At around 6 months, infant energy and nutritional needs begin to surpass that provided by breast milk alone; additional foods can then be introduced as “complementary feeding”. This practice is known as “complementary feeding”.
Dietary supplements are any vitamins, minerals, herbs or other ingestible preparations added to food to increase its nutritional value.
Dietary Supplements
Dietary supplements are any product designed to promote good health or lower the risk of disease. Available as pills, gummies or liquid solutions, dietary supplements include vitamin D and calcium for strong bones; fish oil for cardiovascular support; folic acid to prevent birth defects; and amino acids which help build muscle mass.
Diet pills touted for weight loss often consist of protein powders, which have the power to build muscle mass while inhibiting fat storage. Furthermore, protein powder can increase protein synthesis while simultaneously decreasing protein catabolism during exercise sessions, improving endurance and performance and therefore leading to lasting change.
As dietary supplements do not fall under the same safety regulations as drugs, the Food and Drug Administration advises keeping track of any supplements you take – for this reason alone the Office of Dietary Supplements offers a simple record-keeping tool called My Dietary Supplement and Medicine Record that can be printed out at home. Furthermore, FDA monitors adverse event reports from consumers as well as health care professionals, along with complaints against specific products to identify potentially dangerous dietary supplements.
Snacks
Snacks are foods consumed between meals as an energy boost. Unfortunately, however, snacks tend to be high in calories and may contain added sugars, fats, or sodium which could contribute to weight gain and may not provide adequate nutrition if consumed excessively.
Healthy snacks can provide relief between meals while helping weight loss by replacing higher-calorie, less nutritious options with more nutritional ones. They can also add essential nutrients into our diet while providing us with an increased sense of control over eating habits.
Research into snack foods and snacking habits focuses on their types, amounts and frequency as well as their relationship with diet quality and food intake. Snacking often entails convenience with many snacks being readily available and easy to prepare; typically dairy products (especially yogurt and milk), fruits, vegetables and nuts are consumed most commonly as nutrient-dense snacks while ice cream treats, candies cakes and carbonated drinks tend to have lower nutritional profiles.
