Tips to Help Picky Eaters

Transcript:

TERESA: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness. Today, we are going to address a concern many parents have: what to do about their picky eater. We understand how frustrating it is to sit down to the dinner table night after night, meal after meal with a picky eater who just doesn't want to eat anything you have made. Maybe you've even started making separate meals for your child because you're feeling desperate for them to eat. Well if you have a picky eater at your table, you are not alone because 20% of children today are picky eaters. Yes, 20%. That means one out of five children are picky eaters. Some children outgrow this, but not all of 'em.

And then there are, of course there are therapists who specialize in picky eating behavior, and they often suggest having a calm eating environment. They work on introducing new foods slowly to desensitize food textures and tastes, and these can be effective and helpful techniques. But for me, the question I ask as a nutrition professional is why did a picky eater become one in the first place? As a dietitian, I look the issue through another lens; at some other maybe less traditional possible causes. Today we are going to discuss several possible reasons a child or even adult may become a picky eater.

KRISTI: So what we're going to talk about today may shed some light on how people and in particular children evolve into those picky eaters. Speaking from experience both personally and professionally dealing with a picky eater, oh my gosh is incredibly frustrating. But as we take a deeper look at the topic during the segment today, we're going to learn that picky eating stems from your child’s body trying to cope with something that's out of balance. And as strange as this actually may sound, they're actually not trying to be picky to be difficult.

And just to introduce myself, I am Kristy Kalinsky. I am a registered and licensed dietitian, and I actually have some professional experience with picky eating. So just to give you a little bit of background, I worked for quite some time at an organization called WIC. So for those of you that aren't familiar with that organization, WIC stands for Women, Infants and Children. It's a government funded program. It supports pregnant women, breastfeeding women and children from birth to five to ensure that they're getting that proper nutrition. One of my main roles at working at WIC was to counsel these moms and their children. And I kid you not. If I had a dime for every time a mom would complain about how picky her child was, I would be rich today.

TERESA: I bet you would be.

KRISTI: I actually would joke with them. I would say we need to start a support group for parents dealing with these picky eaters. It's just so frustrating. I actually never even connected the dots as to why they were picky. I just figured it was the age that I was working with, but now I've gained some knowledge working at Nutritional Weight and Wellness. And now I get that correlation between the picky eaters and what we're going to be discussing today. On the flip side of it, I've also worked with the elderly population in a nursing home setting. This age group can also be picky.

TERESA: I bet.

KRISTI: Yep. They lose their appetite. Nothing sounds good to eat. Their problems stem from, you know, maybe a mineral deficiency or different medications that they're taking. So I've seen it on both sides, the young and the old.

TERESA: Yeah, it sounds like you have a nice array of experience Kristi.

KRISTI: Yes, I do.

TERESA: Well think of eating this way. What if you were told to eat something that, you know, would give you heartburn; so would give you pain. Would you just eat it? Would you refrain from eating it and be considered wise or would you get classified as a picky eater for not eating that food that would give you heartburn? Well, before we get into some possible digestive reasons why your child may have become a picky eater, I should introduce myself. I am Teresa Wagner. I am a registered and licensed dietitian and I am also the parent of three young children. So I understand this problem of picky eaters from both a professional and a personal level, just like Kristy.

KRISTI: Yep. And I get that. I have personal experience as well. I am a parent of two teens. And we also have some eating struggles at our house as well. So between being a parent and then also working with those picky eaters, I understand this topic from professional and a personal level. Today, we're going to share some information that I was not aware of when I needed it. Like when my kids were young or when I was working at WIC. We're going to share some interesting information that you may have never heard before.

TERESA: In thinking about children or even adults and trying to solve the picky eating issue, I think it's important to ask some questions like what would cause a child to have picky eater behavior so badly to cause malnutrition, lack of growth and frequent infections? Why would a child, a teen or even an infant choose to become a picky eater? Is it possible that for some children, the picky eating behavior is not a behavior, but a way to get their body to cope with something that's out of balance? Perhaps it's their way to cope with a food they just can't digest or a food that might be causing them pain. So Kristy, let's look at some possible causes for this picky be eating behavior.

