What are nutrients and what do they do? How to answer kid’s “why?” questions around food

As parents, understanding the nutrients in food can help us not only in our confidence of providing a nourishing diet to our family, but also be a pretty fun way to bring discussion around food at the table without the morality of saying it is ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Kids love to ask “why?”, so if we can feed that curiosity (pun intended) we can create an environment where food is fun and interesting – rather than something that they are feeling forced to swallow. Understanding nutrients can help give us confidence at the table to start talking differently about food: what colour is it? Does it squish or crunch? Does it float or sink? Is it warm or cold? Did you know it helps our muscles grow or help our eyes see!?

Beyond this, getting all the nutrients and variety into your family meals can feel stressful at times – especially if you have a couple of family members that throw plates on the floor or can spot a speck of green a mile away! Just know that it is all about progress: perfection rarely exist in family food.

Here is a list of the most well-researched nutrient groups, what they do, where they are found, and some of the ways to eat them!

To begin, we have our macronutrients.

These are carbohydrates, protein, fats and alcohol (though this last one isn’t relevant to our kiddie population!). We rarely eat just one macronutrient on their own, as even a higher carbohydrate food (like bread) has some protein in it. Ultimately, we eat food, not nutrients, so there’s always going to be a mix. But broadly, for our kids:

Carbohydrates are a source of energy that help bodies grow and will fuel all their adventures.
Protein helps support growth and also build and repair the body.
Fats help us absorb and store some vitamins, create hormones and provide energy.

Then we go into the micronutrients, which includes vitamins (both water-soluble and fat-soluble) and minerals. These all have important roles to play as well:

The water-soluble vitamins are not stored in the body. Rather, the body absorbs the vitamins it needs from food and excretes the rest. This means that a steady daily intake provides the body with necessary access to the vitamins:

Thiamine helps convert nutrients to energy and can be found in wholegrains, meat and fish.
Riboflavin helps support energy and cell function, found in eggs and milk.
Niacin helps create energy from food and is found in meat, salmon, leafy greens and beans.
Pantothenic acid is involved in creating fatty acids and is in mushrooms, tuna and avocado.
Pyridoxine helps release energy, support immune function and make red blood cells. It can be found in beef, fish, potatoes and other starchy vegetables.
Biotin is a big part of our metabolism (usage) of carbohydrate, protein and fats. It is in eggs, almonds green leafy veg and sweet potatoes.
Folate helps with cell division, and is in fortified breads and cereals, beans, leafy greens.
B12 helps with brain function and making red blood cells, and is in shellfish, fish and meat
Vitamin C helps with energy and is important for collagen, which keeps your skin healthy and helps your body move (tendons/ligaments). This is in fruits, berries and veggies.

The fat-soluble vitamins are stored in the body’s fatty tissue, ready to be used when the body needs them:

Vitamin A helps with vision and organ functioning. This is in carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, capsicum, fish and dairy.
Vitamin D supports immune function and bone strength. It is obtained from sunlight, oily fish, milk, even sunbaked mushrooms.
Vitamin E is important for immune function and helps protect cells, it is found in nuts and seeds.
Vitamin K helps blood to clot (wound healing) and bone health. This is in soybeans, pumpkin and leafy greens.

Minerals are chemical elements that are necessary for body function. While there are many, here are the key ones:

Calcium is for bone and teeth health, plus muscle function. It is in dairy, leafy greens and broccoli.
Phosphorus is for bone and cell structure, and can be found in dairy, meat and soy
Magnesium is very important to lots of body functions! It is in nuts, grains and green leafy veggies.
Sodium helps fluid balance and hydration. It is in cured meats, bread, grains and canned foods.
Potassium helps with hydration and muscle function, and can be found in fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, meat and fish.

How you prepare and cook your foods can impact the nutrients, but if you are aiming for a variety of foods, you won’t need to stress this too much. However, if you are concerned that you may not be getting enough, here is a range of prep methods to help when choosing next:

Blending

It doesn’t extract or remove nutrients but rather grinds them up to include fibre and all. It can be a great way to add in a range of nutrients that may be tough to get otherwise – things like extra veggie serves, or healthy fats from nuts and seeds.

Juicing

This process extracts the nutrients and water from foods, but also removes the fibre. This makes it easy to digest and access nutrients, but it is important to remember that without the fibre it can lead to spikes in blood glucose due to the speed of digestion. It will also mean that a lot of energy can be consumed without much fullness factor or ability to increase the amount of protein.

Cooking

Cooking can both increase or decrease the availability of many nutrients. For example:

Protein in cooked eggs is more digestible than raw egg.
Slow roasting tomatoes will protect some of the Vitamin C while also increasing our absorption of the antioxidant lycopene.
Cooking carrots may reduce Vitamin C, but it will help us absorb the Vitamin A
Omega-3 fatty acids are preserved better by poaching fish compared to frying.
Boiling reduces the Vitamin C content of food more than other cooking methods. As Vitamin C is water soluble and sensitive to heat, it not only reduces but also ends up in the water! However, because a lot of the water-soluble vitamins are lost in water, repurposing the water into a stock or in gravies is a great way to recapture the value.
B-Vitamins can be lost in grilling meat as the juice drips off (another great gravy option). The longer cooking times associated with roasting can also breakdown the B-Vitamins.
Vitamin C is well protected in the roasting and baking processes.
The convenience that comes with microwaving makes this such a good option. The shortened cooking times preserve some of the nutrients: it is better for keeping Vitamin C in veggies compared to boiling.
Saute or stir-fry is a great way to prepare food and the short burst of heat plus low use of water reduces nutrient

If that all seems a lot to remember, here are some main takeaways to maximise nutrients overall:

Mix it up by serving some raw and some cooked foods simultaneously.
Repurpose the juices and fluids left over from cooking meats and veggies.
Keep the peel on the veggies where possible (bring back jacket potatoes!).
Cook veggies by stir-frying, microwaving or using minimal water – and avoid overcooking them!

Perhaps now, when we get the usual “why?” question, we can answer with all the great things food does for our body!

Author:

Alicia Edge is an Advanced Sports Dietitian that focuses on performance and well-being. She is using her extensive knowledge to help others, whether it is baby led feeding, everyday wellness, or high-performance athleticism with teams like The Matildas.

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