Nippers Nutrition

Despite being largely preventable, dental decay continues to be the core cause of hospital admissions in young children, with 26,000 5-9 year olds and 9,000 pre-schoolers undergoing tooth removal in 2013/14 alone. In order to ensure that you reduce your youngster's risk of dental damage, decay and delayed speech development - a common concern connected to tooth extraction - here are our top ten tips for keeping your tot's teeth healthy... 1. Little'uns should have a limited intake of dried fruit (its sticky consistency sticks to teeth and contains a concentrated source of sugar), fruit juice/squash and smoothies (no more than 150ml a day for these three fluids singular and combined) as well as sugar sweetened drinks and sweet treats. If tots' do tuck into these favourble foods and fluids, always ensure that it's at mealtimes only in order to provide more protection against dental damage and decay. 2. Water and milk are the only sensible sources for tots' to ...

Although the troublesome tantrums that stem from tempting tots to try new tastes and textures may be tiring, introducing infants to unfamiliar foods doesn't have to deteriorate into another failed fight. In order to ensure that eating is an enjoyable experience for the whole family, here are ten fundamental facts to consider when faced with fussy food eating... 1. Offering unhealthy options after the shunning of a specific food source can cause children to become purposely (and persistently) picky in an attempt to acquire more favoured foods. 2. The first food refusal should never be seen as final - it can take up to 15* exposures before cautious children accept a previously avoided food. 3. Force feeding won't work - the aggressive attitude that's associated with this inappropriate action can not only drive children to develop a genuine dislike for their 'feared' food/s, but leave them less likely to sense their satiety signals (a sensation that signals a fee...

Although many minors are starting their day with a bowl of breakfast cereal, this favoured (and often overeaten) food source commonly contains a substantial amount of salt and/or sugar per portion - the latter largely linked to obesity, dental decay and type 2 diabetes. In order to highlight how much one standard 30g serving of cereal can contain, we're taking a closer look at five of kids' favourites... 1.  Frosties: although tots' may be tempted by the talking tiger, the frosted flakes that he promotes are far from 'great' - particularly when they contain a staggering 11g of the sweet stuff and 0.25g of salt per serving. 2. Chocolate coco pops: coco and friends may claim to make breakfast more fun, but they also make morning meals far sweeter than they should be - this chocolatey concoction contains a colossal 9.0g of sugar and 0.23g of salt per serving. 3. Crunchy nut cornflakes: nuts may well make nutritious nibbles, but not when they're coated in ...

Fast fact... Basing dietary decisions on the calorie content of foods and fluids - an action that's currently being encouraged by Change4Life (the two snacks, 100 calories max campaign) in an attempt to aid our childhood obesity crisis - can still leave little'uns consuming unhealthy options. This is simply due to the fact that low-calorie food (and fluid!) sources can still contain a substantial amount of salt, sugar and/or saturated fat per serving (think the 89 calories and 15g of sugar found in six wine gum sweets), and resembles a root reason why we should be focusing on promoting a positive relationship with food (and the beneficial nutrients that certain sources contain), as opposed to teaching tots' to fixate on figures by banning them from specific food sources simply because we're told that they contain too many calories for children to consume.  www.twitter.com/N_NutritionUK

Fast fussy eating fact... It's not uncommon for children to refuse (or be reluctant to try) an unfamiliar food simply because it's touching, or is served on the same plate as, their favoured and accepted food/s - this is often perceived as a form of 'contamination' i.e.their desired food/s is deemed inedible due to touching a strange source of nutrition, and can be prevented by serving the new food on a separate plate. www.twitter.com/N_NutritionUK   

Although food neophobia (an irrational fear or dislike of new and unfamiliar foods) is considered to be a 'normal' part of child development, many parents are mistaking their minor's natural physical and physiological reactions to food, for fussy eating. In order to highlight how food refusal can stem from more than just a stubborn stomach, we're sharing our top three reasons why tots' may be reluctant to tuck into new and familiar foods... 1. Increased fibre and fluid intake. Although an adequate fibre and fluid intake may play a predominant part in a healthy diet and digestion, minors' are more likely to shun snacks and meals if their tiny tummies are full with fibre-rich foods and/or fluid - this can result in food refusal (as well as the reluctance to try new tastes and textures) simply because their stomach is already satisfied, particularly as fibre is a satiety stimulating nutrient that promotes a feeling of fullness. 2. A negative eating environ...

Nippers Nutrition's top tip of the day.. . Using food for non-nutritional reasons can contribute to more than just an overconsumption of calories. Although taming a tantrum with a tasty treat may seem like a speedy solution to soothing a stressful situation, using food for non-nutritional reasons (think as a reward for academic achievements, comfort for a crying child and bribery to tempt tots to behave), can not only contribute to emotional eating and excess weight during childhood, adolescence and adulthood - children who chronically find a form of comfort and/or control in favourable foods are much more likely to be overweight and/or continue to feed their feelings throughout adolescence and adulthood - but it can also reinforce bad behaviour - this is predominantly due to the fact that troublesome tots who are tempted and tamed with tasty treats are more likely to deliberately display bolshy behaviour in an attempt to access the sweet treats that they've learned to as...