Real food for healthy kids

In recent years, nutritionists have started to support a new movement for children and their nutrition.  The Realfood movement consists of eating food with the lowest processing possible and avoiding the consumption of poor quality or artificial components.

To ward off new and well-known diseases, we need to adopt modern habits at home that lead us to long-term health and wellness, like eating healthy and pure food coming from nature.

Regarding children and the multiple stimuli they receive from tv, media, and social networks, it’s not easy to eradicate their consumption of processed products and refined sugar, both causing serious health problems. Because of this, Elesapiens has created several pieces of content about nutrition, so you can explain children how to choose the best food and how important it is for their health with efficient teaching resources. Discover them here!

The goal is improving our population’s health through food.

See some tips below on how to engage children in making positive nutritional and health habits.

1.- Creativity and variety. Serving attractive and varied dishes which are visually appealing may help children open up to healthier food choices.

2.- Stop baking and buying ultra-processed pastries and sweets. This step, according to experts, is fundamental. Childhood obesity and diabetes are directly related to the consumption of refined sugars and flours. Therefore, these products should not be available in our cupboards.

3.- Take children to the market. Let them help with the shopping by choosing their favorite fruits and vegetables. Helping with the decision making will provide children with a sense of pride and responsibility when they select more fresh and healthy products. Choose markets and farmer’s markets over supermarkets or malls to find real food and avoid processed products and unhealthy temptations.

4.- Put them to work. Allow children to cook, and they will learn more about each type of food, its properties, and flavors. After working on a recipe and discovering the benefits of eating our preparations, children may be more motivated to sit at the table for healthy meals.

5.- Start a garden and grow some crops. Even if it’s a small garden, this is a wonderful strategy to get children to learn about vegetables and enjoy taking care of them. Once grown, collecting the fresh vegetables to put in their dishes will provide children a sense of pride and enthusiasm for their nutrition.

6.- Create a list of healthy food they like. Children can write this list themselves, including the fruits and vegetables they like the most, and then hang it on the refrigerator.  You can reward them every time they add new items to the list. In this way, children will learn by playing.

According to Carlos Ríos, a nutritionist and founder of the Realfood movement in Spain, “Nutrition has focused on nutrients and calories, instead of on food, on real food. Health has to do with food, which is more than the sum of nutrients and calories. Every piece of food has a complex food matrix, which is healthy in its natural form without excessive processing. The processing of raw materials and how this alters food has traditionally been ignored, but it really affects our health. As a result, the Realfood movement has arisen to defend and promote the consumption of real food, the authentic food, and to avoid the obesogenic and ultra-processed epidemic. The goal is improving our population’s health through food“.

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