How acid reflux medications can lead to picky eating behavior or loss of appetite

KRISTI: Sure. So I know as a dietitian, when I'm working with a child who's a picky eater, one of the first things I actually like to ask their parent as if their child was ever on an acid reflux medication for heartburn.

TERESA: Well, that's an interesting question.

KRISTI: Well, right. It's interesting. There's, 10% of children in that first year of life are prescribed some type of acid reducing medication. As a side note, my daughter was one of these 10%. She got placed on an acid reflux medication when she was only a few months old. You don't want to see him suffer and you honestly don't think there's any other alternatives. So this is what we chose to do.

TERESA: Right.

KRISTI: Research published in the American Academy of Pediatrics found that these infants, these 10% of infants that were prescribed that antacid have an increased risk of fractures in childhood. So it interferes with their bone health. This was published back in May of 2017. So if it's not good for their bones, what do you think it does for their digestion? So what does acid reducing medication have to do with being a picky eater? How does it correlate?

TERESA: Well, what happens when a child takes acid reflux medication? Well, first let's think about the purpose of stomach acid. Its primary purpose is to break down our food so that it can be absorbed into the body. We chew our food first of course, and then it, it travels down the esophagus and lands in the stomach where ideally, it's rolled in a bunch of acid so that it can break down those foods. So when a child takes these antacid medications that reduce stomach acid, it makes it harder for the food to be broken down and over time it leaves the stomach sensing that it's full and the child loses his or her appetite.

KRISTI: That's a really interesting way to put it. And I was thinking about that in making a correlation with my elderly patients that I would work with in that nursing home setting. They would lose their appetite. They'd become picky in what they'd eat and they'd become fragile. Just like those children became fragile with those bone fractures when they were on those acid blockers. So when I actually would counsel and talk to my elderly patients about certain foods to avoid that could cause acid reflux, like sugary desserts or those starchy carbs like bread, a lot of times they would actually no longer need to be on that acid-reducing medication and their appetite would come back.

TERESA: It's so interesting.

KRISTI: Isn't it? So matter, no matter young or old, it's important not to interfere with that stomach's ability to produce that acid. Like you said, Teresa, for breaking down those foods properly. And so we can build and maintain those strong bones and muscles and have a good appetite to do so.

TERESA: Right. And the, and when you were talking about the elderly, I feel like the correlation seems so much clearer when we're talking about adults.

KRISTI: Right.

TERESA: But with kids, I feel like it's harder to connect those dots. So when children are without a normal amount of stomach acid in their digestive system, bad bacteria can also grow because along with the acid being an important part for breaking down food, another role that stomach acid plays is the role of killing bacteria or other pathogens that may be in or on our food and drinks. So when we don't have this, this stomach acid available, this can result in excess gas and bloating and cravings for starchy high sugar food because of the bad bacteria that's overgrowing.

Okay. So on that note, it is time for our first break. You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition, brought to you by Nutritional Weight and Wellness. I am Teresa Wagner, a registered and licensed dietitian. And our co-host today is Kristi Kalinsky, who is also a registered and licensed dietitian. One out of five children are now considered picky eaters. We are taking a deep dive into some of the biochemical reasons for children becoming picky eaters.

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KRISTI: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. Here's a new thought about picky eaters that we will explore in more detail today. It seems that picky eating may have been caused by children being over medicated more so now than in past generations. Before antibiotics and reflux medication were used, children's digestive systems evolved naturally allowing for more normal appetites that included a variety of food groups. When digestion is intact, appetite evolves naturally and restrictive eating is not as common.

TERESA: Yes. True. Okay. So before break, we were talking about the role of acid and how it plays an important role in keeping bad bacteria at bay. And that when that bad bacteria starts to overgrow, it can result in gas, bloating, feeling uncomfortable when you're eating. It can also increase cravings for starchy high sugar foods.

