functional medicine and nutritional genomics - American Association ...

AAPI’S NUTRITION GUIDE TO OPTIMAL HEALTH: USING PRINCIPLES OF FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE AND NUTRITIONAL GENOMICS
blood lab tests to assess the child’s protein
status, such as prealbumin, retinol binding protein,
transferrin, and serum albumin tests.
RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE FOR
PROTEIN
Age Protein (grams/day)
Children
1–3 years 13
4–8 years 19
Males
9–13 years 34
14–18 years 52
19 years and older 56
Females
9–13 years 34
14 years and older 46
Source: Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of
Medicine, National Academies
When choosing protein-rich foods for a child, the
best choices are complete proteins, or proteins
that contain all of the essential amino acids.
Complete proteins are found in foods such as
beef, poultry, fish, pork, game, eggs, milk, yogurt,
cheese, tofu, and soymilk.
Also offer child incomplete proteins, or proteins
that lack one or more of the essential amino
acids. Dietary sources of incomplete proteins
include beans, peas, nuts, seeds, and grains.
Incomplete proteins can be combined to form a
complete protein, meaning together they provide all
of the essential amino acids. This combination is
called a complementary protein. An example of a
complementary protein combination is beans
combined with brown rice, wheat, nuts, seeds, or
corn; and brown rice combined with beans, wheat,
nuts or seeds.
Carbohydrates are the body’s primary source of
energy. Proteins and fats can also serve as
energy sources, but the body prefers carbohydrates
because they’re more easily converted to glucose.
Glucose is the only source of energy the brain
can use, so it is important that children consume
enough carbohydrates to maintain a constant
supply of glucose to the brain. This keeps their
brains functioning at their optimum level throughout
the day. There are two major types of
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carbohydrates: simple carbohydrates and complex
carbohydrates.
Simple carbohydrates include monosaccharides and
disaccharides. Monosaccharides, such as glucose,
fructose, galactose, are composed of a single
sugar unit whereas disaccharides, such as
sucrose, lactose, maltose, are composed of two
sugar units. Examples of simple carbohydrates are
honey, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup,
molasses, candy, soda, and sweets. Fruits and
milk are also classified as simple carbohydrates,
but they are considered nutrient-rich simple
carbohydrates because they contain vitamins,
minerals, fiber, and important nutrients like calcium
and protein.
Complex carbohydrates are polysaccharides, which
consist of many sugar units strung together to
form long complex chains. Examples of complex
carbohydrates include foods such as rice, potatoes,
peas, beans, corn, and whole-grains products like
flour, bread, and pasta. As with simple
carbohydrates, some complex carbohydrates are
better choices than others. Refined complex
carbohydrates, such as white flour and white rice,
have been processed, which removes nutrients and
fiber. But unrefined grains still contain their original
vitamins and minerals. Unrefined grains also are
rich in fiber, which helps the child’s digestive
system work well.
Unrefined complex carbohydrates and nutrient-rich
simple carbohydrates are better choices than
simple and refined complex carbohydrates. Simple
carbohydrates (with the exception of fruit and
milk) are digested, broken down into glucose, and
enter the bloodstream rapidly, which causes
hyperglycemia and reactive hypoglycemia. On the
other hand, complex carbohydrates are digested,
broken down into glucose, and enter the
bloodstream slowly, which in turn stabilizes the
child’s blood glucose levels. The protein in milk
and fiber in fruit prevent them from triggering the
rapid fluctuation in blood glucose levels as do
other simple carbohydrates (27).
Fat is needed for our bodies to function properly.
Besides being an energy source, fat is a nutrient
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