Page 108 - April Issue

in focus: toddler | food & diet
foEeobnadiejttsoinaycgnaaecbnehsldueobprnteeeo,root
mother,bbaabbyy&&cchhiilldd AApprriill 22001111 with any dietary guidelines,
it is important to know if you
have any allergies and look for
alternative foods that contain
the same properties,” she
elaborates, adding, “It is also
important to investigate the
relationship between your taste-
buds and your brain power
so that eating super foods
becomes a pleasure rather than
a prescription.”
Get rid of foods that
increase inattention
Many studies associate sugar
consumption with symptoms
of restlessness and inattention.
If you want your child to be
able to concentrate better,
you have to limit their sugar
intake. In particular, you have to or tantrums, and almost half
limit their intake of processed
and refined sugar. Processed
and refined sugar refers to the
grocery white sugar; sugar that
are stripped of their mineral
108
content. They’re really nothing
more but sweet crystals. Today’s
diet is filled with processed
and refined sugar: chocolates,
commercial pastry, soda, junk
foods and even pasta. The
Food for the Brain Foundation
in the UK carried out the
largest ever children’s nutrition takeaway food. The best foods for
and diet survey undertaken
on over 10,000 British school
children aged between six to
16 years old over a year. They
compared aspects of their diet
with their behaviour, academic
performance, and overall
health. The survey revealed
the sad state of children’s diet
and mental health with more
than one in three suffering
from attention or concentration
problems and mood swings
having constant sugar cravings.
It showed that the best foods
for behaviour are fruit and
vegetables with high consumers
of both twice as likely to be well
behaved.
The worst foods are fried and/or
takeaway foods, processed food,
ready meals and sugar. A massive
44 per cent of children who
eat this type of junk food most
days suffer from bad behaviour,
compared with only 16 per cent
of children who never eat fried or
good academic performance are
dark green leafy vegetables, raw
nuts and seeds, oily fish and water.
The survey showed that children
who include these foods in their
diets have 11 per cent higher SAT
scores.
Why healthy eating for
children is so important
“The brain is 60 per cent fat,’
explains university professor and
director of Food for the Brain
Patrick Holford. ‘Children who eat
good fats, from raw nuts, seeds
and oily fish, double their chances
of high academic performance.
Children who eat damaged fats,
in fried food and takeaways, are
twice as badly behaved, as well
as performing badly at school.
In a sense these fats make your
brain thicker, less responsive, and
they appear to make children
thicker too.’ Despite its shocking
results the survey is good news,
says Lizzie Vann, whose company
Organix, sponsored the survey.
“It means we can actively improve
our children’s health, behaviour
and achievements by making small
changes to the food they eat.
If our children are not fed well,
every aspect of their lives from
health to how they are at school
suffers.’
CREDITS:
Devika Singh, Psychologist and Learning
Enrichment Specialist who facilitates the
Food4Thot Program at Dubai Herbal and
Treatment Center
04-3351200