Sophie Nicklaus: "You must expose your children up to 10 times to a new food before giving up"

How to make sure that children eat well and grow healthy? This is the big question asked by parents and food experts around the world when putting a plate of food for the little ones.

To answer this question and many other questions arising from this real daily dilemma, Infobae consulted the French culinary expert, the doctor Sophie Nicklaus, Research Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute of the Center for Taste and Food Sciences (CSGA) of Dijon, France.

The specialist who develops his work from paradigm shift on how to feed young children so that they can choose healthy meals throughout their lives, first stressed the importance of taking advantage of the existing window of opportunity between 6 months and two years of childrenwhen they are more receptive to integrating new healthy foods.

"We have studied a lot the first 1000 days of life, which range from conception to two years, and its importance in the normal development of people.For the first six months, the ideal is to provide exclusively bad milk From there, it is recommended to extend it at least throughout the year, by adding other foods, but this supplement is not always composed of healthy foods, even if it is the time when the child defines his future palate and constitutes his eating habitsNicklaus explained.

"Among our results, we were able to show the importance of food at the stage of 6 months to 2 years. opportunity to train children to enjoy healthy foods. This is the time when children become familiar with food and have the memory of the senses to create a food repertoire, "said Dr. Nicklaus, first winner of the Danone International Prize for Food (DIPA) and to organize two colloquia on feeding at an early age.

For the doctor, the food is made up of four elements: nutrition, because that is the basic function; pleasuresince everyone chooses what he likes and appreciates; socializationbecause it is common to share food with friends or at work; e identitybecause our food choices define who we are, for example, religious or cultural issues.

One of the conclusions of his studies is that younger people learn to Enjoy the food through the first experiences of taste, appearance, texture and flavor, socialize during meals and develop positive attitudes towards food.

"The age of the child will determine how many times it should be exposed to a new food before throwing it away. If it is less than 3 years old, 5 or 6 times is usually enough. If it's an older person, you can try up to 10 times; The important thing, says Dr. Nicklaus, is not to give up the first trials. "

He added: "You must make the child familiar, recognize and not be afraid of food. It also depends on the physiology of each child: if he agrees, a positive reinforcement occurs. However, if there is a problem, for example if it causes stomach upset, a negative effect is generated and the child will no longer want to eat it, as it does. is the case in adults. This is called dietary aversion. "

In addition, he stressed the importance of keeping in mind that when a child ingests a food for the first time, it generates an immunological reaction, the body recognizes this food and learns to tolerate it of your digestive and immune system. Thus, the child begins to develop a natural immunological tolerance to food.

In his daily work in the field of nutrition, Nicklaus said: "I am not a nutritionist, I am a food specialist, and child psychology is very important to develop this complex topic in my team. of 20 people. (10 permanent and 10 employees) in the Department of Human Food I lead, I have two specialists: one in child psychology and another in cognitive psychology to understand the implicit mechanisms in the choice of foods to understand what children want to eat. "

How are boys feeding today?

"The difference that exists today in big cities, is that children live in an environment rich in food, something that has never happened before, before it". there is less food available, "said the expert.

And he specified that It is difficult for children to choose a healthy food. It's also for parents, but parents have the opportunity to do it. Children and parents are constantly bombarded by advertisements for totally unhealthy products. And it's a very tempting advertisement.

"In France, junk food vending machines are banned in schools and colleges. Parents must also be vigilant, not only to fall into the trap of advertising for unhealthy foods, but also limit the exposure time of minors to this type of advertising on television and on the internet. You must also avoid taking them to the supermarketbecause they are also encouraged to buy certain products, placed in easily accessible places to be able to take them. Mothers should collaborate with researchers and public health agencies to educate their children so that they can themselves choose healthy products and thus educate healthy food consumers, "said the specialist. .

In addition to restrictions, parents can work positively in the face of food. "It is the parents' responsibility to help them feel good about eating healthy meals., especially fruits and vegetables.

You must also offer them this type of food and give them an example by showing them that you can enjoy them. Exposing them early, being a model of the habit of eating them and not forcing them to eat what they do not want, are also concepts that the researcher has highlighted. It is important that everything is relaxed, that consumption is natural and not a daily war, "said Nicklaus.

"You can eat ice cream when you finish broccoli" is a phrase that is usually heard on Argentine tables. Nicklaus however stressed that it is important that ice cream or junk food are not conditional rewardsbut it is better to give them the vegetables to taste and enjoy unconditionally.

"Having a negative experience with a food, like being forced to eat it, can be counterproductive. it is therefore badociated with ice cream as "good" and vegetables as "bad". Although in the short term it can be effective, it will end up being worse, "Nicklaus said.

Asked about how to fight the obesity pandemic, Nicklaus said the best option is to educate children to eat healthy and to maintain this habit in the long run to avoid being overweight.

"Once obesity is installed, it is difficult to fight against it. In addition, we must take into account the sustainability of food. In France, for example, there is a tendency to reduce the consumption of red meat, because of the harmful effects it generates on the environment and greenhouse gases ".

Ten tips from Dr. Nicklaus to encourage kids to taste healthy foods

1. That the child is accustomed to eating healthy from the beginning, at the end of the lactation period.

2. Getting the child to eat well: Eating with family and friends will help the child badociate healthy eating with enjoyable moments.

3. Give the example: show her that healthy food is delicious by eating it and commenting on how tasty it is. The child is likely to follow his example.

4. Let him try new things: from 8 months, the child can go from mashed potatoes to food cut into pieces. If the child wishes, let him taste by touching him and discovering his lumpy texture before the food enters the mouth.

5. Do not give in to the first obstacle: if the child refuses a new food, keep trying. It is likely that the food will eventually like it. It is recommended that you make about ten attempts until the child accepts a new food.

6. Encourage experimentation: the more a child eats a meal, the more he will like it. It tastes different tastes, essences and textures. The ideal goal is to try at least 6 types of vegetables and 6 types of fruits.

7. That they decide how much to eat: pay attention to when the child is showing signs of satiety. Continuing to feed even if the child is not hungry can make you eat too much and be overweight.

8. Celebrations: In the case of older children, look for healthy foods to badociate with the pleasure of serving healthy meals at birthday parties and other celebrations.

9. That children involve them. Ask older children to collaborate on food preparation and cooking, commenting on interesting facts such as, for example, the origin of the food.

10. Make sure they have healthy food at their fingertips: healthy foods are available, available every day and are the natural food choice. If it is possible that they are the only option.