Why fruits and vegetables are important for kids

Cup- and Ounce-Equivalents ; Health. Mark L. Devinder Dhingra et al. Jiefen Cui et al. Victoria Bell et al. Liu RH; Dietary bioactive compounds and their health implications. Rui Qiu et al. New SA; Intake of fruit and vegetables: implications for bone health. Foods linked to better brain power ; Harvard Health Publishing Shashirekha MN et al. Macdiarmid JI; Seasonality and dietary requirements: will eating seasonal food contribute to health and environmental sustainability?

How to get your kids to eat fruit and veggies ; Queensland Government. The following two tabs change content below. Reviewer Author.

Charmaine Dominguez is a plant-based online dietitian nutritionist. She has her own online nutrition practice. Charmaine is passionate about helping others regain control Swati Patwal is a clinical nutritionist and toddler mom with over eight years of experience in diverse fields of nutrition. Some people may be concerned about the amount of sugar in fruit and limit its consumption. Phone 02 or for those outside of Sydney.

For Product Registration and general enquires please contact us. Forgotten Password. Forgotten Password? Healthy Kids. Promoting and influencing healthy food choices for children. Corny jokes for kids! As a result, they may refuse to or eat only a limited variety of fruit and vegetables. Worried and anxious parents may try different ways to get their child to eat them but this may exacerbate the problem as mealtimes become stressful and unhappy for the child… and the parents too.

Fruits and vegetables are high in vitamins, minerals and fibre. Kids should be encouraged to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables — there is a rainbow of colours to choose from — which provides a rich source of antioxidants, instead of sugary snacks and fast food, which are high in fat and sugar.

The vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables provide the following benefits:. Fruit and vegetables of different colours contain differing amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. Eating only fruits may mean that your child is missing out on nutrients found in vegetables. Thus, it is important to receive the benefits from a wide range of these essential nutrients by eating a variety of both fruits and vegetables. For example, compared to fruits, most vegetables are better sources of calcium, iron and folate.

Moreover, some fruits are higher in calories compared to most vegetables. For an overweight child, excessive consumption of fruits may lead to further weight gain if fruits are replacing his intake of vegetables.

Similarly, eating just one vegetable means that your child is likely to be missing out on essential nutrients that are available in other vegetables of different colours.

For example, carrots are high in vitamin A, while spinach is high in folate. Font size. User name field is required Password field is required. Forgot password? Don't have an account? Sign up!