KRISTI: Yep.

TERESA: Does this sound familiar to any of the parents out there? All your kids want to eat is buttered noodles, mac and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, crackers or cereal.

KRISTI: Yep.

TERESA: I feel like that's like the picky eater diet.

Digestive acids are critical to break down protein

KRISTI: Yep. I would agree with you. In addition, when we're looking at that digestive system and it lacks acid, it makes it so much more difficult to digest meat. So a lot of kids out there don't want to eat meat. And that is one of the reasons why. Children need adequate digestive acid to digest and break down their meat or fish or eggs. You know, those great sources of protein. We need those kinds of foods in our diet because that's where our B vitamins come from. Those B vitamins are so critical for our nerves and our brain. In particular, B12 is important for energy.

TERESA: Yes. Children need digestive acids, sufficient digestive acids to break down meat, fish and eggs into amino acids, which are the building blocks for their brain chemicals. If they cannot digest meat or refuse to eat it, they don't make enough serotonin, the calming brain chemical and their anxiety levels can go up. Some children may even develop ARFID or Avoidant/Restricted Food Intake Disorder. Now this is a serious condition and it takes careful direction from a professional and support. It is a one step at a time situation. And it just takes a fair amount of time to help those bodies get rebalanced.

KRISTI: Well, when you think about it; so if our stomach's out of balance, what do you think the rest of our digestive tracts doing? It trickles down into the intestinal tract and that becomes imbalanced as well. So when this happens either as a kid or as an adult, that's where that picky eating really sets in. So not only are you not breaking down your meat and your fish and your eggs properly, you're also not absorbing those essential vitamins and minerals our bodies need. And that just leads to a whole host of deficiencies. So we talked about that B12, right? That's a really common deficiency that we see when people don't have enough stomach acid or on these antacids. It not only causes that lack of energy, but it also can lead to neuropathy. So for you guys that are not familiar with what neuropathy is, it is a disturbance in our nerves. You can see weakness, numbness, pain.

TERESA: Almost like in like sometimes people lose their coordination. Right?

KRISTI: Exactly. And they think something else is wrong and it really just stems from something as simple as not having enough stomach acid.

TERESA: Right.

KRISTI: So a child who's taking that acid blocking medication, they become deficient in number of nutrients as well as B12. So what do we see besides the B12 deficiency? You have that reduced ability to absorb calcium. So that stems back to what we were talking about earlier, how kids break their bones more easily when they're on these acid blockers.

It can also cause the inability to absorb iron. So if you've ever seen someone who's really pale, who's tired, who's fatigued, who can be irritable, that isn't your child actually acting out. It could just be the fact that they're low and iron. Magnesium’s also another one that's poorly absorbed in a less acidic environment. And it leads to things like muscle cramps, sleep problems. And like you mentioned, Teresa, that increased level of anxiety. All these deficiencies can stem back from one medication; from that acid blocker. And it just does a number on our body.

TERESA: Yeah. Stomach acid isn't the enemy. Is it?

KRISTI: Stomach acid is really important. And, you know, as I reflect back, I shared earlier that my daughter was on an acid reflux medication as a baby. I didn't know any differently. Now, knowing what I know, what would I have done differently? So I can think of two different places I would've started. So I was breastfeeding my daughter. So she was getting all of her nutrition from me. So I probably would've done some type of an elimination diet. I maybe would've removed gluten from my diet or I would've removed dairy from my diet to see if that would stop irritating her stomach lining and causing the reflux. The other thing I think I probably would've done was given her the powdered form of acidophilus. So acidophilus is a probiotic that is good for stomach health and it aids in digestion. And it also prevents that acid from leaking up into the esophagus and causing that burning feeling.

TERESA: Yeah. I think that it's, hindsight is 2020, right Kristi?

KRISTI: Exactly.

How can antibiotic use cause picky eating behavior?

