Most children are not getting enough proteins and nutrients each day. Fibre is also one among those insufficient nutrients for kids as it nourishes your child health. When you consider feeding your child with healthy food, consider feeding them with a Fibre rich food.

Why Kids Need Fibre?

Fibre is a plant food and is less in calories. The body does not digest the Fibre; often it passes through the stomach, intestines, colon and then flushes out from the body. Fibre can provide various health benefits for your child such as:

Controls obesity: When your child is fed with enough Fibre, your child feels full and reduces the intake of sugars and fat. Fibre takes a long time to digest in the body. This keeps your child active for a longer time and prevents them from overeating. Hence, reduces the chances of obesity during childhood.

Relieves constipation: Fibre plays an important role in improving your child digestive system. It promotes regular bowel movements and prevents constipation.

Controls diabetes: The body converts carbohydrates into blood sugar and glucose. When you feed your child with simple carbohydrates which are easy to digest, the body converts them to glucose and sugar. So, the body assumes it as more energy than required and stores some of it in the form of fat in the body. But, when the Fibre rich foods are fed to your child, it is not easy to digest and there won’t be any drastic changes in blood sugar levels and prevents fat storage. As a result, when you feed your child with Fibre food, it keeps the sugar and insulin levels steady in the body.

Reduces cholesterol: Soluble Fibre food such as barley, nuts, lentils, peas and beans can reduce the cholesterol levels in the body.
Apart from this, Fibre also protects your kid from heart disease and bowel cancer etc.

How Much Fibre Should a Child Consume in a Day?

There are different Fibre requirements for children based on their age and gender as follows:

• Children of any gender between 1 to 3 years need 19 grams of Fibre per day
• Children of any gender between 4 to 8 years should consume 25 grams per day
• Boys who are between 9 to 13 years of age need 31 grams per day, whereas girls of this age group need 26 grams per day
• Boys who are between 14 to 18 years of age need 38 grams per day, whereas girls of this age group need 26 grams per day

If your child is not used to intake enough Fibre in a day, do not over feed them with Fibre as it can cause bloating, gas, diarrhoea and stomach cramps. You need to increase Fibre in your child’s food slowly over a period of time, but you should not overfeed them with Fibre.

The following are the good sources of Fibre, which your child would love to eat:

• Fruits such as apples, pears and berries with seeds
• All types of beans such as kidney beans and black beans
• High Fibre cereals
• Sandwiches made of whole-grain bread
• Baked potatoes

Keep changing the menu periodically for your child, so that he/she won’t get bored and feels interested to eat.

Visit Sai Siva Hospital to Know About Fibre Needs for Your Child

Sai Siva Hospital is a full-fledged children hospital with best qualified paediatric doctors. They are skilled in various aspects relating to children and can help you in every way you want. To discuss about your child diet, contact us today.