Key Point
- Dr Scott says parents should make sure their children eat a balanced diet.
- When preparing meals for your children, Dr Scott recommends incorporating a variety of colors, such as green, orange and red, as each color contains different nutrients.
- Dr Scott urges parents to focus on instilling healthy eating habits in their children from an early age to help them grow and build strong immune systems that will keep them healthy throughout their lives.
One key aspect of achieving this goal is ensuring children consume a balanced diet, but specialist Dr Angelica Logarta Scott acknowledges the challenges of dealing with picky eaters.
“The main goal is to get kids to eat a balanced diet, which I know is hard because some kids are picky eaters, but if you can encourage your child to eat a balanced diet that’s low in sugar, even better. Most kids who eat a healthy diet won’t need extra vitamin supplements, but there are exceptions,” says Dr. Scott.
Dr. Scott highlights some key vitamins essential for children’s health:
- Vitamin D: Essential for bone health and immune function, vitamin D can be obtained from fortified dairy products, leafy vegetables, fish and exposure to sunlight. Getting enough of it promotes bone growth and strength.
- Iron: Essential for healthy blood and energy levels, iron is found in abundance in lean meat, beans, spinach and iron-fortified cereals.
- Vitamin A: Supports vision and skin health and is found in foods such as carrots, sweet potatoes and dark green leafy vegetables.
- Vitamin C: Essential for supporting the immune system, Vitamin C is found in abundance in citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers and other fruits and vegetables.
When preparing meals for your children, Dr Scott recommends incorporating a variety of colours, such as green, orange and red, as each colour indicates different nutrients. “The more colours there are, the healthier they are,” he stresses.
For parents considering adding supplements because of picky eaters, Dr. Scott offers a word of caution: “Adding supplements won’t hurt, but the goal is to teach them to adapt to healthy eating habits.”
When it comes to advertising height-increasing vitamins, Dr. Scott mentions a common misconception.
“There are brands that claim to be beneficial for growth, but no vitamin has been proven to guarantee increased height. Height is primarily determined by genetics, but environmental factors, nutrition and overall health can also affect growth,” she adds.
Dr. Scott also discusses the research on Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF), which some brands include in their supplements. “Research suggests some potential benefits, but the evidence is mixed, particularly when it comes to height,” Dr. Scott points out.
While maintaining a balanced diet is paramount to a child’s health, she cautions parents to be careful with supplements and to focus on instilling healthy eating habits in their children from an early age.
In doing so, parents can help their children grow and build strong immune systems for lifelong health.
“Usapang Parental” is SBS Philippines’ parenting segment, featuring immigrant family stories, parenting issues, raising children, parenting tips and advice from experts, and more.
The content provided is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice.
