Iron-deficiency anemia is common in teenagers and adults, but it can also affect children. This condition occurs when there is not enough iron in the body to adequately produce red blood cells that carry oxygen to every cell in your body. Newborn babies have only enough stored iron for the first six months of life. Young children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, those who were not breastfed, and who consumed large amounts of sugary and processed foods are at the highest risk of anemia. In most cases, changing the diet can treat iron...
If your child has a thrush infection, some health practitioners believe making certain changes to the diet may speed healing of the infection and prevent recurrences, but no dietary measure has been established as definitively ...
It is usually caused by a bacterial, viral or parasitic infection. Pneumonia often starts with symptoms similar to that of a cold and gradually worsens. Symptoms include fever, chills, cough, wheezing, chest pain, tiredness, mu...
Rickets is a disorder that causes your child's bones to become weak and soft. Children with rickets may experience bone pain, muscle cramps and impaired growth. Give your child foods rich in vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus to...
Nitrates also appear in many of the vegetables you eat because nitrates are used as fertilizers and pesticides. While low doses of sodium nitrite and nitrate are considered safe, larger doses may be problematic. This is particu...
The ketogenic diet, or KD, is primarily prescribed for children diagnosed with epilepsy or other neurological disorders. Approximately 3,000 children are currently following the KD, as prescribed by a health care provider, and ...
Symptoms of hypoglycemia include hunger, shakiness, sweating, sleepiness, confusion, anxiety, weakness and trouble speaking. Severe cases can cause seizures, coma or death. If your child suffers from hypoglycemia, diet alterati...
Phenylketonuria, or PKU, is the result of the mutation of a single gene. The genetic mutation causes children born with PKU to be unable to convert the amino acid phenylalanine into tyrosine. Excess phenylalanine then accumulat...
Although this syndrome is commonly associated with involuntary cursing or blurting inappropriate words, only a small number of people with Tourette's syndrome exhibit this symptom, according to the University of Maryland Medica...
Children's diets greatly affect their mood. Regular meals that are rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains provide children with the sustained energy they need to be active, healthy and happy. Diets high in processed foods,...
Concerns regarding obesity have caused many parents to put their children on restricted diets that eliminate products which contain fat. Consuming fat, however, is necessary for children to properly grow and develop, according ...
While there are different approaches to the gluten-free casein-free, or GFCF, diet, it is a type of diet often used as a dietary intervention for children with autism. The diet eliminates gluten and casein from the child's diet...
Damage to the protective mucus layer mainly results from infection with helicobacter pylori, a bacterium in the stomach of infected children. For children with stomach ulcers, certain foods may facilitate healing.
Illnesses are treated with psychotherapy, medication and diet. Clinical research is limited for children, so physicians often use studies on adults to determine potential outcome in children.
Common symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain and cramps, vomiting and nausea. Causes of gastroenteritis include viruses, bacteria, parasites and food-borne illness. According to Keep Kids Healthy, gastroenteritis is common ...
Kids' immature immune systems make them more vulnerable than adults to these illnesses, but a healthy lifestyle along with a diet rich in disease-fighting nutrients can help boost their immunity and make them more resistant to ...
The rate of childhood obesity has more than tripled since 1980, according to the Centers For Disease Control And Prevention. Nearly 20 percent of children in the United States were obese in 2008. Children who are obese face myr...
Obesity can harm your child's lifelong health by increasing his risk of heart disease, diabetes and other obesity-related illnesses. Although no magic pills exist that will instantly increase your child's height or strength, a ...
Severe cases can result in life-threatening conditions. Children may experience fever, swelling of the stomach, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, chills and cramping. Treatment will involve replacing electrolyte loss from diarrhea, c...
There are many interesting myths, truths and misconceptions about giving children diet pop. Being able to separate fact from fiction will allow you to make a clearer decision about whether diet soda is OK for your child to drin...