TERESA: So that's what we're here for, for, for, for new moms that hopefully we can help them with their children if they're having this issue. Well, now let's change gears just a bit and get into the role antibiotics play in the development of picky eaters. We are not saying that antibiotics are bad because we all know that antibiotics have saved the lives of thousands and thousands of people. But the use of antibiotics may have a role in why some children become picky, eaters.

Antibiotics kill off bad bacteria that cause infection. This is good, but antibiotics can also destroy the good bacteria. And that may be the problem. Antibiotic use, whether prescribed to the child or the child was exposed to the antibiotics as a fetus or during delivery, or even through breast milk, can alter the gut microbiome enough to disrupt appetite and even elimination. So it can cause constipation or diarrhea. Often it can only take one exposure to antibiotics to change appetite. And, you know, as mothers, we all know that antibiotics can cause diarrhea or constipation. I mean, we see it in our kids' diapers, right? They're on an antibiotic and sure enough, there's a change, but most of us are not as aware of how antibiotics can affect appetite.

KRISTI: Right. We haven't made that correlation yet. Some of the connection to the antibiotics and that picky eating is just starting to be researched. We have known clinically though that there is a gut/brain connection and that antibiotics affect that type and that amount of gut bacteria we have. Well, okay. So what kind of bacteria do we want in our gut? We don't want the bad, right? We want the good.

TERESA: Let us know what it is.

KRISTI: There you go. So the beneficial bacteria that we’re talking about that we want in our gut is called the bifidobacterium and that resides in our intestinal tract. So guess what? If we're deficient in that bifidobacteria because it's been killed off by those antibiotics, you're going to, where you start craving things like sugar, processed carbs like crackers and cereal and bread. So have you ever noticed when your child has taken a round of antibiotics afterwards, look at the, what they're craving or what they're wanting to eat, you know, is their hand in the cookie jar? Are they sneaking that Halloween candy that they, you know, probably wouldn't have done before?

TERESA: I think you don't even have to look at your kids. You can just look at yourself. What happens after you've been sick and had antibiotics?

KRISTI: Exactly.

TERESA: Can you keep your hand out of the candy jar?

KRISTI: Exactly; easier said than done. You know what? I can completely relate of this. I, as a young kid got strep throat all of the time. Antibiotic after antibiotic, after antibiotic, and guess what? I was a picky eater and I drove my parents nuts. I would eat bologna sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and green beans dipped in ketchup. That was all I would eat. And now thinking that I became a dietitian after eating like that, I've come a long way. But it does. I, I think back now it was probably those antibiotics that were maybe controlling some of my picky eating.

TERESA: I mean, I'm sure. I'm sure. And then in defense of your parents, you know, we as parents, when we have picky eaters, our major concern is to make sure that our kids are eating, right? I mean, it's like…

KRISTI: And we don't care what they eat. We just want them to get food in their bodies.

TERESA: Right? Well, this is a good time to take a break then.

KRISTI: You are listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. Let me invite you to sign up for our Nutrition for Weight Loss program starting next Thursday, February 17^th. We will help you get off sugar and start eating real food. So you can feel better with more energy and feel a sense of wellbeing. If you have a question about the program, go online to weightandwellness.com to learn more, or give us a call at (651) 699-3438.

Nutrition 4 Weight Loss program

BREAK

TERESA: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. If you want to learn how to cook meat, especially grass-fed meat, join Marianne, our culinary nutrition educator on February 17th at noon to learn how to roast, braise and sauté grass fed meats. This is a Zoom class. The fee is only $25 and Marianne is an excellent teacher. You learn while you're being entertained. So if this class interests you call 651-699-3438 or go online at weightandwellness.com to sign up.

Cooking Classes

And, you know, I would say with picky eaters, one of the challenges we face is how to cook for them. We have exhausted every method or recipe we know. Perhaps taking this class with Marianne would be helpful in learning a new way to prepare meats. I know that with children, children in general, but especially children who struggle to eat meat; the picky eaters, it's very important to cook meats so that they are easier to chew and swallow. Tough overcooked meat is not going to help your child learn to eat meat. So join Marianne on the 17th and she'll show you multiple methods of cooking so that your proteins turn out delicious.

