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Dietary Guidance

When making a trip to the grocery store, milk is usually a staple on the shopping list. Over the years, milk has started to take up more and more real estate in the grocery store as different varieties have become available. A quick scan of the milk aisle can lead to confusion and curiosity about what milk should be chosen for your child. Gone are the days when cow’s milk was the only option! In general, milk varieties can be broken down into two main categories: dairy (cow’s) milk and dairy-free alternatives. However, not all dairy-free alternatives are nutritionally comparable to cow’s milk. Being familiar with the nutritional impact of changing to a dairy-free beverage helps to ensure that your child is still getting all of the nutrition that is provided from cow’s milk. What is the difference? Cow’s milk provides several important nutrients, including protein, fat, vitamin D, and […]

What is iron? Iron is a nutrient found in many proteins in the body. This includes hemoglobin, which is responsible for the transport of oxygen to tissues throughout the body for metabolism. Iron also supports brain and nerve development in infants and children.  How much iron does my child need? What foods contain iron? Meat, poultry, pork, fish Tofu Dried beans and peas Dried fruits (raisins, apricots) Dark leafy green vegetables Iron-fortified breakfast cereals, breads, and pastas Peanuts, cashews, walnuts, Brazil nuts There are two forms of iron in the diet: heme and nonheme iron. Heme iron is in animal products including meat, pork, fish, and poultry and is the most easily absorbed form of iron for the body. Nonheme iron is found in plant-based foods like grains, beans, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. However, nonheme iron is not completely absorbed by the body. Its absorption may be enhanced when […]

Many parents aren’t sure whether their teen’s weight falls within a healthy range or when they should be concerned. It can be a challenge to talk to your teen about reaching a healthy weight. It’s all too easy to imagine the ways in which the subject can backfire. But it’s more important than ever to get this discussion started. Because even as more American teens are carrying extra pounds, fewer are trying to lose weight. A recent study in JAMA Pediatrics found the percentage of teens aged 16-19 who are overweight or obese sharply increased in recent decades, to 34 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage of overweight teens trying to lose weight fell to 23 percent for boys and 54 percent for girls. As teens see more people who are overweight, their ideas about what’s a healthy weight might be changing. Emotionally, it’s a positive when teens accept their body — […]

Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet can be a struggle for all of us. But it can be even more so for a woman who now has all the dietary restrictions that come along with pregnancy! Looking after your health and diet when you’re pregnant is extremely important because it’s not just your own body you’re providing for anymore. This is why so many women go to a Naturopath Kingston to help them learn more about how they can improve their diet and their pregnancy health because they’re so conscious about their baby’s development. So, now we know how important the diet is, let’s review the major “go’s” and “no’s” of eating during pregnancy. Protein GO Protein is an important building block for many body parts/organs in your body including bone, cartilage, blood, and muscles. In general, it is recommended we get 71 grams of protein daily. Good sources of protein […]

Eat, poop, sleep, and repeat. As routine as these things may seem, we all know the struggles associated with parenting infants. Our job, as your friendly neighborhood dietitians, is to help guide you through that first part – feeding your infant. We are going to discuss, in a rather general sense, two primary feeding methods. To make a sometimes confusing topic a bit more relatable, I like to compare infant feeding to macaroni and cheese. You have your homemade mac-n-cheese and your pre-made mac-n-cheese. Both are delicious, and typically contain the same calories and nutrients, it’s just a matter of the resources available to you. Breastfeeding First, let’s talk about breastfeeding. Just like your homemade mac-n-cheese, breast milk is designed to specifically meet your family’s needs. Breast milk is unique to each woman as well each environment. That means, if you breastfeed (or pump) in day care, the milk will […]

Vitamin D helps to ensure that our bodies absorb and retain calcium and phosphorous, which are both needed for building strong bones. The need for vitamin D begins even before a baby is born; insufficient intake can put an infant’s bone development at risk. Why is Vitamin D so Essential? Severe vitamin D deficiency can lead to nutritional rickets, which can cause softened and weakened bones. This disease is most often seen in children younger than 2 years of age. Because recent studies have shown that most infants in the United States have not been consuming enough vitamin D, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) now recommends that all infants have a minimum intake of 400 International Units (IU) of vitamin D per day beginning soon after birth. How Does the Body Get Vitamin D? Vitamin D can be obtained in two ways: first, from the foods we eat; and […]