Welcome to teenage nutrition! A place to come for sensible, evidence-based information designed to help teens address food-related change. Whether that change is needed to treat medical conditions with food-related symptoms; the need or desire to improve health or to support change alongside other therapies, when eating itself has become difficult. As a Registered Dietitian and Paediatric Specialist, Carine brings 25 years of clinical experience and a wealth of nutritional knowledge, offering patient-centred care and expertise in nutritional assessment and dietary treatment for gastrointestinal problems and disordered eating in her Cambridge-based clinics. Dedicated solely to teens, this site is the on-line sibling to Paediatric Nutrition, a site for infants and young children, both of which aim to support wellbeing with nutrition education. The focus here is for teens, food for thought is about food choice, self-nourishment and understanding the body (and mind) as it relates to eating and nutrition – it’s about meeting teenagers where they are at. See further information about Carine’s profile.
How Carine works
Carine uses dietary assessment methods, which provide a detailed and holistic approach to assessing individual nutritional status. This is the first step in collecting the relevant and unique information about a young person’s nutritional story. This approach provides a way to identify nutritional gaps and specific needs, preferences and limitations and is the first step to looking at potential dietary causes of symptoms. Individual/family engagement is necessary to get the best out of tailored dietary treatment, with options and plans going forward being discussed during a first appointment following the dietary assessment. Carine’s aim is always to offer treatment that optimises nutritional wellbeing, support growth and food-related learning whilst boosting the gut, mind and immune system.
Changing Food Behaviour
Changing food behaviour is a lot harder than you might think, and in today’s commercially focused world, we think about, grow, distribute, eat, share and experience food in some very different ways to generations past. Growing up in the 21st century means information is everywhere, change is rapid and past traditions may seem invisible or unimportant. Young people today are exposed to information from the wider food culture and increasingly experience pressures and difficulties relating to food choice. I have three teenagers of my own and know very well the challenges they bring to food choice! The food for thought section of this site contains lots of great information about nutrition, food choice, the influence of food on mood and the gut-brain axis as well as disordered eating. Please remember that the information here is not individual advice, rather, it is intended as a general source of information, to help you make decisions about seeking further help.