Home Remedies For Improving Appetite

Tips to Improve Appetite

• Get your child involved in choosing food in the shop – e.g. ‘Would you like oranges or mangoes?’
• Get creative and make meal and snack times fun! Cut bread into shapes, arrange carrots, tomatoes, etc to look like a face, offer healthy dips like yogurt for finger foods, fun, and lively placemats, crockery, cutlery, etc.
• Take your child on a fun outing to the source of food. Visit dairy farms, orchards, etc. While young children may not fully understand the concept, it may make them excited enough to try a new product or retry something they previously rejected.
• Fruit juice is healthy and 100% pure fruit juice is far better than flavored or artificial drinks. However, be aware that commercially prepared ‘natural’ fruit juices contain added fructose – or fruit sugars – and maybe just as harmful to the teeth as sugar. The high caloric value of commercial fruit juices also reduces your child’s appetite for food. The solution is to make the juices from fresh fruit at home and to offer them after meals rather than before. If you must use store-bought fruit juices, dilute at least 50% in water and remember the damage that can be done to teeth by a bottle or sippy cup being clung to all day!
• Make smoothies with fresh fruit, milk, or yogurt. Even frozen and canned fruit can be used if necessary. Children who dislike the texture of smoothies may enjoy popsicles made from the mixture.
• Adding boiled egg white to smoothies will increase the protein content but the taste is undetectable.
• Bran or oat muffins will often be regarded as “cake”, yet they are a good source of grains and fiber. Use them as a vehicle for fruit and vegetables by adding in bananas, carrots, blueberries, zucchini, etc.
• Fortify favorite foods with extra vegetables or fruit but try and be upfront about it if asked. You don’t want your child to find out later and then have a full-scale rebellion on your hands!
• Allow toddlers to feed themselves as much as possible with finger foods.
• Set a good example and young children will ultimately follow. Try to eat a well-balanced diet and eat together as a family. This is much more fun for toddlers than eating alone!
• FUN! Most importantly keep mealtimes and food fun. Too much pressure and emphasis on eating can have the opposite effect and can result in negative feelings toward food. Treats are great too – just not every day as substitutes for healthy eating. For older Children:
• Avoid turning meals into a power struggle – it usually doesn’t help and makes your child more resistant to eating.
• Try and stick to regular meal and snack times and try to eat at least one meal together as a family per day.
• Offer liquids such as juice (see above) after the meal rather than before or during the meal.
• Try to avoid junk foods as they are high in calories but have low nutritional value. Just one small nibble of junk food can completely destroy the appetite of a picky eater!
• Use peanut butter (about 100 calories/tablespoon) as a spread or topping.
• Speak to your child and try to establish likes and dislikes. We all have preferences and allowing some choice helps children to feel more in control of their diet.
• Avoid eating in front of the television. Family meals in front of the TV on occasion will do no harm. However, eating regularly in front of the TV is distracting and often results in picky eaters eating less. Finally a word of encouragement! Remember that, while we all worry about what our children eat, they are usually taking in more than we give them credit for. Many children who ‘never’ seem to eat maintain normal growth patterns when plotted on a growth chart and are healthy and full of energy. However, if you are at all concerned about your child’s weight or growth, please be sure to consult your healthcare practitioner.

Home Remedies For Improving Appetite

1. Eating Blackberries (Jamun) regularly helps in improving Appetite.
2. Drinking Coriander (Dania) juice mixed with water regularly helps in improving Appetite.
3. Taking Carom seeds (Ajwain ) and Black salt with hot water, helps in improving Appetite.
4. Californian Raisin (Munakka), Salt, and black pepper (kali Mirch) taken together with hot water help to improve Appetite.
5. Eating a piece of Ginger before meals helps in improving Appetite.
6. Eating Raw Cucumber (Kheera), Raw radish (Muli), and Raw white Onion, all are helpful in improving Appetite.
7. Eating Tomato, Amaranth, Bitter gourd ((karela), and Fenugreek (Methi) regularly, helps in improving Appetite.
8. Drinking Tamarind (Imli) water mixed with Salt and Black pepper (kali mirch) helps in improving Appetite.
9. Eating Ber (Zizyphus) fruit regularly helps in improving Appetite.
10. Eating Oranges with Black salt helps in improve Appetite.
11. Drinking sour tasted Apple juice with Sugar Candy (Mishri) for a few days, helps to improve Appetite.
12. Sugar cane (Ganna) juice with Honey, Lemon juice, and a pinch of Clove (Laung) powder taken together, helps to improve Appetite.
13. Sweet Neem (Curry patta), Garlic can be used regularly in cooking, which helps to improve Appetite.
14. Lemon juice mixed with Ginger juice and Salt taken with water helps to improve Appetite.

Author: Dr Izharul Hasan

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