Super food is even more needed in those teenage years, says Naturopath Jeremy Hill.

Apart from some increased energy needs and a greater demand at times for specific nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium, to support muscle and skeletal growth and development, the dietary demands for the average adolescent are not too different from those of the average adult. Unfortunately, the average adolescent's diet tends to be worse than everyone else's.

At an age where expectations can be high and extra levels of academic, physical and personal responsibility are placed on these rapidly morphing individuals, their tendency to experiment and rebel can lead to some less than ideal life directing choices.

Life does just happen - but to make it a great one, a bit more planning and plenty of hard work are required. Adolescence tends to be complicated by high pressure situations such as school and university exams, learning to drive, first jobs and developing a rampant social life. So the last thing a finely tuned machine such as the teenage human body needs when in such situations is to be fed rubbish, and yet that is exactly what so many teens seem to be doing.

Ideally, they would be feeding their hungry bodies and minds well each day by downing meals such as a plate of fresh, pan fried salmon, with basil, cracked pepper and a drizzle of lemon juice, with a side of broccoli, red cabbage, mushrooms and black beans, sauted in olive oil garlic and ginger, served with a few sweet potato wedges rolled in turmeric, baked and covered with a good dollop of natural yoghurt, later to be followed with a refreshing cup of green tea... Instead, so many inform me they will often just grab a burger and chips on the run, with a thick shake or soft drink.

Despite the "2 fruit and 5 veg" public nutrition education program having been the most successful of its kind in Australia, many adults and children will still go days without eating either. The invincible feeling that comes with the hormonally charged teenage years can leave you forgetting to look after yourself and thus failing to get the most out of now, let alone preventing looming future health problems. Osteoporosis is a good example of the window of opportunity closing - the best days for laying down quality doses of calcium from dairy, nuts, seeds and vegetables rapidly disappear as the teenage skeleton begins to reach maturity.

So, for those teens who are keen to step up to what is probably the most important role you will ever have - feeding yourselves well - congratulations! You will be smarter, happier and healthier for such a responsible decision. Let's make sure you do it right.

For starters, you should aim to include a wide variety of healthy food choices from a diverse range of meats, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. This approach goes a long way towards meeting your nutritional needs, while keeping life interesting with a wide variety of colours, flavours and textures.

For an age group who often try so hard to be different, it is important to recognise that good health does not require fanaticism. You don't have to go on a raw food diet (cooking increases disease-fighting antioxidant levels), or give up meats (terrific sources of many fatigue-fighting nutrients and protein for muscle development) to be healthy.

With diabetes running rampant throughout Australians these days and the diagnosis being made at an increasingly younger age, it is also well worth your while to eat preventatively, nice and early.

Get to know a bit about the Glycemic Index rating system which indicates whether a carbohydrate-based food is likely to have a damaging effect upon your blood sugar level. Based upon glucose which is given a reading of 100, the GI scale allows you to make choices between foods such as white potato with a GI of 88 and sweet potato with a healthy GI of 44.

So, for those who are used to pulling on the feedbag at "Mum's Diner" or ducking into one of the many quality take-out joints that have sprung up for your convenience, learning to cook may seem a little daunting. But even the most time pressed, kitchenphobe can get by with an impressive and delicious variety simply by mastering a very small handful of recipes. I personally love stir fries and curries and can cook them a thousand different nutritious ways.

So for the busy teens who are now starting to feed themselves, start putting together a shopping list full of nutritional star performers and get ready to prepare three good meals a day. A diet full of Super Foods will take you a lot further than fast foods on so many levels.

Good Health, Jeremy Hill.

Jeremy Hill (Diploma of Natural Therapy) is a Qualified Naturopath.