get in a typical western child's diet. Salt is good for children.
• Raw Cacao and Dark Chocolate. Cacao is the raw form and contains the most anti-oxidants. 70+% dark chocolate has slightly less. Try and give your child a taste for good quality chocolate.
• Cinnamon is one of the most anti-oxidant rich herbs that also plays a powerful role in blood sugar stability. Cinnamon helps protect the neurons from free radical stress and stimulate insulin receptors which allows for greater blood sugar stabilisation. It also improves brain-derived neurotrophic growth factors (BDNF).
• Grass feed meats. Commercial meats are often sourced from a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO). in these CAFOs the animals rarely see daylight and are fed growth promoters, antibiotics and corn based food. The micro-nutrient profile of meat that is pasture fed is far superior.
• Wild Alaskan salmon. This is full of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA & DHA) which are crucial for healthy neurology and brain function.  Wild salmon is rich in the potent anti-oxidant astaxanthin which gives it a characteristic pink colour.
• Fibre is essential for a child's gut microbiota. If children just eat easily digested carbs and sugars, they will starve their gut bacteria of food. Fibre is essentially complex carbs that cannot be digested by the stomach and small intestines. The best example of this is in nature, breast milk has evolved to contain oligosaccharides, these are a group of complex carbohydrates that act as a prebiotic, helping to shape the infant’s gut microbiome by facilitating the selection of beneficial bacteria. It is vital that children continue to get a varied source of fibre (prebiotics) to maintain a healthy gut. Your child's diet should include pears (13% fibre as pectin), lentils, beans, guava, avocado, apples, mango, chia seeds (10g per ounce), flax seeds (for girls), sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, broccoli, spinach, quinoa, konjac noodles. There are also drinks and jellies you can buy that contain fibre, but beware the added sugars.

There are no such thing as a children's meal. You go into a restaurant and see a menu of salmon, white fish, lamb, beef, vegetables, chicken, liver etc.... but then you see the 'children's menu' that contains chicken nuggets & fries, mac & cheese, spaghetti bolognese, fish fingers etc. Children's menus are essentially junk food. Once children get teeth, they should be eating whole foods just like an adult.