Fat and Protein for Teens

Hello everyone! Nicole here. Happy Equinox and beginning of Fall! As Co-founder Sarah welcomes her newest addition, baby Mac, to the Ladybird Provisions® family, my household welcomes a college student!  While the last couple blog posts focused on new mommas, this one will touch on the importance of beneficial fats and proteins for growing teens’ brains and bodies.

Coffee Bombs® and Dry Bombs® were specifically created to be used for all ages. We wanted to make sure everyone could benefit from healthy fats and protein by dropping a Bomb in their beverage of choice. My son has been using Coffee Bombs for years, adding one in warm almond milk in the evening to help with sleep (he prefers Happy Cacao for a hot cocoa like beverage), and in his morning smoothie or tea for a boost of fats and protein before he starts his day. 

As teens are growing and undergoing puberty, their bodies require more energy and nutrients to support this growth and development. With this growth spurt, it is likely that their appetite will significantly increase. In fact, from ages 13-18 you could see a jump in caloric needs from roughly 2,000 a day to more than 3,100, and if you have an athletic teen, they could require up to 6,000 calories per day! And guess what, according to the Institute of Medicine, teenagers should consume 25 to 35 percent of their daily calories from fats. Examples of healthy fats include coconut oil (fun fact:  coconut oil is also high in medium chain triglycerides which the brain uses as fuel), oily fish such as salmon, trout, sardines, and cod, hummus, avocados, olives, butter, nuts, seeds and nut butters.

Protein is also essential to help build, repair and maintain muscle mass in teenagers. According to “Today’s Dietitian,” young athletes need about 0.45 to 0.68 gram per pound of body weight each day. That means a 150-pound teen athlete needs 68 to 102 grams of protein each day. Athletes can get all the protein they need from high-protein foods, such as lean meats, bone broths, seafood, poultry, eggs, legumes, tofu, nuts, seeds and nut butters.

Making sure growing kids are getting adequate sleep, a healthy breakfast and staying hydrated has been shown to help academic performance by improving cognitive function and boosting mood as well. 

Sliding into college like...At Ladybird we are trying to help get those much-needed fats and proteins in your growing teen as quickly and easily as possible. If you have a picky eater that doesn’t love breakfast, you can try dropping a Bomb in a warm beverage of choice (Coffee Bombs have around 12g of fat and 4g of protein and pair nicely with most warm milks or herbal teas). This gives your teen the energy he or she needs to get through the morning while simultaneously fueling their brain. Coffee Bombs and Dry Bombs can also be added to smoothies for added protein and mind/body-fueling fats.

 

Coffee Bombs and Dry Bombs can also be a great addition to a calming nighttime routine that aids in the much higher sleep needs of teens. Both the National Sleep Foundation and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine agree that teens need between 8 and 10 hours of sleep per night, but a recent study showed roughly 45% of American teens do not even get 8 hours. That’s a lot of grumpy tired kids out there! Try dropping a Vanilla Cinnamon Coffee Bomb in some warm milk of choice about an hour before bedtime to calm the brain and body and load it up on the fats and proteins needed for a good night’s rest.