Adolescent Girls You Must Pay Attention To These Diet And Nutrition Tips

Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal in her recent Instagram post talks about the nutrition and health of the growing girls. Adolescence is a phase of rapid growth where several changes occur such as physical, psychological and behavioural. Lack of knowledge regarding these health issues can affect an individual's health. Therefore, it is very important to consume a healthy diet. Lack of nutrition and ignorant behaviour could pose serious health issues to women. This include anemia and PCOD (Polycystic Ovary Disease). Nutritionist Nmami Agarwal in her post said, "Today one out of every 10th girl is suffering from PCOD."

PCOD is a medical condition of hormonal imbalance with the symptoms like menstrual irregularity, acne, insulin resistance and obesity. Insulin resistance is a condition when the insulin (a hormone secreted by the pancreas) becomes sensitive thereby not responding to the sudden spike in the blood glucose levels, as a result, there are chances of the individual to suffer from diabetes or glucose intolerance. Apart from this one can also face several other symptoms as well, such as extra hair on the face and body, excessive weight fain, hair fall and thinning of hair strands and infertility due to lack of ovulation and many more.

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Let us now focus on few dietary tips for adolescent girls who face the above-mentioned symptoms or are suffering from the chronic syndrome called PCOD:

1. Diet high in fiber

Fibre gives you satiety so you tend to eat less. Also, fibre maintains the blood sugar levels and reduces insulin resistance thereby controlling the cholesterol and triglycerides levels as well. You should aim to consume 25-30 grams of fibre per day. High fiberous diet focuses on whole fruits like papaya, berries, guava, prunes and pears. Some green leafy vegetables like spinach and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage. Whole grains like amaranth, oats, barley, whole wheat and quinoa. Healthy nuts and seeds like flax seeds, almonds, chia seeds and walnuts.

2. Good quality protein

Protein also helps in controlling the weight. Have good quality protein from lean meat such as chicken, fish, eggs and pulses and legumes is a good option. Also, include complex over simple carbohydrates. This is because complex carbohydrates takes longer to get digested by the body and gives the filling feel for a longer time.Some foods rich in complex carbohydrates are whole cereals like barley, oats, pulses and legumes, vegetables and fruits. You should limit the intake of sugar, refines cereals and trans fats.

3. Diabetes

People with PCOD might suffer from insulin resistance or pre-diabetes. They should restrict sugar in the form of table sugar, jam, chocolates, bakery stuff and also refined cereals such as maida, pasta, white breads, fried and processed items as they give you nothing just empty calories and no nutrients.

4. Do not skip meals

Try not to have large gaps in between the meals. Eat less but frequent meals in order to avoid a sudden spike in blood glucose levels and also to avoid binge eating.

5. Exercise a little

It is recommended to do some physical activity for at least thirty minutes per day. Start up with a shorter goal thereby increasing the pace gradually which will eventually aid in losing weight and will also keep your blood glucose and cholesterol levels in check.

Just like PCOD, anemia is another condition faced by almost half of the women and girls worldwide. It occurs when there is lack of hemoglobin or red blood cells in body. Anemia can start from being mild to severe and requires intensive care to manage it well.

Let us have a look at some common symptoms of anemia:

• Loss of Appetite
• Lack of interest, concentration
• Pale skin
• Spoon shaped and brittle nails
• Breathlessness on exertion
• Fatigue, tiredness, weakness
• Excessive blood loss during menstruation

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Now after knowing about these persisting symptoms let's also know how they can be subsided through the diet as diet plays a pivotal role in managing Anaemia. Top five solutions and diet for iron deficiency are:

Extract a daily dose of iron from your diet

Most bioavailable i.e., easily digestible form of iron is found in non-vegetarian sources like meat such as liver, fish sea foods. Apart from this, it is found in eggs (especially the yolk). Other high nutrient density sources include peas, legumes, green leafy vegetables, whole grains such as ragi, bajra, nuts and oil seeds such as flax seeds, groundnuts and almonds.

Make way for Increased Iron absorption

Vitamin C increases iron absorption to a greater extent as it converts ferric ions to ferrous ions which are better absorbed in the body. Include more of citrus fruits like orange, sweet lemon, berries, amla and green leafy vegetables.

Be Careful while taking calcium

Excess of Calcium makes it hard for the body to absorb iron as both the minerals compete for absorption. It is advised not to have calcium rich foods or calcium supplements along with iron rich foods but with a good difference of 2-3 hours.

Limit cup of Tea or coffee in diet

High polyphenol and tannin content in diet in the form of tea, coffee or cocoa leads to reduced absorption of iron. Not more than 3 cups of tea/coffee should be consumed in a day.

Cooking with cast-iron

Using iron utensils for cooking helps to increase iron content of foods. So, try cooking in iron utensils in order to extract more of iron in your diet

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(Nmami Agarwal is a nutritionist based in Delhi)

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.