KRISTI: Before break, we were talking about how taking antibiotics can wipe out that good gut bacteria and for some reason that good gut bacteria, that bifidobacteria, when we don't have sufficient amounts of it in our gut, it causes those cravings. Like we were talking about, the sugary foods or those processed carbs. So it's really important to make sure we've got that good gut balance and good gut bacteria in order to ward off those cravings.

Probiotics help reduce cravings and picky eating behavior

TERESA: And with research, we are becoming more aware that your gut bacteria actually influences or controls the foods that you crave. So when I'm working with adults to help reduce those sugar cravings or bread cravings, I often suggest taking two to three capsules of Bifido Balance before each meal. If you take probiotics before each meal, usually in about three weeks, you'll have fewer cravings. An unhealthy mix of gut bugs can be one of the extreme, one of the causes, excuse me, for extremely picky eaters. So for children, what I recommend is taking a quarter teaspoon of Bifido Powder three to four times a day. So the Bifido Powder I would say is so easy for kids to take because it doesn't have any taste. If you mix it with a little bit of water, like we recommend is just throwing it in a little bit of liquid, or if you have a food, maybe that is has a liquid content to it.

So if you're doing maybe a yogurt or maybe even an apple sauce, if that type of a food, it'll mix right in. And it actually is slightly sweet. So even for the little littles, like an infant, you can dip your finger in the Bifido Powder and they'll lick it right off. And, and it's, it's very easy to give to kids. It's not, it doesn't have a bad flavor at all. In fact, my youngest, she used to just lick it off her hand. I would put a, like a quarter teaspoon on her hand and she'd just lick it right off.

KRISTI: That's a great idea.

TERESA: Yeah. So it's not, it's not a difficult one to take. So, like I said, I recommend for kids a quarter of teaspoon, three to four times a day, usually starting with one to two times a day and then working your way up.

KRISITI: Sure.

TERESA: And bifido bacteria, this is a probiotic that makes sense because bifido bacteria is the main probiotic that's found in breast milk. So when I'm working with a picky eater, I start with their history. We ask about how baby was delivered. Was it a vaginal delivery or a C-section? We ask if baby was breastfed because these things have an effect on how the microbiome is populated. We also ask about acid reflux medication and the frequency and duration of antibiotic use. So these things are important questions just to get an understanding of what might be going on with the digestive system, whether it be the stomach with the stomach acid or the intestines with the, the imbalance of those gut bugs.

KRISTI: Sure. You know, when a child's been on several rounds of antibiotics, like we talked about, there's often an overgrowth of that wrong type of gut bacteria or that bad bacteria, you know, that which resides in the gut. So when this happens, not only are you going to see those cravings that we've talked about, like the sugary foods and the bread and the crackers and the cereal, you're also setting up an environment where acid reflux can occur.

So when acid reflux and bad gut microbiome are both present, you get impaired digestion. I mean, there could be pain, there could be nausea, constipation, and diarrhea, just to name a few. The other thing you might notice: your child can feel full for an extended period of time and they just don't want to eat. You might see gagging. There might be certain textures that they're not wanting to, you know, try. Antibiotics can just really do a number on your gut and on what you're wanting to eat. So it can take some time to rebalance the digestive system so it's working properly. And so you can get those nutrients to be absorbed.

TERESA: Right. And when we talk about texture aversion, I mean, just think about real natural whole foods. Think about the texture of broccoli. You know, it has a very distinct texture.

KRISTI: Sure.

TERESA: Think about the texture of an orange. It has a very distinct texture, or if we're thinking about meat or all these other natural foods they're, and then if you think about the texture of bread and crackers and cereal and rice and all those things that are more readily accepted by picky eaters, the textures are very simple; that are usually accepted, are very simple, easy to chew. They practically melt in your mouth.

