All parents have the nutrition and diet of their child as their primary concern. While some kids just eat anything their parents put in front of them, other fussy eaters need to be coerced into taking their daily dose of iron, protein and vitamins. Kids have different tastes than adults but sometimes their taste can become an obstacle in their growth, especially because of their constant battle with food that is important for their growth.
As a parent, you have to ensure that your kid is getting adequate vitamins and nutrients. High quality protein is necessary for the growth and development of kids.
How will your child be affected if High-quality protein is lacking?
Proteins form the basis of a healthy body and mind. Food that has high quality protein provides the necessary amino acids to kids and increases their digestibility. Protein helps in building, maintaining and repairing body tissues like the ones in muscles, skin, hair and organs. If your child lacks protein in their diet, they could experience fatigue, low immunity, slow growth, slow healing of wounds and a lack of concentration.
How to manage protein in your kids?
A product having PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) of value 1 is considered the most appropriate source of protein. Foods having 1 value of PDCASS are eggs, cow milk, soy protein and milk protein. Other sources of protein having a bit lower value are rice, peas, legume, and chickpeas. PDCAAS is calculated using amino acid profile of a food.
Being a mom, I would rather ensure that my child eats whole foods but having fussy eaters can be a problem so instead of trying and failing to ensure they eat a balanced diet, I try and get them protein-rich drinks which they drink without a fight.
The first thing to get them to drink is skim milk. Skim milk powder does have PDCAAS value 1 which makes it an ideal protein source. There are many brands available in the market but Pediasure is most trusted by paediatricians and parents since it shows visible signs of growth in children. There are many ways of making health drinks that children drink without a fuss. The best way is to make them smoothies of different flavours using berries that fulfil their vitamin need as well as protein need.
Kids usually avoid eating chickpeas in their food but putting chickpeas on their favourite food like crushing chickpeas and putting it in sandwiches is one of the ways I have found you can sneak some protein into your kid’s diet.
Stay observant on whether or not your child is getting enough protein in their diet and if they are not, manage it.