No doubt parents are well aware of the importance of a
healthy diet for their child’s health and wellbeing. Indeed, it is this
understanding that drives many parents to nobly battle their kids over the untouched
vegetables at the dinner table. And while enjoying adequate vegetables each day
is an essential part of healthy eating, the importance of all five food groups
in achieving a balanced diet cannot be forgotten and is equally important. Here
we explore the latest research which demonstrates that Aussie kids are also falling
short of their grain and legume recommendations and provide practical tips for
parents to encourage balance with grains and legumes(1, 2)
Are Your Kids
Enjoying the Benefits of Core Grains?
Adequate core grain food (i.e. breads, breakfast cereals,
crispbreads, rice, pasta and noodles) intake in childhood is important to
deliver essential nutrition, support a
developing immune system, reduce risk of
weight gain and protect against disease in the long term.(3) And just as in adults, these benefits (and more) linked with adequate
core grain intakes are most strongly observed when children choose whole grain
or high fibre options more often.
The significant contribution of core grain foods to
children’s nutrient intakes was recently
highlighted with the 2011-12 National Nutrition Survey. The Survey found that
these foods were the leading contributors of seven key nutrients in
Australians children’s diets, including fibre (essential for digestion and a
healthy good balance of bacteria in the gut), carbohydrate (for energy), iron
(to help fight fatigue), magnesium (for an active mind), zinc (for a healthy
immune system), folate (for growth) and thiamin (for a healthy heart).(1, 4) In fact
in the case of fibre, only children who met their daily recommended core grain
serves had an average fibre intake which met their minimum daily dietary fibre
target(5). This is
a striking finding given higher fibre intakes are consistently linked with
reduced risk of health problems and disease from an early age(6, 7).
Given their contribution to nutrient intakes and health
benefits in children (and adults), it is not surprising that enjoying a
wide variety of core grain foods, mostly whole grain or high fibre options - is
a universal theme of healthy eating. However, despite
dietary recommendations, the recent 2011-12 National Nutrition Survey showed
that Australian children’s average intakes of core grain foods across all age
and gender groups fell short of the recommended number of daily core grain
serves.(1). What is even more alarming is that more recent data from GLNC’s 2014
Consumption Study indicates that since 2011 children’s intake of core grain
foods have declined and almost half
(48%) of Australian parents (48%) are limiting their children’s intake of core
grain food(2). It appears not only are Aussie kids falling short of their core grain
food recommendations and declining but there is a lack of awareness of the
important nutritional contribution and associated health benefits with adequate
core grain food intakes.
To achieve the recommended serves of core grain
foods each day, GLNC encourages all Australians, including children to eat core
grain foods 3-4 times each day, making at least half as whole grain or high
fibre. This means that refined core grain foods, like white bread, white pasta
and rice can still be enjoyed by children, as long as other grains in their day
are whole grain or high fibre.
Making sure your child starts the day with whole
grain or high fibre breakfast choice, such as oats (or wheat breakfast biscuits,
a whole grain crumpet or English muffin) is a great start towards achieving the
recommendations and choosing whole grain at breakfast has also been shown
to boost literacy and numeracy skills (8, 9) as well as improve learning and
performance in the classroom.(10, 11) And considering that
over 65% of children consuming bread/bread rolls each day(1), another easy step towards better core grain food choices for many
children may be to choose whole grain or high fibre breads more often.
A Word on Discretionary Grain Choices
Consumption of discretionary grain foods (i.e. biscuits,
cake, pies, bars or pizza that are high in saturated fat, added sugar and/or
salt) remains an issue for Australian families, with just over one third (35%)
of total energy intake is being consumed as discretionary foods(1). As discretionary foods
offer no nutritional benefit and if consumed frequently, may contribute to
weight gain(3), these choices are
discouraged and can be limited by making simple swaps, e.g. swapping a packet
of chips that is high in salt and saturated fat for a more nutritious option
such as lite buttered popcorn, or a café styled muffin for a slice of raisin
toast. Whilst the number of Australian children consuming discretionary core grain foods has continued
to rise in recent years, there is a silver lining, with research showing a
decrease in the average amount being consumed by kids each day(2).
