Diets for Teenage Girls

Hips grow broader, curves take their shape and your figure changes to resemble a woman's shape, making you think that you are putting on weight. But these are the normal changes that teenage girls go through. As these changes in your body coincide with a time when you get image conscious, it adds to your confusion. To avoid extremes changes in your diet and to supplement your body with essential nutrients, you need to follow a proper healthy diet. As the teenage world oscillates between extremes of losing weight by imitating celebrities and fighting obesity after falling prey to junk food, here's a diet for teenage girls to help you understand your food and body better.

Healthy Carbs
Carbohydrates are fuel for the body. They kick start your body for an action packed day. So if you are practicing those tiresome moves for cheer leading, then a high carb breakfast is what you need. Complex carbohydrates provide your body with gradual flow of energy for the entire day. Whole grain breads, brown rice, muesli, bran, whole wheat pasta, vegetables, fruits and cereals are excellent sources of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are an important part of diets for teenage girls.

Power Proteins
Proteins are a crucial component of every part of your body. Your hair and nails are made up of protein. The wear and tear of your body all through the day is rebuilt by your protein intake. This is why they are popularly known as amino acids or building blocks of your body. Thus, diets for teenage girls must include lean meats, fish, eggs, beans, broccoli, cheese and spinach. As your body is still in its growing phase, supplementing it with proteins is extremely important. These are excellent sources of this essential nutrients.

Crucial Calcium
Majority of women suffer from osteoporosis as they grow old. To avert such disorders in the future, it is important that you pay close attention to your diet in your teenage years. Calcium helps in building strong bones, which last a lifetime. Intake of calcium in your teenage and adolescent years is responsible for building 45% of your bone mass. So, make sure you drink at least a glass of milk everyday. Milk, yogurt, dark-green vegetables, cheese, sesame seeds, tofu, cabbage, canned non-boneless salmon and sardines, and cottage cheese are best sources of dietary calcium.

Filling Fiber
Teenage brings on serious weight issues for many. If you are fighting weight gain, then consider changing your diet to a high fiber one. Instead of depriving yourself of food when you need it the most for a hectic day, switch to eating food that is rich in fiber. This kind of food has lesser calories, but provides you with adequate energy to pull through the day. As it gives you a feeling of being full very quickly, it prevents you from overeating. Whole-grain breads, cereals, apples, oranges, bananas, berries, prunes, pears, green peas, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, split peas, soy, lentils and nuts are good sources of dietary fiber.

Important Iron
Iron is an important mineral which helps red blood cells in your body. It assists the cells in carrying oxygen through your body for generating energy. With a huge section of teenage girls being victims of anemia, close attention needs to be paid to the right intake of iron. Girls who've started menstruating need to have a higher intake of iron to prevent any form of iron deficiency. Good sources of iron are red meat, eggs, poultry, fish, legumes, beans, fortified cereals and every dark green leafy vegetable. To maintain right levels of iron content in your body, consume a lot of vitamin C as well, for it improves absorption of iron.

As a teenager you may not think twice about munching on a burger. However, doing it too often reduces the absorption of essential nutrients and adds to unnecessary fats. Although watching what you eat is necessary to maintain a healthy body, it is also important to exercise. Lack of physical activity makes your body lethargic and inflexible. It retards your metabolism rate and makes you look dull. Thus, a right combination of diets for teenage girls and exercise is the key to a fit body.