Children who carry too many extra pounds are exposed to teasing and social ostracism from peers. Moreover, they face health risks down the line should they fail to learn how to have a healthy lifestyle. Overweight children tend...
Whether in developing or developed countries, the world's more than 2.1 million HIV-positive children are likelier to survive and thrive with good nutritional support. With access to proper food and health care, many can even ...
Some children are naturally smaller than their peers. However, children who are under the fifth percentile for body mass index, or BMI, may have an underlying health, emotional or dietary problem, according to the Virginia Coop...
While poor diet and eating habits do not cause conditions like attention-deficit hyperactive disorder and related symptoms like a short attention span in children, there is some credence to the argument that diet influences som...
You think your child is overweight. You worry about her health and the social impact of those extra pounds. You might be in a quandary about how to walk the fine line of urging healthy eating practices without damaging her self...
Milk and other dairy products are full of calcium and nutrients that promote healthy bone growth in children. School lunch programs serve schoolchildren milk, but that's not enough. Children need additional nutrition from dairy...
After two days, Frances breaks into tears and asks for the spaghetti and meatballs that the rest of the family is having for dinner. You won't want to try anything quite so drastic to encourage your children to eat healthy meal...
A preschool child needs a healthy, balanced diet to fuel her active and growing life. It is vitally important that you give her the right foods and model healthy eating habits yourself. This will help your child have the energy...
Children require plenty of vitamins and nutrients in their diet to maintain proper growth and development from infancy all the way to their adolescent and teen years. Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventi...
Children's bodies are similar to a growing plant. If you provide a seedling with nutrient-rich soil and plenty of water and sunlight, you will notice the plant growing sturdy and strong. The soil in this case is equivalent to a...
In fact, Kids Health notes that diets that have too few calories or those that don't include a variety of nutritious foods can be dangerous for kids. For children that are diagnosed by a doctor as being obese, the Healthy Child...
In essence, kids have the same basic nutritional guidelines that adults do. It's important for them to eat many fresh fruits and vegetables, get a variety of nutrients in their diets, limit extra fat and sugar and be physically...
This number grows an average of 3 percent per year. Whether you have a child that has been diagnosed with ADHD or just has excess energy, a few things can be done to calm him without prescription medication. One example is diet.
As a parent, you have the responsibility to feed your children a diet that will help them grow, and to instill in them healthy habits for life. This requires you to pay close attention to how much your children eat and the comp...
Yet food is typically the last thing on a young child’s mind. Children love to spend most of their time playing, so eating can seem to them like a mere disruption of play. But it is important that children maintain a heal...
Lucy Jane Miller, Ph.D., OTR, describes sensory processing as “the way the nervous system receives sensory messages and turns them into responses.” Children with sensory processing disorders have difficulty organizi...
Kids Health goes on to suggest that hyperactive children know and understand the rules, but have a difficult time adhering to the rules because they are not able to sit still, pay attention, or concentrate on details. Recent re...
In children aged 2 to 5, the obesity rate doubled to more than 10 percent from a previous study conducted between 1976 and 1980.
An appropriate diet for a young child involves teaching proper nutrition and good eating habits ...
IBS is very uncomfortable, but not life threatening and does not cause damage to the colon. IBS is incurable, but it is treatable. In addition to medication and stress management, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestiv...
Nobody wants to be on a diet for the rest of their lives, so instead of dieting, kids need to make changes that will last a lifetime. Group programs that encourage physical activity and focus on the family will be most successf...
There's no doubt about it: Getting some children to eat a proper diet can be tough. On top of that, young children often prefer formula or milk all to solid foods. These types of eating challenges can lead to anemia in children...
Childhood obesity is an issue to deal with head on, but carefully. Factors that contribute to overweight kids range from low self-esteem to learned behaviors. Several programs have been developed to encourage healthier eating h...
The parental influence on a child’s diet is considerable. From the time children are born, parents have the opportunity to decide what to feed them. As children get older, however, their friends also play a role in what c...