What are the nutritional requirements across our lifespan – from pregnancy to childhood, and from adolescence to adulthood.

Throughout our lifespan we have different nutritional needs. 

Knowing what these needs are can help up before we become pregnant, during the pregnancy and the for ourselves and our children in the course of our lives. As we go through life our health is a reflection of what we have eaten in our life up to that point.So from the beginning:

Pre-pregnancy: We need to get our body into the best shape possible, that will determine if we will be able to carry our fetus or not. If your body is struggling to keep itself alive it will not have enough energy or nutrition to support another life. Your weight is a vital factor in this stage as well. You do not want to be underweight or overweight for the sake of your pregnancy.

Pregnancy: You can expect that your nutritional needs are going to be different when you are pregnant. You need to make sure to eat the correct nutrients for not only your body but the baby you are developing too. You are going to experience the need for different energy levels as your pregnancy progresses. By the second trimester you will need an additional 340 calories per day and in the third trimester an additional 450 calories per day. Be sure to eat from all five (5) food groups and make your calories count. Variety will help you get better nutrition. Because your increased need for nutrition the doctor will put you on what is called "prenatal vitamins". These ensure you are getting everything you need for a healthy baby and a healthy mom.  For instance you need folate and Vitamin B12 for cell growth and to prevent disease, It is important to get your calorie dense foods from all five food groups. for bone growth you are going to have to make sure you get enough calcium and Vitamin D. There is an increase in demand for blood and that is where your iron comes into play. Zinc helps with protein synthesis and cell development. That is a lot to remember so we can be thankful they have the prenatal vitamins to help us. Diet is very important for you and the baby so make sure to choose your foods wisely. 

Infancy: Infants are amazing. they grow faster in this stage than in any other. So their dietary needs are different. Their weight doubles by five (5) months old and triples by12 months. They have a metabolism twice that of an adult so they need a higher caloric in take. There is a question that has been going on for many years, one you may have asked yourself. Do I breastfeed or bottle feed my
infant? There are many pro's to breast feeding. The biggest one is that your baby will get all the immunizations from you. So even breast feeding for as little as three (3) months is a big bonus for your baby. Breast feeding is beneficial to the mother as well. The con's are if you have conditions that would harm the baby from your breast milk. Remember what you are eating is what is fueling your baby as well. So it is vital to make sure your diet is full of all the nutrients the baby needs for proper growth. If you do have physical conditions or alcohol or drug issues it may be best to bottle feed your baby. The formulas that they have developed supply the nutrition that your baby needs. Just be sure to find one that is organic if possible and will few additives that you cannot pronounce. There are many reasons for and against each choice. Just remember that the nutrition the baby gets now will affect them the rest of their life. There is not a right or wrong choice here, just do what is best for your baby and you.

Childhood:What a wonderful age group this is. Everything is so new to children in this stage of life. Including what they are going to eat, what they like and dislike. they are on the move constantly and as a result they require a well balanced diet to supply the nutrition to give them the energy they will need. For example their brain is developing rapidly and supplying carbohydrates is vital for this. Be sure to include protein, fat and fiber. This is a great time to introduce all the different fruits and vegetables. Because eating a variety at this age will not only supply them with vitamins and minerals and nutrition but also form a good habit of consuming a variety in their diet later in life. Remember that they are watching you and if you do not eat vegetables and fruit then they are not going to either. If you eat empty foods, they will to. Get into a routine for yourself and for them to eat healthy and be healthy. Keep in mind that they cannot eat as much as you do so be sure to plan a smaller plate with all the right foods on it. Keep healthy snacks of fruit and vegetables available for them because as you may know, at this stage, they are grazers not a sit down to eat a meal kind of child and that is okay. 

Adolescence: What can we say about teenagers except that they eat a lot. By now hopefully they have learned to appreciate healthy food and that it has become habit to want it. My grandchildren can eat me out of house and home when they get up here. At least the teenagers can. At this stage peer pressure comes into play so having good nutritional food at home will help to counter what they are choosing when they are with their friends. They each will have different energy levels and so they will have different amounts of food. They are going through physical changes as well, especially the girls. They will hit growth spurts and their brains are growing so it is important to get enough of the five (5) food groups in each day along with vitamins and minerals. One very important one is iron, especially for the girls starting menstruation.Their bones are growing so calcium and Vitamin D is vital too. If acne becomes a problem, who hasn't had to deal with acne, then a close look at the diet and hygiene is important to help with health and social issues. Kids can be hard on each other.  Again keeping nutritional snacks around will help them make better choices and their friends may appreciate having something healthy to munch on when they come over.

Adulthood: As we age we tend to be less active, to some degree so our caloric intake should be adjusted as well. By now some of our health choices we made in our younger years can be showing up in the form of disease. So nutritional needs will vary greatly from person to person. Say for instance that you have diabetes your diet and needs will be different than someone that is in good health. As we age we need to make sure that we do not become malnourished because of food choices, availability or income. Fiber and carbohydrates are important as are vitamins and minerals. Vitamin D and Vitamin B 12 are important. Water in the diet is important as elderly tend to dehydrate more, something not everyone might think of as an issue (Sizer and Whitney, 2012).

 

As you can see, throughout the stages in life there is a pattern of what we need, there are times we need more or less but some things hold true in each stage. Knowing what our needs are will help us achieve better health, and that is something we would all like to achieve.Be sure to eat from the five (5) food groups, choose organic when possible, eat raw when you can and make sure your calories count. Eat a rainbow of foods every day. Because what you eat at each stage of life will determine your health in the future.

Reference:

Sizer, F. & Whitney, E. (2012). Nutrition: Concepts and Controversies (12th ed.). WADSWORTH: Cengage Learning