Teenagers go through so many changes emotionally and especially physically and these developments need to be reinforced by a healthy and balanced diet. Having such a diet enables them to get plenty of the nutrients and the energy they’ll need permitting their bodies proper development and growth.
It also has to be noted that junk food and fast food consumption regularly makes teenagers more prone to adding weight as compared to having it every so often. It is important to incorporate nutrients such as calcium for the development of strong bones, iron, which needs to be restored from blood loss during monthly periods, and vitamin D which aids in improving the health of teeth and bones.
Having a good diet will give room for occasional guilty pleasures like junk food so you won’t have to feel like you’re limiting yourself. They’ll just have to be eaten in minimal amounts and less often. The last thing a growing teen needs to be doing is skipping meals, especially breakfast, which is not good seeing as they may lose out on relevant nutrients. Breakfast enables you to attain a few of the minerals and nutrients that are required for optimum health.
Ensure that you have a minimum of 5 portions of vegetables and fruit every day because they are an excellent source of minerals and vitamins needed for the relevant growth and development required by teenagers’ bodies.
Reduce intake of foods that have high fat, salt and sugar levels like sugary soft drinks, sweets, cakes and other junk food. These foods have a high number of calories or energy which can bring about weight gain and eventually become overweight when consumed in large quantities.
Keep yourself hydrated by taking up to 8 glasses minimum of fluids per day, water being the most obvious and low-fat milk can work as healthy options. Fruit juice has some sugar in it so there is no need to add more and so a glass of fruit juice or a smoothie per day will suffice to keep you hydrated enough while still providing some energy.
If you ever feel like you are low on energy often this may be a sign of reduced iron levels, especially for teenage girls who lose blood monthly via menstruation. Sources of iron vary between different foods such as red meat, spinach and even bread.
Teenagers, especially girls, fall victim to a lot of peer pressure and pressure from external sources such as magazines to be thinner and to live up to certain standards body wise. This means they are more prone to eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia, which are health conditions stemming from the mind and entail one having an unsound association with eating and food and an excessive concern on becoming overweight. Diets that assure hasty weight loss more often than not are not balanced nutritionally so you will end up losing out on the essential nutrients. One thing to also note is that they have a tendency to target results that are short-term, hence you might end up piling on the weight again.