Nutrition for Children: Practical and To-The-Point

Foods provide minerals, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and vitamins. The ones that are termed "essential nutrients" must be consumed from food, because the human body has no other way to make them for its own use. These essential nutrients either serve as building blocks for all the cells in the body, or they provide things necessary for those cells to function properly. A chronic deficiency in any essential nutrient can cause sub-optimal health or disease. Parents cannot assume that fortified products, such as some breakfast cereals, milk, and baked goods, will automatically provide enough of all of these nutrients. These products are helpful, but a child can still be left deficient in some nutrients, such as Omega-3 fats or Vitamin D. This book aims to help parents examine their child's diet and make changes that will improve their child's long-term health and well-being.