Of course, today, without a full-fledged balanced diet, it is impossible to imagine what is usually called a healthy lifestyle. Attempts to formulate general rules for healthy menus were made long before the appearance of the so-called pyramid, but they could not be reduced to a single system. Only in the early 90-ies of the XX century, American nutritionists proposed their concept of a rational and full-fledged diet for every day. It was a pyramid, divided into several floors, each of which was occupied by some kind of food. Accordingly, its lower segment was the widest, and the subsequent gradually became everything already, thereby clearly demonstrating how much a particular product should be in human nutrition from the point of view of dietetics.
Is it out of date?
In the original pyramid, which some are mistakenly trying to use now, the largest segment was occupied with various cereal products: cereals, bread and bakery products, macaroni. It was believed that cereal products contain many complex carbohydrates, which are necessary for the body for active physical activity, and therefore should become the daily basis of rational nutrition. The second floor was taken for vegetables and fruits, sources of vegetable fiber, vitamins and minerals.
At the next smaller level, there are various meat products and cottage cheese (it contains no less than full proteins than meat).
Even higher placed milk and sour-milk products, they are certainly useful, but do not form the basis of nutrition. Even less was the place for fat-containing foods for vegetable and animal oils, nuts, etc., and the pyramid ends with a "segment" with sweets, which is due to the fact that fats (especially unsaturated fatty acids) in our body are still necessary, albeit in small quantity, but without the sweet products it is quite possible to do.The lack of a "sweet" top will not break the integrity of the entire pyramid, but it helps to avoid an overabundance of easily digestible carbohydrates.
Hidden problem
Initially, the classic pyramid of proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle was approved by doctors and patients, it was considered the most rational model for making menus. But, like many theoretical models, the pyramid did not survive a collision with reality. A few years after the massive spread of the pyramid, American scientists conducted a study that revealed a very sad picture: patients who have used the rules of this pyramid are massively obese!
Among the main reasons for proper nutrition and healthy lifestyles, first of all it is necessary to highlight the impossibility of universal use of one food scheme for people of different ages, physique and daily activity - after all, our needs are very individual. Well, in addition, healthy nutrition loses meaning in isolation from the rest of life, and the pyramid actually concerned only the list of consumed foods. Besides, from the list of products of one group, people, as a rule, chose the most familiar or, in their opinion, delicious. For example, the basis of cereal nutrition in most were high-calorie white bread and various instant cereals, while the recommended cereals (bread and cereal cereals) were not found by the dieticians.
New model
Dieticians had to conduct additional research and create a new model of the pyramid, taking into account the previous mistakes. The most important difference of the modern pyramid is its variability and adaptability to the individual needs of each person. The structure of the pyramid also changed significantly: instead of individual horizontal floors, product groups are depicted in the form of stripes-sectors (like a vertical rainbow), wide at the base and gradually narrowing towards the top. The width of the entire pyramid reflects the extent to which an active lifestyle leads a person, his energy consumption and daily needs in various groups of products.
So, a sedentary person consumes very few calories and, according to the principles of healthy nutrition, should reduce the amount of consumed foods and the calorie content of his diet, and some "strips" are generally excluded from his diet - for example, those reserved for sweets or fatty foods. does not say that they will have to abandon them once and for all (as was supposed by the rules of the "old" pyramid), but lack of mobility impose very strict restrictions on "sweet" and fat. It is recommended to raise the level of your physical activity, this will greatly expand the possibilities of your diet.
Another innovation of the pyramid is the "gradualness", which consists in the fact that a person needs to make all the changes not immediately, in a day, but gradually.This is some kind of schematic recommendation that sets the general direction and allows each of us to "build its own pyramid" calculate your own diet according to age, lifestyle and everything else. Even a person with a severe chronic illness can build their own "pyramid", using a general scheme and medical recommendations.
Children's version
Kids are also no exception - the modern pyramid is quite applicable in children's food, just when it is made, you need to take into account the age requirements of the body in nutrients and do not forget to regularly adjust the menu as the baby grows and develops. Of course, in the first year of the child's life, no diets can speak. The only healthy food for children up to a year is breastfeeding (or adapted milk formulas) and gradually introduced complementary foods. Only with time, starting from 2 years, the baby's nutrition gradually approaches the "adult", and his digestive system is able to digest new products.
Milk
A characteristic feature of the children's pyramid in the first 3 years of life is the predominance of dairy products in the diet. They in the pyramid will be represented by the widest band. On the day a 3-year-old child needs about 400-600 grams of various fermented dishes, the number will change with age. Fermented milk products are not only a valuable building material, a source of readily available proteins, fats and carbohydrates, but they also supply the body with calcium salts and vitamins, especially vitamin B, without which the normal development of organs and systems is impossible. That is why in the old scheme of the pyramid, milk and sour-milk products served as the foundation of baby food, and in the new scheme - they are depicted as the first and the widest strip.
After 1.5 years, the child's nutrition is recommended to introduce various types of cheeses, cream, sour cream and natural yoghurts. Milk should be used with some caution, as it can reduce appetite and provoke increased gas production. If the porridge for the child is cooked on milk, the cereal is initially boiled in water, and the milk is added at the very end of the cooking and allowed to boil once. Fatty dairy products (cream, sour cream and cheese) it is desirable to give the child not every day or to add to the ready meals in a small amount.
