The question
My seven-year-old won't eat vegetables. At all. Ever. Is she getting enough nutrition?
The answer
Probably not. Specifically, she's not getting enough antioxidants and phytonutrients.
Nutrients obtained from vegetables help us stay healthy by providing anti-cancer and immune-boosting substances that are difficult to obtain through vitamins.
In fact, many experts, such as Dr. David Katz, professor at the Yale Prevention Research Center, tell us that if children fail to consume the recommended minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables daily, they are better off taking actual fruit and vegetable supplements - as opposed to a multivitamin.
The only vitamin that fruits and vegetables will fail to deliver is vitamin D. Guided by a growing body of research, more and more doctors are suggesting a daily intake of vitamin D3 of between 400IU and 1000IU.
A landmark study on the feeding habits of toddlers and older children confirmed that despite parents' best efforts, the bottom line has stayed the same over years: Barely one third of children hit the mark of consuming a minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
One reason it's a struggle to get kids to eat their veggies is that they aren't as sweet as fruits. To make matters worse, a small percentage of children are known to be supertasters. These children have extra sensitive taste buds when it comes to tasting bitter foods.
Here are three things you can try to entice your little one:
- Educate yourself on the benefits of consuming natural, fresh fruits and vegetables from a site such as www.5to10aday.com.
- Be a good role model: Consume plenty of fruits and vegetables each and every day. It's hard to overdo it.
- Use recipes from books such as The Sneaky Chef.
Having said that, if you have done all you can, use fruit and vegetable supplements (such as Juice Plus or Greens Plus) and do it guilt-free.
Send pediatrician Peter Nieman your questions at pediatrician@globeandmail.com. He will answer select questions, which could appear in The Globe and Mail and/or on The Globe and Mail web site. Your name will not be published if your question is chosen.
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