Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition's Ask a Nutritionist podcast brought to you by nutritional weight and wellness.

I'm Christy Kalinsky, a registered and licensed dietitian.

We're thrilled to be celebrating 20 years on air discussing

the connection between what you eat and how you feel while sharing practical real-life solutions

for healthier living through balanced nutrition. Thank you for your support and listening over

the years. If you're enjoying the podcast you've been listening to, let us know by leaving a rating

or review on Apple, podcast, or Spotify. to, let us know by leaving a rating or review on Apple

Podcast or Spotify. Now, let's dive into today's question from one of our Dishing Up Nutrition

listeners. The question is, what can I feed my child or teen in order to make sure they're feeling

happy? So when I saw this question, it really spoke to me, partially because I'm a dietitian,

but also because I'm a mom. I have a 20-year-old daughter who's in college, and I have a 15-year-old

son who is in high school. So personally, I get the day-to-day struggles with kids and food.

I know they can cause so much friction and a lot of tension in the house.

And let's admit it, it's just not fun.

So I love working with kids and teens and their parents to help overcome some of these food challenges.

And let's look at this.

Here's where the struggle really starts. There are endless

amounts of processed foods out there, otherwise known as junk food. The big food companies out

there are very, very smart. They know how to make them taste really good. They put addictive

chemicals in there, sugars, you name it.

And what that does is it hits those pleasure centers in our brains,

and it makes us want to eat them over and over again.

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