In spite of the importance of food as a necessity for the growth of our children and building their bodies, they may be exposed to many risks if it does not conform to the rules and conditions of health.

There are kinds of food that expose our children to risks. We will mention the following:

• Extremely salty foods: Such as pickles and salty fish; eating such kinds of food excessively puts children at risk of mouth inflammation and indigestion.

• Spicy foods, such as pepper, chili and the like: Eating these directly or added to food can cause severe pain in the stomach, constipation and digestive troubles, particularly for children.

• Extremely hard foods like nuts e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, and dry bread, and so on: All of which expose both children and adults to severe pain in the mouth and teeth, and harm them particularly when the nutshells are to be crushed directly by the teeth.

• Extremely sugary foods, such as all kinds of sweets and chocolate which our children like, since such foods in particular expose children to risks. Eating too many sweets and chocolates harms the mouth and teeth, particularly if the child does not brush his teeth regularly with toothpaste, and this also leads to obesity with its well-known accompanying diseases.

• Extremely cold foods like all kinds of iced food: Eating these kinds often, particularly in summer, exposes our children to mouth inflammation and indigestion.

• Foods like meat, fish and some kinds of vegetables and canned food: These need to be well-cooked before they are eaten and can be harmful if children eat them before they are well cooked and properly prepared. Eating such food could expose them to indigestion and other digestive problems.

Moreover, our children might be exposed to digestive problems because of the inconsistency of the kinds of food taken together, which might have conflicting properties, like combining extremely cold foods and extremely hot foods, extremely spicy and salty foods and extremely sugary foods.

To what extent would the quantity of food given to your children expose them to risk?

It is a well-known fact that too much of anything can be harmful. This means that food, though very important for the growth of our children, should be given to them in suitable quantity and benefit in accordance with the child's age. If the quantity of food exceeds the limits of what is needed by the child's body, it may lead to:

• Troubled and inefficient digestion.
• Poor digestion.
• Obesity and overweight, and their accompanying heart diseases as well as hypertension.
• Lethargy and heaviness of the body, which results in the slow metabolism and weakness of the heart.

But if the quantity of food given to the child is less than what his body needs, it would lead to weakness, being underweight and anemia.

In order to ensure balanced growth, man needs a variety of nutritionally balanced elements in his daily meals.

The following are the basic nutritional elements necessary for normal body growth:

• Proteins: They are basic in building the living cells in the body. Proteins are found in meat, fish, milk and dairy products, some grains such as beans and lentils.
• Carbohydrates: They provide the body with energy, and help, to some extent, in building some cells. Carbohydrates are found in all kinds of bread and cakes, potatoes, sugar, honey, jam, and so on.
• Fats: They provide the body with energy and contribute in building and constituting most cells. Fats exist in butter, cream, ghee, all kinds of olives and so on.
• Minerals: They form a major part of the substance of bones and teeth, and help regulate the functions in the body, like calcium, iron, phosphorus, iodine, and so on.
• Vitamins: They are an important factor in the processes of growth and living activity in the body, like vitamins A, B, C, D and so on.

Both minerals and vitamins exist abundantly in all kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables.
If food does not contain all the previously mentioned nutritional elements proportionately human beings -- whether young or old -- would be exposed to a lot of disorders and diseases because of poor nourishment.