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Eating three regular meals a day with snacks will help you meet your nutrition needs. Missing meals means you will miss out on vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates, which can leave you lacking energy or finding it really hard to concentrate. Healthy food for pre-teen and teenagers includes a wide variety of fresh foods from the five food groups vegetables, fruit, grains, dairy and protein.
Each food group has different nutrients, which your body needs to grow and work properly. That’s why we need to eat a range of foods from across all five food groups .
Fruit and vegetables
Fruit and vegetables have lots of vitamins and minerals which help boost your immune system and keep you from getting sick. They’re also very important for healthy skin and eyes. It’s recommended you eat two serves of fruit and five serves of vegetables a day.
Fruit and veggies give you energy, vitamins, anti-oxidants, fibre, and water. These nutrients help protect you against diseases later in life, including diseases like heart disease, stroke and some cancers.
Practice the habit of choosing fruit and vegetables at every meal and for snacks. This includes fruit and veggies of different colours, textures and tastes, both fresh and cooked.
Wash fruit to remove dirt or chemicals, and leave any edible skin on, because the skin contains nutrients too.
Grain foods
Breads, grains and cereals are carbohydrates that provide energy for your brain and muscles. They’re also an excellent source of fibre and B vitamins. Without enough carbohydrates you may feel tired and run down. Try to include some carbohydrates at each mealtime.
Grain foods include bread, pasta, noodles, breakfast cereals, couscous, rice, corn, quinoa, polenta, oats and barley. These foods give you the energy you need to grow, develop and learn.
Grain foods with a low glycemic index, like wholegrain pasta and breads, will give you longer-lasting energy and keep you feeling fuller for longer.
Dairy foods and dairy-free alternatives
Key dairy foods are milk, cheese and yoghurt. These foods are good sources of calcium and protein.
In puberty, you need more calcium to help reach peak bone mass and build strong bones for life.
If you don't eat dairy, it’s important for you to eat alternatives – for example, tofu, kale, bok choy, nuts, seeds, tinned fish with bones, and calcium-fortified foods like cereal, soy milk and bread.
Not all dairy alternatives are fortified with calcium, so make sure to read food labels.
Protein
Protein-rich foods include lean meat, fish, chicken, eggs, beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu and nuts. These foods are important for your growth and muscle development, especially during puberty. These protein-rich foods also have other vitamins and minerals like iron and omega-3 fatty acids, which are particularly important during adolescence:
Omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish help with your brain development and learning.
Iron fuels your muscle growth and increase in blood volume.
Meat, chicken, fish, eggs, nuts and legumes (e.g. beans and lentils) are good sources of iron and protein. Iron is needed to make red blood cells, which carry oxygen around your body. If you are menstruating, this leads to loss of iron. If you don’t get enough iron, you can develop anaemia, a condition that can make you feel tired and light-headed and short of breath.
If you are vegetarian or vegan and do not eat meat, there are other ways to meet your iron needs, for example, with foods like baked beans, pulses, lentils, nuts and seeds.
Protein-rich foods from animal sources have zinc and vitamin B12 too.
Eating the Rainbow
Fruit and vegetables fall into five different colour categories: red, purple/blue, orange, green and white/brown. Each colour carries its own set of unique disease fighting chemicals called phytochemicals. It is these phytochemicals that give fruits and vegetables their vibrant colour!
Purple / blue
The plant pigment anthocyanin is what gives blue/purple fruits and vegetables their distinctive colour. Anthocyanin also has antioxidant properties that protect cells from damage and can help reduce the risk of cancer, stroke and heart disease.
Red
Red fruits and vegetables are coloured by a natural plant pigment called lycopene. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce the risk of cancer and keep our heart healthy.
Orange / yellow
Carotenoids give this group their vibrant colour. A well-known carotenoid called Betacarotene is found in sweet potatoes, pumpkins and carrots. It is converted to vitamin A, which helps maintain healthy mucous membranes and healthy eyes. Another carotenoid called lutein is stored in the eye and has been found to prevent cataracts and age-related macular degeneration, which can lead to blindness.
Green
Green vegetables contain a range of phytochemicals including carotenoids, indoles and saponins, all of which have anti-cancer properties. Leafy greens such as spinach and broccoli are also excellent sources of folate.
Brown / white
White fruits and vegetables contain a range of health-promoting phytochemicals such as allicin (found in garlic) which is known for its antiviral and antibacterial properties. Some members of the white group, such as bananas and potatoes, are also a good source of potassium.
If you are struggling with eating habits or body image please make an appointment to see the SSO or school Counsellor so we can help and connect you with the right support and visit https://butterfly.org.au/where-do-i-start/
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