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Nutrition: tips for understanding food labels
Here you are walking the aisles of the supermarket with your child. Faced with the multitude of food products, you are a little lost. How to focus on quality, while making him happy? With infant food, no problem, because they are specifically formulated for children under 3 years old. These specific products contain the right amount of salt, sugar, fat and protein.
But things often start to get complicated when the child wants to eat like “grown-ups” (unless it’s occasional, of course), because the composition of some processed foods is not optimal for the little ones. Especially if he has weight problems, or when certain industrial foods come back too often on his plate, it is better then to ensure their nutritional value. For example, there is a risk of overconsumption of salt or fat if the child swallows too many cooked meals. Or, on the contrary, insufficient intake of certain nutrients such as calcium if he only eats dessert creams.
Dairy products
A child under 6 needs 500 ml of milk every day to have harmonious bone growth. The equivalent of 3 or 4 dairy products (yogurt, milk, cheese, etc.). Opt for yogurt or milk that contains at least 120 mg of calcium per 100 ml (or 100 g). Those enriched with vitamin D are interesting because this vitamin makes it possible to better fix calcium on the bones. And choose the less fat: the amount of fat must be less than 1,6 g per 100 g. For fruit yogurts, pay attention to the sugar content: no more than 12 g per 100 g, favoring those that do not contain added sugars or sweeteners. As for the dessert creams, they are not considered as dairy products strictly speaking because they contain very little calcium. They are more of a pleasure food to reserve for special occasions. Some are very high in calories, and to avoid exploding all the counters, the right benchmarks: less than 4 g of fat and less than 20 g of sugar per 100 g.
Flavored with honey, filled with chocolate, flavored with fruits … cereals are popular! The main nutritional advantages of breakfast for a child: to reboost after the fast of the night and to have the catch all the morning. But for these cereals to provide all the necessary energy, the starch level must be higher than that of carbohydrates (sugars). And they shouldn’t be too sweet: no more than 50-75g of carbohydrate per 100g. What’s more, it is better that the cereals are complete to provide a maximum of fiber and slow sugars, energy champions. Another selection criterion: those enriched with vitamins, fibers, iron, etc.
As for cookies, these are foods to be used occasionally for breakfast or as a snack, because they are high in calories, whatever the recipe: around 400 calories per 100 g! “Here again, you can favor those based on whole wheat, which are more nutritionally interesting”, specifies the nutritionist.
Lasagna, nuggets, pizzas …
Know that the main ingredient of a cooked dish is indicated first in the composition list. So if for beef lasagna, this meat does not appear at the top, it is because the dish contains little in favor of other ingredients of little nutritional value such as water, fats … Likewise, it is better to choose dishes cooked from noble parts of meat or fish. So for breaded fish sticks or nuggets, the words “Fish fillets” or “Chicken fillets” are preferred compared to statements such as “Fish meat” or “Flavored chicken preparation” which raise concerns about poor quality of the ingredients.
Also avoid products that contain a lot of added flavors, which perhaps serve to hide the lower quality of the raw materials. In any case, be aware that a dish is considered very fatty when the ratio of proteins and lipids is greater than 1. Also limit dishes that are too salty – those that contain more than 1 g of salt per 100 g. As a reminder, the recommended daily consumption for a child is 1 g of salt for children under 12 months, 2 g for 1 to 3 years, and finally 3 g for 3 to 6 years. Finally, the pizzas are essential. If you put them on the menu every week, choose thin pasta without added sugar. For the garnishes, bet on simplicity: tomato sauce, ham, vegetables in strips (peppers…), mushrooms.
Fruit juices and compotes
The “100% pure juice” from the fresh section is the closest to home juice. This mention is also the guarantee that there has been no addition of sugar or additives. On the other hand, pasteurized “100% pure juice” (which is not sold in the fresh section) contains fewer vitamins because they are partially destroyed during pasteurization, and it tastes less like home-made. “Concentrate-based”, “nectar-based” juices… often contain a lot of added sugars. Avoid those with more than 12g of sugar per 100ml. For compotes, the ideal is when they contain less than 18 g of sugar per 100 g. Good to know, the mention “Reduced in sugar” does not mean that these products are light, but only that the manufacturers have not added sugar during manufacture.
So many good tips for filling your cart with healthy products suitable for the youngest.
Good reflexes
Some tips for the healthiest possible diet …
— Choose products that have the fewest ingredients in their composition list. This is already a sign that they are less transformed, and therefore a little more “natural”. organic products generally have fewer additives. The labels (red, AB, AOP, etc.) are a guarantee of quality both in terms of raw materials and manufacturing methods.
— Find out about the traceability of components by contacting the consumer service : where animals are raised, where products are processed … In addition, many industrial foods contain palm oil. If this oil is not more harmful to health than any other, it is advisable to limit its consumption for a good nutritional balance. It is also better to vary the sources of fat, alternating between foods containing sunflower oil, rapeseed oil, butter… This variety allows you to benefit from the nutritional benefits of each of them.