To raise healthy children, a parent needs to be on top of what the children eat at home. While it is ok to serve treats now and then, it is important for a parent to serve good, healthy and nutritious meals. In Singapore, busy parents often depend on packaged food from hawker centres because they simply do not have time to cook. Although the food from hawker centres are not as unhealthy as junk food, the food is far from healthy home-cooked food as well.
The best way to counter the problem is to encourage your children to eat fruits while at home. Fruits are in fact, one of the most important parts of your children’s diet. They are low in fat and calories, provide necessary nutrients to help your children grow and help to build up their immune systems as well.
If you are not convinced, here are 5 factors why children have to eat fruits.
1) Fruits are low in fat and calories
If your children are eating a lot of high-calories and high-fat food in between meals, it is time to stop them before they are overweight or even obese. Eating plenty of fresh fruits is one way to combat the need to snack and to help prevent unhealthy weight gain in children. Fresh fruits cut the number of calories in your children’s diet due to their low-fat-low-calories benefits, and also contain nutrients that give your children energy to be active, happy children.
2) Fruits provide fiber
Fiber is the one thing that keeps your children’s digestive system healthy thus reducing constipation. Children often do not get enough fiber in their daily diets, so it is important to make up for it through fruits. Having a good amount of fiber in your children’s diet also help to prevent heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and obesity as he grows older.
3) Fruits contain plenty of vitamins and minerals
Fruits also contain plenty of vitamins and minerals that are necessary for your children’s development and growth. Fruits provide potassium, which keeps blood pressure normal; they also provide vitamin C, a nutrient which keeps the immune system strong and prevents infection. Fruits are also good sources of Vitamin A – necessary for healthy eyes as well as folate – an important source to regulate DNA production.
4) Fruits have plenty of other health benefits
World health organisations have urge parents to encourage their children to eat fruits regularly as they have many health benefits. For example, the vitamins and minerals help your children’s kidneys to function normally and to build bone mass. Fruits can also potentially reduce the children’s lifetime risk of some type of cancers such as throat, oesophageal and stomach.
5) Fruits help your children focus
Fruits are part of a healthy and balanced diet that will support brain development in your children. Eating enough fresh fruits boost brain development and increase your children’s focus in school to learn new information quickly, retain them easily and do well for their examinations with less stress.
