Feeding Tweens and Teens

Todays adolescents, like their parents, lead busier lives than any previous generation. Such hectic schedules are often accompanied by nutrient-poor food choices that are dispensed, vended and sold through a window. These products are convenient and portable, but usually not loaded with the nutrients that growing bodies crave and need. Filling up on these calorie-dense foods leaves little room or appetite for missing fruits, vegetables and whole grains sorely needed in the diet, says Carol Berg Sloan, R.D., food and nutrition communication consultant, California Walnut Commission, Folsom.

Adolescents erratic meal and snacking patterns require carefully designed products that meet their needs.

What kids are lacking

According to data collected from 1970 to 2005 by USDAs Economic Research Service, Washington, D.C., dietary habits of Americas youth have changed considerably, and not typically in a positive direction. For example, consider the switch from milk to soft drinks. For each ounce of milk that American children have stopped drinking, they consume another estimated 4.2 oz. of soft drinks. This represents a net gain of 31 calories, a loss of about 34 mg of calcium, and may contribute to what nutritionists see as rising levels of calcium deficiency, especially in female adolescents.

We know this group does not consume enough calcium-rich foods, which is why food manufacturers during the past 10 or so years have been adding calcium to all types of adolescent-appealing foods, says Roger Clemens, associate director of the regulatory science program, School of Pharmacy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, and an Institute of Food Technologists expert on functional foods.

Geri Detroy Mertens, R.D., Chicago, adds: Without a doubt, vitamin D is one of those nutrients that most Americans are not getting enough of on a daily basis. It is very, very important for adolescents to meet their daily requirements for calcium and vitamin D, as these are their prime bone-building years.

Vitamin D is responsible for helping the body absorb and effectively utilize calcium. Vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, is produced naturally when the body reacts to sunlight, but skin-cancer precautions (sunscreen, shade, etc.) are reducing vitamin D levels in the body. Only a few foods, such as fatty fish and egg yolks, naturally contain vitamin D. Up to 55% of adolescents may be deficient in vitamin D, according to a recent analysis of children living in the northeastern United States. Researchers believe the trend of soft drinks replacing milk may be one important reason for this trend, as milk has been fortified with vitamin D since the 1930s in an effort to prevent the occurrence of the bone-debilitating disease rickets in young children.

Looking for D

Formulating foods with egg yolk products is a great way to naturally boost vitamin D levels in prepared foods, says Elisa Maloberti, director of egg product marketing, American Egg Board, Park Ridge, IL. Egg yolks also contain choline, a brain-building, memory-enhancing nutrient not found in many foods.

Clemens adds: Choline is an essential nutrient, partially met by synthesis in the liver and a few other tissues. It is found in foods such as eggs, chicken liver, wheat germ and human milk ... foods most adolescents are not indulging in on a daily basis. Yet, their bodies desperately need choline in order to effectively think, plan and develop their future.

Choline is available as an additive, but it is also possible to deliver this micronutrient by formulating with egg yolks. All-natural egg products provide functionality and nutrition to many food applications, and they contain many of the critical nutrients this demographic requires to grow into a healthful adult, says Maloberti. This includes a positive lipid profile, void of trans fatty acids, and high in heart-healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.

O-K, so what?

For many years, it was thought that vitamin K function was exclusively related to blood coagulation; however, research shows that vitamin K is critical for adolescent bone development. Unfortunately, data indicate vitamin K consumption is dropping in the United States, and many adolescents are deficient.

During the past decade, vitamin K has been linked to two of the most-important health issues: bone health and cardiovascular health, says Eric Anderson, brand manager, P.L. Thomas & Co., Inc., Morristown, NJ. In order to utilize calcium in the body, K vitamins are essential. The vitamin Kdependent proteins cannot function to put calcium into healthy bone tissue and keep it from accumulating in arteries and soft tissues without adequate vitamin K. This is called the calcium paradox, and thus experts do not recommend calcium supplementation without supplemental vitamin K.

Higher levels of vitamin K are strongly associated with better bone mass, density, improved geometry and mineral content, continues Anderson. Strong bones developed in childhood reduce the risk of osteoporotic fracture in life as high peak bone mass buffers bone loss in the elderly. Children have much higher bone metabolism than adults, the result of growing bones, and thus have a greater need for K vitamins in the diet.

Vitamin K is naturally present in two forms. Vitamin K1 is in leafy green vegetables, not a favorite among adolescents. There are also the K2 vitamins, collectively called the menaquinones. These are found in fermented cheese and curd, and in small amounts in egg yolk and meat. Fermented soybeans are also a particularly rich source of vitamin K2.

Of the K vitamins, the most-active contributor to bone and vascular health is natural vitamin K2, especially the longer menaquinones such as menaquinone-7 (Mk-7), says Anderson. Natural Mk-7 can be extracted from fermented soybeans, with this new whole food extract available as an ingredient in both oil and powder form.

