Protein intake
Your child’s daily protein needs are probably already being adequately met through their usual diet. To illustrate how when it comes to actual food intake, a cup of milk (240ml) or half a cup of lentils or beans contains 8g of protein, an egg or one slice of cheese has around 6g of protein and 100g of Greek yoghurt or 40g of chicken contains 10g of protein.
There’s also protein in many foods that we don’t normally associate with protein. For instance, pasta has 5g of protein per 100g, rice around 3g per 100g and bread has around 2g per slice.
So, unless your child is an extremely picky eater, it’s unlikely you need to actively count their protein intake daily or find ways of sneaking extra protein in with fortified foods, protein powders or adding high-protein ingredients to recipes. Their diet alone should be sufficient.
What’s more, focusing too much on specific nutrients could create a stressful environment around mealtimes. This could affect a child’s relationship with food in the long term.
Focusing solely on protein consumption could also potentially lead to under consumption of other nutrients that offer different health benefits. For example, when focusing on high-protein diets for toddlers and children, the rest of their diet might end up lacking fruits and vegetables as they’re considered low protein. But fibre is essential for gut health, so this could lead to health problems such as constipation.
Fast-growing toddlers and children also need more that just protein for growth and development. They need a combination of many macro- and micronutrients – including carbohydrates and unsaturated fats, which are often found in foods that aren’t protein rich.
Protein increases feelings of fullness by slowing stomach emptying. This could reduce hunger and overall food intake – including intake of these other nutrients that are important for development. For more picky eaters that could lead to even more restricted diet.
Too much protein has also been shown to have a negative effect on the kidneys, liver and bone density in adults. However, the evidence is still not there yet for children on how much is too much. But what we do know is that high animal protein diets have been associated with excessive weight gain early in life so too much protein may best be avoided.
Protein is an essential part of your child’s diet, important for their growth and development. But most will get more than enough from the foods they normally eat and won’t need products such as protein shakes or protein supplements.
