Question: what would be your top nutritional advice for young teens?

Helena Fisk answered on 21 May 2020: last edited 21 May 2020 1:56 pm

Hi Damaris,

In brief, it would be to try to have a well balanced diet, be active every day, and enjoy treats in moderation. The NHS has some useful guidelines about healthy eating and exercise for teens that I have linked below:

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/healthy-eating-for-teens/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-eatwell-guide/

https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/physical-activity-guidelines-children-and-young-people/

I have a longer answer below too:

It’s really important to have a well balanced diet including fruit and vegetables, protein, healthy fats (from nuts, seeds, oily fish, olive oils opposed to cakes and fried food etc.), carbohydrates (the best options are called complex carbohydrates such as wholegrains /brown bread and rice, oats, etc.), and dairy (which provides calcium for growing bones – this is also in leafy green veg too! and some have good bacteria in to support our gut and immune system).

A well rounded diet can give you enough energy for growth and to keep you healthy. In the UK we don’t get enough vitamin D or omega-3 (mainly found in oily fish) in our diet which are important for our immune system. You could include foods rich in these in your diet. I’ve linked some more info below about omega-3 and vitamin D.

https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/omega-3.html

https://www.bda.uk.com/resource/vitamin-d.html

It’s really important not to cut an entire food group out of your diet especially healthy fats as these are important for a lot of functions in our body such as transporting fat soluble vitamins, are a main component of our cells, particularly skin hair and nails, and have a role in our immune system. However, the type of fat we eat is important. Mono- and poly- unsaturated fats found in olive oil, nuts, avocado, oily fish like salmon etc. help support our immune system, brain, eye, and heart health which are all important things when growing! (see the omega-3 link above).

Some low fat food options can be full of sugar which is another thing we shouldn’t have too much of. A lot of teens fave foods are often not the best for us…junk foods, fried foods, etc. but
enjoy being a teen and eating a bit of everything in moderation. Just try to make sure you have a healthy diet most of the time and stick to recommended portion sizes. Enjoy eating cake at birthdays, have an ice cream down the beach and don’t be scared of calories or healthy fats, we need both for energy and to grow and be healthy.

Being active and doing regular exercise helps strengthen your bones as you’re growing, has benefits to our immune system, heart and lung health, mood, and metabolism too.

I hope that wasn’t too much!! 🙂