From the garden

Americans of all ages need to eat more fruits and vegetables. One easy way to help is by using the right type of ingredient, says Chris Stepan, corporate chef, Vegetable Juices Inc., Bedford Park, IL. A puréed vegetable or fruit, by itself, would be considered one portion or serving size. Proprietary nonthermal processing creates concentrates that, based on the Brix levels, can multiply that by five. Both purées and concentrates can be utilized to increase vegetable portions within formulations, to enhance flavor and improve the sweetness profile.

For example, in a muffin, nonthermally concentrated vegetable or fruit (25 °Brix) can be used at 13% in formulation, at the same level as honey, Stepan continues. The nonthermal concentrate retains the long-chain carbohydrates and stacks them up, allowing the body to digest its own food. This cuts down on the glycemic index. Instead of sugar portions, you have a sweetening property and, along with this sweetening, you add more vegetable portions to the product. For example, using carrot juice concentrate as a natural sweetener at 13% of a 1,000 gram formula would add 3 grams of protein, 187 IU vitamin A and 62 mg calcium.

Another option is butternut squash purée in baked goods, such as cookies, notes Stepan. It retains water well to help the cookies remain moist, and the flavor is neutral with light floral notes, he says. Even when used in low concentrations within a baking environment such as a cookie, the vegetable portion can be increased from zero to a third of a serving.

Another popular delivery vehicle for fruits and vegetables is beverages. Its the perfect environment for a half-and-half blend of vegetable and fruit juices that possess their own natural sweeteners, says Stepan. Ordinarily, a consumerlet alone an adolescentwouldnt drink a glass of beet juice. Yet its a perfect match for pomegranate, currently a popular cool beverage flavor. Nonthermally processed beet juice has a light flavor that stays in the background. In addition, the beet juice lends its own unique mix of antioxidants to those of the pomegranate to create a powerful, healthy beverage that teens find appealing. Beets not only contain antioxidants, they also help the liver produce additional natural antioxidants that combat the oxidative damage caused by free radicals.

Fatty facts

Like choline, the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPS) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) are associated with brain development and memory. Swedish researchers found that among nearly 5,000 15-year-old boys surveyed, those who ate fish more than once per week tended to score higher on intelligence tests three years later. The findings, published in Acta Paediatrica (2009; 98(3):555-560), add to the evidence that omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are important to early brain development and to maintaining healthy brain function throughout life.

According to lead researcher Dr. Maria Åberg, Centre for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, the late teens are a critical period for the brain plasticity that underlies intelligence and emotional and social behavior. Plasticity refers to the brains ability to reorganize the connections among cells in response to normal experience, like learning a new skill, or to injury.

Omega-3s are essential at all stages of life. For infants up to the age of three, DHA is essential for the development of the brain and eyes. After the age of three, both EPA and DHA are important for cognitive function, and research suggests that it may improve behavior and learning disorders. Additionally, research indicates that EPA and DHA may reduce inflammatory conditions such as asthma, childhood depression and reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes.

The final touch

All these nutrients are great for kids, but only if their bodies are effectively absorbing them.

Prebiotics, particularly fructooligosaccharides, can create an internal environment where nutrients are more readily absorbed, says Coni Francis, senior manager, scientific and government affairs, GTC Nutrition, Golden, CO, a business unit of Corn Products International, Inc., Westchester, IL. This is important to ensure proper growth and bone building. Further, todays adolescents are undergoing a lot of stress, which can put their immune system at risk. Our new 90%-pure galactooligosaccharide (GOS) comes in powder form and functions as a prebiotic that supports immune health by nourishing and stimulating the growth of beneficial microflora in the colon to support immunity. According to the company, its new, highly soluble GOS is stable in extreme processing conditions, including high temperature and low pH, and delivers desirable textural and sensory properties. It can be readily formulated into beverages, which adolescents love to grab and consume on their way from school to activity, says Francis.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected].

Kids Believe in Balance

Maybe our kids are right; maybe we dont understand them. While we imagine them shoveling down fries and burgers every chance they get, a new survey from Mintel, Chicago, found that 61% of kids and teens believe its important to eat a balanced diet. And theyre not just saying that. The survey revealed that 42% of kids and teens reach for foods that give them more energy, and more than a third (35%) purposefully eat foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients. Further, some 25% try to eat foods that are low in fat, and 22% look for foods that are low in sugar.

The Editors

How Sweet It Is

Regardless of how healthy a food product is, what counts most is whether adolescents find the product appealing. Most kids tend to prefer sweet, and theres a physiological reason for that. The relationship between sweet preference and growth makes intuitive sense, because when growth is rapid, caloric demands increase. Children are programmed to like sweet taste, because it fills a biological need by pushing them towards energy sources, says Danielle Reed, geneticist, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, and author of a study on this topic published in Physiology & Behavior (2009; 96(4-5):574-580).

According to the study, sweet preferences decline as childrens physical growth slows and eventually stops. When markers of bone growth decline as children age, so does their preference for highly sweet solutions, Reed says.