Meat products
Closer to 1.5 years in baby food, you need to increase the number of meat dishes. Parents involved in vegetarianism should remember that the abundance of vegetable proteins can not substitute meat for the baby, and in no case can it be translated to a vegetable diet. Of course, not every meat, even the freshest, will suit a baby. Favorite of many of us pork, as well as duck and goose meat are too rich in fat, which will not benefit the child and will become an extra burden for the digestive system. It is much more useful to offer a small eater to steam cutlets from lean beef or veal, boiled chicken (preferably white meat) or turkey meat. Up to 3 years, a ban on fried meat, cutlets, meatballs and everything else should be cooked for a couple. Not more than once a week you can offer a child a lightly fried piece of boiled chicken or a cutlet. It is believed that by the 3rd year of the baby you can sometimes indulge in sausage products, but only those that are intended for baby food. Smoked sausages, sausages, shpikachki, as well as ham, bacon, lard and other meat delicacies are not intended for young children and should be completely excluded from their diet.
Fish dishes
Fish in the children's pyramid is indicated by a separate strip, though narrower than meat, but this is no less important.
Different types of fish not only contain wholesome, easily digestible children's body, but also rich in vital microelements and vitamins. Especially useful are low-fat fish species - pikeperch, perch, cod, hake, etc. However, it is not necessary to overload the child's organism with protein products, it is necessary to closely monitor the amount of meat and fish in the daily menu of the child, the total amount of protein foods should not exceed the age norm. It is recommended to alternate fish and meat, arranging traditional fishing days for the child. Then 4 or 5 days a week you can feed the baby meat products, and 2-3 days - fish.
Vegetables and fruits
A very wide strip, comparable only to the dairy, is represented in the pyramid of vegetables and fruits:
- at the age from one year to one and a half - 200-250 g of vegetables and up to 100 g of fruits;
- up to three years - 350 grams of vegetables and 130-200 grams of fruit.
In addition to this, mention should be made of vegetable and fruit juices, best of all - freshly squeezed, most beneficial for children's body:
- At a younger age, about 80-100 ml of juices are needed;
- at the age of up to three years - 100-150 ml.
As for the nutrition of allergic children, in this case, fruits and vegetables outside the periods of exacerbation are used very widely, except for allergen products.
Bread and porridge
Different types of cereals, which in the original pyramid served as the basis of a healthy diet, in a new children's version have a slightly less importance. They still need to be present daily in the child's menu and supply it with vegetable fiber, carbohydrates and proteins, although the basis of nutrition is no longer considered. Parents should not forget that the "bread" strip in the baby's diet should be presented not with buns, cookies and white bread, but with porridges (first of all - buckwheat and oatmeal) and bread from fiber-rich flour of coarse grinding. in addition to the main dishes - meat, soup or puree, and - starting from 2 years - black bread is necessarily introduced into the food - it is especially rich in cellulose and vitamins of group B.
And if in the first year of life the baby received mostly liquid porridge, then at an older age it is possible to transfer it to whole grains: sometimes offer crumbs of millet or pearl porridge, and acquaintance with semolina porridge should be postponed to a later period. With caution should be taken and beans, peas and lentils: they are very difficult to digest and often provoke an allergic reaction. Therefore, they need to be used in the form of a thoroughly mashed puree, which in a small amount can be added to vegetable soup or mixed with other vegetables. Periodically, vegetable or mashed potatoes can be replaced with macaroni from durum wheat.
Fats and oils
Among the narrowest, but important strips in the pyramid of baby food, you can include various oils - both vegetable and animals. Vegetable oils (olive and sunflower) are preferably used in natural form, without heat treatment - as a dressing for salads, porridges, mashed potatoes. It is the source of unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins, which under the influence of heating quickly break down. Closer to three years, the "strip" of fats slightly widens, and the child can receive more butter and vegetable oil.
Eggs
Another feature of the children's pyramid is the allocation of eggs in a separate strip, no less narrow than the strip of fat. After a year, the child (in the absence of allergies) is given not only the yolks, but also the steam omelet from the whole egg, and after 1.5 years - hard-boiled eggs or "in the pouch" .On the day the baby can be given no more than half of one egg. its nutrition by easily digestible proteins, trace elements and fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E. It will also be superfluous to add the wiped boiled egg in vegetable purée or soup.
You can not give raw eggs to a child, since you can overload his digestive system, and there is a danger of infection.
Sweets
Now let's talk about the sweet part of the pyramid. It should be noted that if earlier the "sweet top" was considered to be absolutely superfluous in the child's nutrition, now various kinds of sweets are recognized as a full component of the daily nutrition of the baby.Products rich in fast-digestible carbohydrates (not only and not sugar as such!) Must be present in the They support the overall energy balance and quickly replenish the energy loss of the body.Of course, parents should be careful when choosing sweet dishes for the children's menu. hell up to 2-3 years is not recommended to offer a child (even milk), honey is contraindicated to allergies, but biscuits, marmalade, dried apricots, raisins, homemade jams and some other sweets can be used. But the total width of the "sweet" from the strip on our pyramid will be (in terms of pure sugar) 35-40 g for kids to one and a half years and 40-50 g - for children under three years.