KRISITI: Yep.

TERESA: Whereas when we're thinking about those real foods, there's some, you know, there's, there's more to it. Like you think about chewing on a, a slice of orange, it's got like the, the feathers or whatever; you know what I mean.

KRISTI: Exactly; and the skin even.

TERESA: Yeah. Yep. And so it's, it, it can be really difficult for these kids when there are those texture aversions, and, and that's what we want to look into is how can we work at all angles of this in order to help these kids be able to eat a more nutrient dense diet, more variety of things in a way so that their bodies can grow in a healthy way. Cause really, I think that that's the ultimate goal of every parent is that we're so concerned about them not eating that were like, well, at least the chicken nuggets, at least it has some protein, you know, I mean we just sort of get desperate.

KRISTI: Yep.

Nutrient deficiencies can lead to anemia or iron deficiency

TERESA: So, you know, there are often nutrient deficiencies that can lead to the development of a picky eater or be the result of a picky eater. Anemia or even pre-anemia, which is just lower suboptimal iron status or low ferritin levels, which ferritin is a measure of how much iron is stored in the body. These low iron situations can lead to some very unusual cravings for kids; cravings for nonnutritive. Substance is basically nonfood items. Things like ice might be the most common thing that you'll find people that are low in iron wanting to chew on, chew on ice, but even things like chalk or dirt or starchy like substances. So think powdered laundry detergent; that kind of starchy nonfood kind of item. It it's a condition called Pica.

KRISTI: Yeah. I actually, as, as hard as that is to hear and wrap your head around that people would be eating things like laundry detergent or dirt, when I worked at WIC, I actually had a few pregnant women, and one child admit that they were eating dirt just because, not because they didn't have food. It was just because they were trying to satisfy that craving and their body was trying to tell them that they were iron deficient. They just didn't know it.

TERESA: Yeah. It's so interesting that the, I mean, cause it's hard to picture wanting to eat dirt or laundry detergent or something like that. Yeah. Other symptoms of anemia, maybe not quite that dramatic are just pale skin. Fatigue is so common. So if your child seems tired all the time, even after they've had a good night rest, it could be iron. Cold hands and feet, slowed growth and development, frequent infections, abnormally rapid breathing or even behavior problems. And I think Kristi, you had mentioned that earlier when you were talking about stomach acid and, and the ability to absorb iron into the body.

KRISTI: Right. Right. You just see a lot of times the kids I work with the parents will complain that they're irritable.

TERESA: Yeah. Yeah.

Signs of zinc deficiency

KRISTI: Even low zinc levels can lead to texture aversions.

TERESA: Sure.

KRISTI: You know, or it can cause gagging. This is where you may see cravings for those starchy snack foods as well. I know a common one that I see is people that want sweets after they've eaten a meal.

TERESA: Oh sure. Yeah.

KRISTI: That is a sign that they are zinc deficient. You may notice like in your older kids, if they have acne, that can be a zinc deficiency. Decreased appetite all along the board from young to old. When there is a zinc deficiency, your appetite is decreased a as well. And it's actually time for our third break. You're listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. We know having a picky eater in your house is very stressful. It often takes time and several appointments to help get the digestive system rebalanced so that your child's even willing to eat a variety of foods. We have the tools to help and would like to work with you and your child. Teresa and I are here for you. Give us a call so we can set up an appointment for you. Call 651-699-3438. Ask your questions. Feel free to even leave your name if you want one of us to call you back.

Nutrition Counseling

BREAK

TERESA: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. So today I want to share with you a success story. About a year ago, this February, I had a woman come to me who was in her mid-forties. And she came to me because she was looking to lose some weight. She had put on some weight during COVID, and she also wanted help because in her words was addicted to sugar and she couldn't stop thinking about sugar. She couldn't stop eating sugar. So she wanted help with that. She's had a history of, of dieting and she could lose weight, but then it would always come back. You know, she would stick with the diet for a while and then fall off. Not because of a personal shortcoming or a lack of willpower, but more because most diet plans are unsustainable or they just don't teach you how to live out in the real world.

