Do not shy away from the word "dieting". Dieting for teens does not necessarily mean cutting down on your food or resorting to fad activities to lose weight. "Diet" means the food you consume on a daily basis. A nutritious and well-balanced diet for teenagers is essential for healthy living and illness free adulthood. Teenage is the time when you become what you will be the rest of your life. It is the right time to set the mold. Consider these facts and judge for yourself why you need to consider dieting for teens.
1. Dieting for teens and fasting or low intake of food
If you are overweight and want to lose weight, fasting or avoiding whole groups of foods like carbohydrates or fats is not the solution. Proper nutrition is very important during your growing years. Adequate nutrients should reach every part and organ of your body for its development. The right thing to do is to control your intake so that you consume fewer calories than you use up in a day. Fasting can stifle development and result in health complications.
2. Healthy eating and dieting for teens
Food items that contain low quantities of saturated and trans fats, added sugar, salt and cholesterol are considered healthy. Try to include a good amount of fruits and vegetables in your daily diet. Lean meat, low fat milk and yogurt, nuts, etc will provide enough nutrients to help your body grow. Try to avoid greasy food, fried items, pre-processed meat or fish as much as possible.
3. Importance of protein in diet for teens
Protein is important for development and repair of your muscles and organs. It also helps sustain your energy levels and keeps you alert and active. The National institute of Health recommends five and one half ounces or equivalent of protein rich food every day.
4. Calcium content in dieting for teens
Calcium is essential for your healthy teeth and bone growth. Eat Fruits like oranges, tangerines, etc. that contain high amounts of calcium and fibers. Low fat yogurt, cheddar cheese, soymilk are also good sources of calcium.
5. Dieting for teens and Iron
You need to consume naturally formed iron through your food items. Iron helps blood replenishment and your eyesight. In your teenage years, your body development is rapid and you almost double your lean body mass (weight of essential organs, muscles and other body tissues). For teenage ladies, iron helps to replace blood that is lost during menstruation. Shell fish, mussels, liver, whole grains and spinach are good sources of iron. Deficiency of iron in teen diets may cause anemia and related complications.
6. Fats and teen dieting
Dieting is usually associated with watching the fat. The fat mentioned here is not obesity but a constituent of many food items you consume every day. It is an important energy source. Knowing the types and amounts of fats in your meals helps you in managing your diet and losing weight. Saturated fats, trans fats and unsaturated fats are the main types of fats usually found in our food.
Food items like baked treats, for example, doughnut or cookies, chips and crackers, diary products like whole milk and butter, fatty meats, Oils of palm and coconut, etc contain saturated and trans fats which are not good for your health. However, Small quantities of food with unsaturated fats like olive, canola or corn oils, almonds and peanuts, salmon or trout are beneficial to good health.
