Healthy Snacks for Kids

Interesting menu that kids would love. Getting your kids to help out in the kitchen will encourage them to eat those food as they feel satisfied at the dish they prepared themselves

watch registered dietitian Sue Mah introduce some interesting, healthy snacks for kids

kids & fiber

getting kids to eat fiber

Trans Fat

Take a glance at what’s Trans Fat/ Trans Fatty Acid

• A type of fat that is formed when liquid oils are turned into solid fats (Hydrogenation).

• Hydrogen is added to vegetable oil to increase the shelf life and flavor stability of foods. The result of the process is trans fat.

• Naturally present in milk (cow’s milk, goat’s milk, breast milk), milk products and meat.

• Can also be found in margarines, vegetable shortenings, crackers, candies, cookies, snack foods, fried foods, fast food, baked goods, and other processed foods made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

• It raises LDL (bad) cholesterol and lowers the HDL (good) cholesterol in the blood.

• National Academy of Sciences (NAS) have not recommended the elimination of trans fat from the diet as trans fat is naturally present in many animal foods in trace quantities. NAS therefore recommended that trans fatty acid consumption be as low as possible while consuming a nutritionally adequate diet.

• World Health Organization (WHO) recommends in 2003 that trans fats be limited to less than 1% of overall energy intake.

• According to Ministry of Health (MOH) Malaysia, food to be claimed:
• Low in trans fat = 1.5g/100g or

0.75g/100ml
10% of total energy of the food

• Free of trans fat = 0.1g/100g or 100ml

milk formula

Milk is one of the most complete of all foods, containing nearly all the constituents of nutritional importance to us. (Dr Tee Ee Siong, president of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia)

There are variety of milk formula available in the market nowadays. So many brands and so many types to choose from. There are cow's milk, goat's milk, soy formula, organic milk...

DHA? Sugar content? etc etc...

Indecisive?

Look at the bigger picture, as Dr Tee suggested.

When you're unable to decide, go back to the basic. Is DHA the reason your child drink milk? Is DHA or sugar content the only factor that decide what milk your child should be taking? NO, definitely no.

A complete nutrition, or well-balanced diet is what you should be looking at.

Children consume milk for their calcium, iron, vitamins & other minerals which are equally important for their growth.

So, always look at the overall nutritional profile of the milk rather than only the specific nutrient. Dont judge a food by a single nutrient but its overall, complete nutritional profile.

Here is a list of cow's milk formula available in the market.

1. Danone Dumex

2. Mead Johnson

3. Novalac

4. Friso Gold

5. Dutch Lady

6. Wyeth

7. Snow

8. Nan Grow

9. Anmum

10. Fernleaf

Goat's milk

1. Karihome

Organic milk:

1. Bonlife

2. Biokinder

3. Bellamy

What Do You Know About Nutrition?

Baby Regurgitation

Regurgitation is a common condition in babies, especially in premature babies or babies within the first 4 months of life. However, fret not as babies usually outgrow it by one year o of age.
understanding the cause
As we eat, the food travels from mouth to the esophagus, into the stomach and emptying into the small intestine.

There's a valve between the lower part of the esophagus and the opening of the stomach, called lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which helps prevent food from flowing back into the esophagus.

Hence, if the LES is still weak or does not close properly, or large feedings that increase the gastric pressure or food that cause LES to relax, a reflux may be triggered.

Tips to reduce the condition:

• burp the baby after feed
• provide small and frequent feedings to avoid overfeeding. Large feeding increase gastric pressure and trigger reflux.
• place the baby in a prone position after feeding, as it improves gastric emptying (carry out under doctor’s advise)
• avoid food right before naps or bedtime
• provide thickening formula feedings
  
• avoid any known irritants in the diet. Possible irritants include citrus, tomato, chocolate, peppermint, fatty food (these food may cause a decrease in LES pressure). However, food irritants are individualized and do not eliminate food unnecessarily
• recall and record the diet intake/feeding pattern to help determine whether the baby is regurgitating due to over feeding
• do not play with or jiggle your baby right after feeding as too vigorous movements may trigger a reflux
  

A Rainbow of Fruits & Vege - White

White coloured vege/fruit:
Garlic
Onion
Cauliflower
Banana