So she was just really struggling with finding the, the right plan for her. And she came to us because she thought that we had a more balanced approach. Now this client of mine, she also, she resonated with me because she's also an all or nothing personality. And so like for her having just a little bit of sugar would just feed the desire for more sugar. It never really hit the spot. It just fueled that sugar fire. Right? So she and I really connected over that. And you know, besides having a weight loss goal and a desire to feel in control of her eating, she also mentioned that she had joint pain in her knees and feet. She had plantar fasciitis, which all of these things were making her feel much older than her, you know, mid-forties. And speaking of feeling older than her mid-forties, she also, her period was erratic.

And so she thought she was going through menopause and she just didn't want that to be the case for her yet. She also had some digestive complaints, you know, too many trips to the bathroom during the, during the day and having heartburn at night. So we, we talked about all these different things that she had been that well that had been bothering her. And we came up with a plan for her and she jumped right into the plan. Remember she's an all or nothing gal like me. So that style of just jumping in 100%, it fit her personality. And of course we don't expect that from all of our clients. We definitely can baby step with our other clients. But for her that jumping all the way in all at one time worked for her. The difference for her this time in that jumping into the plan was that the plan was tailored to her life.

She learned how to eat in balance. You know, that balance that we always talk about of eating protein, fats and carbohydrates and balance with one another. This helps her eliminate her sugar addiction. We also worked on supporting the health of her intestinal tract, which further supported her goal of eliminating sugar cravings. She also noticed more regular bowel function. Reducing the sugar in her diet and improving her gut health then in turn reduced her joint pain and her plantar fasciitis. Her period became regular again. And she didn't have that PMS that would accompany those irregular periods as it had in, in, in past cycles. And over this last year, she has lost 60 pounds.

KRISIT: Wow.

TERESA: Not by fat dieting and restricting, but becoming the person who makes everyday count and that eats in balance and, and honors her hunger and satiety cues and eats vegetables on a regular basis. She, she joined a CSA. I think she moved out and has like her own little hobby farm. She doesn't try to eat this way. It is who she is now. So I'm just so inspired by her. And I look forward to our monthly meetings and really, I think that was part of her success is that we met regularly. We were in contact regularly and it helped to keep her on track, but I was just support staff. She did all the work. So I just, I love, I love working with, with all of my clients, but it's just a fun story to share.

KRISTI: That's fun. Thanks for sharing that, Teresa. It's always so nice to hear those success stories and not just focused on the weight. I like how you talk too, about how you improved her PMS symptoms, how her joint pain went away. Food makes such a difference in how we feel overall.

TERESA: Yes, it does. And I think sometimes it's just, we don't think that the food will affect those things that are outside of our digestive system or our weight.

KRISTI: Right.

TERESA: Right. Because those things make sense. It makes sense that if you're having gas and bloating, that it would affect or food would affect that, or it makes sense that if, if you're gaining weight, well, food of course will affect that.

KRISTI: Sure.

TERESA: But when it's other things that are maybe harder to tie together.

KRISTI: Exactly. Like the PMS or the achy joints.

TERESA: Right. Plantar fasciitis. Yep. Yep. Exactly. Oh, great. Well, I suppose we should get back on topic, right, Kristi?

KRISTI: We probably should, since we’re talking about picky eaters today. Before break, we were talking about different deficiencies that we can see with those picky eaters, like an iron deficiency or a zinc deficiency and, and the associated symptoms that we'd see with those deficiencies. So I know Teresa alluded to, when we see an iron deficiency, you can see fatigue. You might have like a, a pale color to your skin. With that zinc, you know, we talked about craving those sweets after meals. Zinc can also cause us to lose our taste and our smell. So that's something else to keep in mind.

TERESA: Right. And when you can't taste or smell, what do you want to have?

KRISTI: Exactly.

