Question – Maintaining energy levels
My three-year-old son, Jack, sometimes seems to just run out of energy. It’s usually late morning or late afternoon, though he’s usually fine after he’s had his lunch or dinner. I don’t think he’s sick, and I’m lucky that he sleeps well and eats plenty. Do you think choosing different foods might help?
Answer:
You’ve hit the nail on the head – just eating enough does not always provide our bodies with the best fuel to get us through the day; we also need to choose the right foods. We know just how busy our Contented little children are and how much energy they use up. It can be a challenge to keep up with their energy levels and other nutritional needs, but here are a few guidelines that should help. (And, of course, if you have any concerns that Jack may have an illness, do schedule a visit to his doctor.)
First, be sure Jack is eating frequently enough. You don’t mention whether or not he eats snacks between meals, but most children of his age will need a snack if meals are more than about three hours apart. I discussed this a few months ago – click here to see the article. Also, consult The Contented Child’s Food Bible by Gina Ford and Paul Sacher to check that Jack is eating enough of each of the different food groups to provide all his required vitamins, minerals and protein.
Finally, focus on foods that will supply Jack with longer-lasting energy or fuel. The body’s fuel supply is the glucose that circulates in our blood, and this comes mainly from the sugar and starch in our food. The scientific name for these substances is carbohydrate. Nutritious foods that supply us with carbohydrate include fruits, grain foods such as bread and rice, starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, legumes such as dried beans and lentils, and some dairy foods including yoghurt and milk. Carbohydrate breaks down at different speeds in different foods, to become the glucose in our blood. This concept is known as the glycaemic index, which most of us have heard of as GI: lower-GI foods are converted to energy more slowly than higher-GI foods. This means that, by focussing on lower-GI foods rather than higher-GI foods, you’re likely to keep Jack’s energy supply going for longer.
So where do we find these lower-GI foods? More and more foods now indicate on the label if they are lower-GI, and I predict this will increase as people become more aware of the glycaemic index. In the meantime, here’s a brief list to help you identify some nutritious and child-friendly lower-GI foods.
Fruit and vegetables: Sweetcorn, plums, peaches (including tinned), apples (including dried), pears (including tinned), dried apricots, kiwi fruit, oranges, strawberries, banana*
Bread, cereals and potatoes: Porridge (not instant or quick cook)*, oat-based muesli*, oatcakes*, new potatoes*, basmati rice*, pasta and noodles, sweet potatoes*, fruit bread*, granary bread*, chapati*, pitta bread*, tortilla
Dairy foods: Milk, yoghurt, custard
Legumes: Dried peas, beans, chickpeas, lentils, soya milk, lentil soup, dhal
*not all foods of this type are lower-GI, or they may be slightly above the ‘low’ range but still a good choice.
Given all these options, choosing lower-GI foods is easy. Jack might enjoy porridge for breakfast, yoghurt with lunch, then lentil soup or pasta with his evening meal. Oat cakes, an apple or a pear make great snacks. (For more breakfast ideas, see my article from November 2007.) You may be thinking that you and Jack would miss some of your favourite foods if you only ate the foods on the list – I don’t mean that you need to choose low-GI foods all the time, but as a rule of thumb I suggest eating a low-GI food at two or more meals or snacks each day. And as a bonus, choosing low-GI foods at one meal actually helps the carbohydrate from the next meal release energy more slowly too.
Choosing some lower-GI foods for your son may have one unfortunate effect however – if Jack is running around more, you may have to spend more of your time and energy chasing him!