COLUMBIA, S.C. — April is National Child Nutrition Month, so News19 caught up with some nutrition experts here in South Carolina to learn more about why this is an important topic.
According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, adolescent children build up to 90% of their bone mass by the age of 18, and these teens need between 10-30% of their daily calories from protein. These are just a few of the many reasons why nutrition should be top of mind.
Shana Catoe is the coordinator of student nutrition for Lexington Richland School District 5. She says proper nutrition prevents sickness.
"If we eat properly and well, it doesn't lead to the vast majority of diseases that we see," Catoe said.
She adds that healthy eating now creates a path for it in adulthood.
"You could do like a vegetable lasagna, and so it's in there and they may not see it, or in your spaghetti sauce you add in the squash or the zucchini and the child may or may not know it," Catoe said.
Another nutrition expert, Kylie Deice, works specifically with under-nourished children up to 18 years old at MUSC's Children's Hospital in Charleston.
"We want half of our plate to be fruits and veggies, a quarter of your plate to be some kind of healthy protein, and then a quarter of your plate to be some kind of healthy grain as well," Deice said.
She tells News19 the excess in need for fruits and vegetables is because those foods are high in fiber and necessary micro-nutrients.
"All of your organs, your brain, everything works on energy and different nutrients, so over time, without getting those proper nutrients we don't develop properly, which can be pretty severe," Deice said.
But Deice explains every food has something to offer.
"There are no good or bad foods. There's a place for everything on your plate, all in moderation," Deice said.
For more information on free produce boxes available here in Columbia, click here.
For free easy and healthy recipes, click here.