TERESA: And I think a lot of people actually that might resonate with because of COVID and losing their sense of taste and smell.

KRISTI: Sure.

TERESA: And that you you're looking for something that has some taste. So you go for things that have intense flavors, which isn’t always intense flavors like, well, I guess maybe more, what I'm trying to say is you go more towards the super sweet foods.

KRISTI: Exactly.

TERESA: Cause you just want to taste something.

KRISTI: Right.

TERESA: And that, so like for kids, yeah, the hyper palatable processed foods are more desirable. Or maybe on the opposite end things that have less flavor, you know, things that are more like noodles and crackers and, and rice and, and just more bland flavors.

What are some iron and zinc sources?

KRISTI: Sure, sure. You know, just to share, if you guys are looking for iron sources out there and what can you be feeding your kids to make sure they are getting adequate amounts of iron? You're going to be looking a lot of times to your meat sources. So like beef, sardines, chicken, turkey, ham, salmon; those kinds of foods are really rich in iron and very important for our body to make sure we're, we're getting that iron we need. So we're not feeling fatigued and we're having more energy and we're not feeling irritable.

In terms of zinc, some good food sources for zinc, you're going to be looking at things like beef, oysters, the dark meat of poultry. So that's going to be things like your dark meat of your chicken, the dark meat of the turkey or the duck. Pork is another good source of zinc. Pumpkin seeds are a great source of zinc. So to think that people usually only have those maybe around Halloween time, something maybe to incorporate in your diet year round. Lentils are also a great source of zinc. And so are shiitake mushrooms.

TERESA: You know, I hear you get listing those foods. You can see how this would be a vicious cycle with picky eaters, right? Where the nutrients they need are found in some of the foods that are hardest for them to eat.

KRISTI: Right.

TERESA: Or to desire to eat. And so it's really challenging to get those types of foods into their diet. Yeah, so we really want to be able to support those kids in getting in, in getting foods in their diet. So how do we do that? We have to, you know, try lots of things, right? Lots of, you know, when I talked about taking the class with Marianne; experiment with new ways of cooking, even though you're probably exhausted with trying new recipes and, and things along that line. And speaking of recipes, maybe, maybe we should share just some of the recipes that we have found that some of, well that our kids like, and maybe some of the kids that we have worked with have enjoyed too that could be good sources of those nutrients.

Recipe ideas for kids

KRISTI: No, that's a great idea. I know a true, a tried and true recipe that my kids really like, and it's on the website. You can find it at weightandwellness.com. It is the beef stir fry. I recommend that a lot of times to my clients, especially clients that have kids. That is a huge hit at my house.

TERESA: Yeah. It's and is actually at my house too. I make that one quite a bit. One thing you can try too. So it does call for sirloin, which for picky eaters is a little bit harder to chew. So I would say, make sure you don't overcook your sirloin.

KRISTI: Yep.

TERESA: Or substitute in maybe a dark meat chicken and make it a chicken stir fry rather than a beef stir fry. So that, that, that meat is a little bit softer to chew. And that's what I found a lot with kids too, when I'm working in recipes, is that having it soft and easy to chew, so chicken legs or, or chicken thighs.

KRISTI: Yep.

TERESA: Ground meats, you know, whether it be burgers or within a recipe, you know, and that's tricky too, because with picky eaters, they don't like those combination foods a lot of times. Everything's separate, right? You need your separate meat, your separate, separate, separate, separate. Nothing can touch. It has to be all separate. So, and, and not every picky eater falls into those categories. And so that's really difficult for, for maneuvering those things.

Well, Kristy and I have other ideas for recipes for kids. The banana nut muffins work really well, the crockpot chicken legs and the wild rice meatballs. One of my clients coined it as, as porcupine meat balls, because they've got that wild rice in it. If your kids are picky, then just leave the wild rice out, maybe substitute in a regular rice. But our goal at Nutritional Weight and Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing. Thank you for joining us today and have a wonderful day.