Dietetics
Food recipes for babies, supplementary nutrition from the age of four months, babies’ diet and healthy alimentation for the children – pieces of advice from the most authentic specialist in this field, the dietitian.
Proper nutrition starts in the embryonic time in the uterus. That’s why it is extremely important to have a varied and mixed alimentation during the period of pregnancy based on good quality foodstuffs. Parents have a significant role in the evolution of their child’s sense of taste. It is always a difficult question what the baby may consume including what is allowed and what is prohibited to be eaten. Speaking about the supplementary nutrition of the infant for its ideal development different food-stuffs must be gradually and in due time admitted. Nutrient requirements vary by age groups and differ even for an eight-month-old and eleven-month-old baby. Later, for older children, the main difficulty is to find the middle course.
Most of the parents are concerned when children do not want to eat or on the contrary eat too much, are choosy or have to keep a diet owing to certain problems. It happens quite often that the usual diet – salted boiled potatoes, consommé – is not satisfactory. Appropriate diet could be a supplementary or moreover the primary therapy for numerous diseases – in order to formulate the effective one and to acquaint with the possibilities a dietitian’s assistance is required.
Problems which are needed to be consulted with a dietitian
Gastritis
Till adulthood virtually no child can avoid having a contagious epidemic involving vomiting and diarrhea. Most likely the greater part of the children get through an illness which affects the digestive track. With the regression of the symptoms mixed alimentation could be resumed gradually.
Obesity
Nowadays there is a growing number of obese children owing to sedentary way of living and bad quality, improperly composed nutrition. It may happen that there is a hormonal or organic cause in the background so in this case the most important measure is to treat the basic reason.
Weight loss cannot be achieved without proper diet and sporting activity.
Malnutrition
It could be heard very frequently that “our child is a poor eater”. With the introduction of different practices it could be achieved that eating will become a source of pleasure even for the smaller children.
Reflux disease
Reflux of the gastric acid and the consequent burn of the gullet may take place even at infant age but it is diagnosed at older children as well. After eliminating certain foodstuffs the symptoms could be alleviated.
Obstipation
Hardness of stools may cause serious discomfort for the children. If their metabolic function is not operating satisfactorily this problem may happen even at infant age.
Diseases of kidney and liver
These diseases involve different malabsorptions:
Lactose intolerance means that the absence of lactase enzyme (which decomposes lactose) causes discontents. Proper diet has a significant role in the course of the therapy.
Wheat hypersensivity
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune ailment where the protein named gluten, present in cereals, generates problems. By the introduction of a severe diet frequent appearance of symptoms could be eliminated.
Inflammatory diseases: Crohn’s disease, Colitis ulcerosa
IBS
Food allergies
Even in the case of breast-fed babies’ symptoms of food allergy may appear. For example if the mother consumes too much dairy products her baby may have rashes on his or her skin. At older age allergic reactions may take place generated by different foodstuffs most frequently oil-seeds, casein, egg, soya etc. In case of respiratory allergy there could be a cross reaction caused by the consumption of certain foodstuffs.
Diabetes
Children having diabetes frequently produce fluctuating or high blood glucose level which is sometimes inexplicable for the parents – there is often a false diet in the background.
Dietetic counselling
Taking approx. one hour it starts with the registration of the particular medical history and then the recommended diet will be discussed. It is advisable to come to the consultation with a 3-day nutrition diary which must contain the time of the meals and the exact quantity of the consumed foodstuffs.
