Topic > The Importance of Protein Nutrition - 1374

To prevent kwashiorkor from developing, it is important to make sure you follow nutritional guidelines and have a balanced diet of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Kwashiorkor can be prevented most simply by ensuring that the baby eats enough protein after being weaned from breast milk (Rossouw 1989). Often, in third world countries, babies are weaned from breast milk and then placed on a corn-based diet that does not provide adequate amounts of protein-rich foods. The estimated average requirement (EAR) for protein is 0.66 grams protein/kg body weight. The EAR for protein increases during pregnancy, breastfeeding, the period of rapid growth, or recovery from serious illness, blood loss, and burns” (Schiff 2013). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that 10 to 35 percent of a person's daily calorie intake come from protein. Additionally, to prevent the development of kwashiorkor, children aged 1 to 3 years need to receive 5-20% of their energy from proteins, children aged 4 to 18 years need 10-30% of protein and adults 10-35%. protein. In other words, kwashiorkor is an avoidable disease that can be prevented if infants and children consume a