Legumes
Just as Australian children are falling short of core
grain food recommendations, most Australians children are not meeting
recommendation for legumes - only 1 in every 20 children consume legumes
regularly(4, 12). This is despite legumes
being fibre and nutrient rich foods and having huge potential to contribute to
the health and wellbeing of Australian children, particularly in the early
years were legumes can offer a valuable source of protein and iron, a great
alternative if getting enough meat is a challenge.
As well as containing essential nutrition, legumes are mostly
low glycaemic index (GI) and so have the potential to help kids maintain their
energy levels over the day or during active play (13) and impart other health
benefits associated with a lower GI diet(14). Given their potential
GLNC recommends Australians should aim to enjoy legumes at least 2-3 times per
week, but the evidence suggests the more legumes the better in terms of
nutrient intake and health outcomes.
To boost children’s intakes of legumes parent are
encouraged to incorporate legumes into family meals more often which can be as
easy as serving baked beans for breakie or sneaking some red lentils into the
spaghetti bolognaise. For practical tips on boosting legume intakes check out
GLNC’s Fact sheets Legumes.
Tips
and tricks to enjoying them more often and Legumes
– Start a healthy habit. And if you are looking for some recipe
inspiration, Chrissy Freer’s new book ‘Superlegumes – eat your way to
great health’ is packed full of recipes to help you kick start this healthy
habit in the kitchen.
References
1. ABS. Australian
Health Survey: Nutrition First Results - Foods and Nutrients, 2011-12.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2014.
2. GLNC. 2014
Australian Grains and Legumes Consumption and Attitudinal Report. Unpublished:
2014.
3. NHMRC. Australian
Dietary Guidelines Providing the scientific evidence for healthier Australian
diets. 2013 Accessed online January 2014.
4. CSIRO. Cereal
Foods and Legume Consumpton by Australian Children: Secondary Analysis of the
2007 National Children's Nutrition and Physcial Activity Survey 2009.
5. GLNC. Secondary
Analysis of the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey 2011-2012
Unpublished: 2014.
6. Liu L, Wang S,
Liu J. Fiber consumption and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortalities:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies. Molecular nutrition
& food research. 2015;59(1):139-46.
7. Yang Y, Zhao L,
Wu Q, Ma X, Xiang Y. Association Between Dietary Fiber and Lower Risk of All-Cause
Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies. American journal of epidemiology.
2014.
8. Hoyland A, Dye L,
Lawton CL. A systematic review of the effect of breakfast on the cognitive
performance of children and adolescents. Nutrition research reviews.
2009;22(2):220-43.
9. O'Dea JA,
Mugridge AC. Nutritional quality of breakfast and physical activity
independently predict the literacy and numeracy scores of children after
adjusting for socioeconomic status. Health education research.
2012;27(6):975-85.
10. Micha R, Rogers
PJ, Nelson M. Glycaemic index and glycaemic load of breakfast predict cognitive
function and mood in school children: a randomised controlled trial. The
British journal of nutrition. 2011;106(10):1552-61.
11. Ingwersen J,
Defeyter MA, Kennedy DO, Wesnes KA, Scholey AB. A low glycaemic index breakfast
cereal preferentially prevents children's cognitive performance from declining
throughout the morning. Appetite. 2007;49(1):240-4.
12. Australia.
CPHNRFaUoS. 2007 Australian National Children’s Nutrition and Physical Activity
Survey: Main findings. Canberra: 2008.
13. Williams PG,
Grafenauer SJ, O'Shea JE. Cereal grains, legumes, and weight management: a
comprehensive review of the scientific evidence. Nutrition reviews.
2008;66(4):171-82.
14. Rochfort S, Panozzo J. Phytochemicals for Health, the Role
of Pulses. Journal of agricultural and food chemistry. 2007;55(20):7981-94.
