Super Foods for Kids

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Super foods are those foods that provide your body with more than just calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat. They are classified as "real" foods (read: unprocessed) that supply your body with disease-fighting components and support health.

For example, many fruits are considered super foods because they contain antioxidants which neutralize free radicals, on top of their low-fat and carbohydrate content. A free radical is an unpaired oxygen atom that is loose in your body. When too many of these occur, your body is under oxidative stress and the antioxidants in healthy food can help to waylay the free radicals before they do any damage-aging, cancer-to your body.

A multi-grain potato chip will not be featured on a super food list because, although it gives your body a small amount of fiber, it does not supply other vitamins and minerals that help your body to ward off disease.

Kids need healthy, disease-fighting foods as much as adults. This list will outline some of the easier super foods to incorporate into a child's diet. Even though a stir-fry filled with loads of veggies and brown rice is a great mix of super foods, getting your kid to consume more than one broccoli floret will be a battle. Instead, feed them these super foods that they already like.

Cage-Free, Organic Eggs

Scramble up some eggs for your kids' mental health. Eggs contain choline, a necessary nutrient for brain development and memory. Fill up the kiddies at breakfast with eggs cooked over-easy, boiled or scrambled, and the children will stay full until lunch. Egg-eaters also consume fewer calories all day, according to Elizabeth Ward, MS, RD, author of the Pocket Idiot's Guide to the New Food Pyramids.

Low-fat or Fat-free Yogurt

Yogurt gives your kids calcium which ensures strong bone density and growth. In addition, it is filled with probiotics which help their digestive health by breaking down food and supplementing their digestive tract's existing flora and bacteria.