Carb loading toddler page

[BigJilm]

Hi All,

My question is... if our genes aren't programmed to eat carbs, why does my 17 month old inhale the rice/pasta/potatoes he's given?

He used to love beef/pork/chicken and has always (and still does) loved his vegies. He's not so fussed on his chicken these days, and we hold back on the carb stuff until he's had a real go at the meat/vegies first.

Whats the beef?

As far as I'm aware, he doesn't run marathons.

[Gilleh]

Who said we're not programmed to eat carbs?
Give him fruits and tubers instead of rice and pasta
We're not programmed to eat poisonous foods yet I'm sure that if you give him a buck'load of candy he'd inhale that too

[Damiana]

Just because we're not programmed to eat something doesn't mean we won't eat it if it's available. If you give him a plate of brussel sprouts and a dish of ice cream, I think we both know which he'll choose.

[BigJilm]

Both good points. I guess I meant carb dense food. Yes, sugar would fall into that category as well I guess.

Im just asking a question. Why does my toddler prefer these foods?

[Gilleh]

Both good points. I guess I meant carb dense food. Yes, sugar would fall into that category as well I guess.

Im just asking a question. Why does my toddler prefer these foods?

Same reason why you prefer these foods -
Quick sources of energy.
And they're usually delicious

[Damiana]

Simple, bland, mild texture. Kids tend not to be terribly adventurous eaters, meat can be tougher to chew, and the texture not as pleasantly smooth mouthfeel as bland, simple carbs.

[Graycat]

Same reason why you prefer these foods -
Quick sources of energy.
And they're usually delicious

Rice and pasta are delicious? I beg to differ on that one. To me these are the blandest foods on Earth.

Children often go through phases when it comes to food. Like, a while back for some reason my son used to consume ungodly amounts of nasty, sour ketchup with any and every food for a while. It's almost as if their taste buds haven't fully developed yet. LOL!

[The Scientist]

The only thing we know for sure it that humans evolved mostly in the context of calorie shortage – the more you can get, the better. Since starches and sugar were rare, but also great sources of calories, we evolved a heightened taste for them.

On a more speculative note about why many prefer carbs at times: The fatty foods we eat now are not much different than fatty foods of the past: there is not much more fat any any modern food than there is in bone marrow, eggs, fatty meat, etc..., so when we eat fatty foods we can't really over-excite our taste response to them. With carbs, it is a different story. We have access to amounts of sugar and starch that no paleolithic individual ever would have, so when we eat them, there (for many people) is a highly positive response.

[specsAreGrok]

Just because we're not programmed to eat something doesn't mean we won't eat it if it's available. If you give him a plate of brussel sprouts and a dish of ice cream, I think we both know which he'll choose.

My toddler would tell you the ice cream was cold, throw it overboard, then proceed to devour the brussel sprouts (provided they are covered in olive oil and garlic).

With that said, as a previous poster pointed out, kids go through phases. some weeks my kid can't get enough tomatoes, other weeks he can't get enough chicken soup and wont touch a tomato.

[teach2183]

I agree with kids and phases. Kids are also growing at a very rapid rate and so their bodies can put the carbs to excellent use, even if they aren't running a marathon. Watching my 2.5yo though, I think he might come close to running the equivalent of a marathon for his little body every day. He doesn't stop moving while awake! We make sure to offer plenty of fruits and high carb veggies. We provide small portions of each item offered at lunch/dinner and allow seconds/thirds on whatever they choose.