Family Health
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
We know that growing bodies need the right type and amount of food to ensure they grow well but what about children’s minds? How does what we put into those growing bodies affect their growing minds and what about our brightest kids? How do we keep their highly active minds nourished? Our Gifted and Talented writer explains…. Children who are growing rapidly and developing brain function need regular nutritious meals to provide high levels of energy for optimal growth. Energy for the brain comes from digested food that releases sugars into the blood stream. High ability children think efficiently; however their busy brains use up greater amounts of glucose energy in the process, according to neuroscientist, John Geake. Developmentally advanced children need regular supplies of glucose energy to provide sufficient energy for the brain to fuel heightened cognitive performance. High performance racing cars need high octane fuel; likewise, high ability children need high energy stores to power their rapid and complex thinking. The brain has developed ways of checking and adjusting its own energy needs but requires access to greater amounts of glucose energy to keep the brain supplied. Cognitive energy levels are best maintained when nutritious foods are slowly digested to allow a gradual release of glucose into the blood, which is transported to the brain over time.
BREAKFAST – TO BREAK THE FAST Breakfast is a critical meal for all children. Their bodies have been deprived of food for hours during sleep and they need energy from a nutritious breakfast to provide the energy required to get them through the day. Students who rush out of the house without breakfast often suffer from headaches, dizziness, irritability, declines in concentration and reduced memory function around mid-morning. This is not conducive to optimal, sustained focus, memory function and academic performance. A breakfast which includes lean protein as well as complex carbohydrates allows the body to slowly release energy, enabling the brain to function at peak efficiency for an extended period.
STABLE BLOOD SUGAR IS KEY When gifted children experience depleted levels of blood sugar, they experience cravings for sugar and may develop borderline hypoglycaemia.
There is a tendency for them to crave sweet, sugary food to provide a quick increase in blood sugar levels. Sugary foods and simple carbohydrates provide a surge in blood sugar levels but these levels crash again as the glucose stores are used quickly, setting up a pattern of fluctuating blood sugar levels with associated emotional ‘meltdowns’ and cravings for another quick sugar ‘fix’, whereas low-glycaemic foods decrease cravings and increase attentional focus.
LITTLE AND OFTEN AND HEALTHY High-ability children who arrive home tired and irritable at the end of the school day may be suffering from depleted blood sugar levels following their concentrated efforts at school. Another nutritious snack is needed before sitting down to complete homework. Healthy snacks throughout the day provide a steady release of energy. To ensure sufficient energy for thinking, these snacks should include fruit, vegetables, wholegrain and protein foods rather than sweets, cakes, biscuits and sugary drinks.
WATER, WATER, WATER Fluid – preferably plain water, not high sugar or caffeinated drinks – throughout the day is critical to hydrate the body and provide the biochemical environment in which neurons synapse. A study at Yale University provided children with sugar, equivalent to the amount found in a soft drink, and found that adrenaline levels were increased more than five times their normal levels and this continued up to five hours after consuming the sugar. Water is essential as a lack of fluid will quickly lead to reduced brain function, irritability and headaches as well as placing stress upon kidneys, especially in hot weather. Psychiatrist, ADHD specialist, and author of “Making a Good Brain Great”, Dr Daniel Amen, describes good nutrition as “brain medicine”, highlighting the improvement in cognition, focus, memory, mood stability, behaviour and stamina achieved by eating well. He maintains that consuming the wrong foods leads to distractibility,
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Your Local Families Magazine April/May 2016