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Why you need these extra nutrients during different phases of your life

Thursday, November 30, 2023 - 6 min read

This year will be pivotal to the global food service industry, with major shifts in sustainability, customer preference, and technology expected to impact the operations of restaurants, hotels, and other types of diners.

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Eating healthy is always important. But did you know that your age reveals what extra nutrients you need? Dietician Sanne Mouha explains how it works. “Each age category has different nutritional needs. However, that doesn’t mean you have to completely change your diet from one year to the next. The earlier you start eating healthy, the better it is for your body. Roughly speaking, our diet consists of three groups: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. These three groups are important throughout our lives, just to different degrees,” says Mouha.

Babies

Primary schoolchildren learn new things every day and are also constantly playing and romping around. So they need a lot of energy in the form of carbohydrates. For breakfast, choose a wholemeal sandwich, oatmeal or unsweetened muesli. You can also put wholemeal sandwiches in the lunch box, which you can top with a vegetable spread, for example. Divide your child’s plate – and your own – into three parts in the evening. Fill half of your plates with vegetables, a quarter with potatoes or wholemeal pasta, rice, quinoa or couscous and the last quarter with meat, fish or a meat substitute such as tofu, quorn and seitan. As a parent, eat together with your children and introduce them to different colours, flavours and combination options of fruit and vegetables. In this way, they are encouraged to make healthy choices later in life.’