Breakfast: Is it Really Important?

I have a friend, Lisa, who is always cajoling her 13-year-old daughter, Maria, to have one healthy meal in a day. Maria’s constant refrain, however, is that she is never hungry. To make matters worse, she ignores breakfast completely. Some months ago, not only did Maria develop severe headaches, her performance in school showed a… [ Continue Reading ]

Better Methods of Cooking to Preserve the Nutrients

Every mother should have some basic knowledge of the right way of cooking food so that the food value is preserved. Cooking involves many processes like boiling, steaming, frying, roasting, or baking. Boiling and steaming result in comparatively greater loss of nutrients, particularly when the water is thrown away as in the case of rice… [ Continue Reading ]

The Body’s Building Blocks

What are the foods we eat made of? It is useful to know about the chemical composition of foodstuffs as it helps us in determining the type of food we ought to consume. In the case of children, this knowledge is vital as it allows us to choose the right foods for their growing bodies…. [ Continue Reading ]

The Food Pyramid: Dietary Guidelines for Kids

So you want to ensure that your family follows the right diet. But you don’t know how to begin and with what types of foods. How about following the Food Pyramid guidelines? The Food Pyramid is an outline of what to eat each day based on some dietary guidelines. Far from being a rigid prescription… [ Continue Reading ]

Diet for a Preadolescent Children

A child on the verge of adolescense needs a carefully designed diet plan. He requires plenty of calcium, protein, carbohydrates, iron, vitamin C and zinc, among other vitamins and nutrients. He needs calcium for his bones and iron to support the increasing muscle mass and for greater blood supply. Proteins are for general muscle growth… [ Continue Reading ]

Diarrhoea in children: Causes & Management

Diarrhoea can be defined by one symptom — loose stool being passed at a frequency of more than three times a day. One of the most common ailments, it afflicts children about 10 to 15 times in the first five years of life. But, sometimes you could be mistaken by diarrhoea-like symptoms. If your child… [ Continue Reading ]

Thrush in babies: white or creamy yellow patches on the cheeks

One of the most common mouth infections, thrush appears as white or creamy yellow patches on the inner cheeks, tongue or the roof of the mouth. It makes the baby’s mouth sore and feeding becomes painful. If you notice thrush in your child’s mouth, contact a doctor immediately. Causes It is caused by a yeast… [ Continue Reading ]

What is the right nutrition for the baby?

Ever since your baby’s birth a few months ago, one worry bothers you more than any other. What is the right nutrition for the baby? Am I feeding her right? What happens when she grows up a little more? What are the foods I have to feed her then? While every child has his or… [ Continue Reading ]

Insure Your Child’s Smile: Managing children’s dental health

When your child eats, food passes through the mouth and it meets the germs or bacteria that live in the mouth. These bacteria have sugars and starches found in many foods. If you do not clean your child’s teeth after eating, plaque bacteria use the sugars and starches to produce acid that destroys the hard… [ Continue Reading ]