Focus Foods
Specific Food, Nutrient & Lifestyle Recommendations for Kids & Adults by Rosemary Fotheringham, FNTP, FDN-P | photography by M. Rickard
Hey, Buddy! It’s been a weird year. On top of everything else, the return back to school has been anything from just bumpy--to utterly chaotic--for most families. Besides confronting the disruption to normal family schedules, you’re likely to have experienced issues with getting the technology to work, taking the extra time to stand in as teacher, and finding the emotional energy to support your children with their feelings of uncertainty while you’re dealing with your own! That’s a lot of frustration and anxiety to deal with right now, and can only compound difficulties with attention and focus. Some attention issues are already prevalent in most children, and you may be observing that they seem to be heightened in an online school environment.
Other common triggers and environmental conditions that can negatively impact focus in both kids and adults can include working in a distracting environment, having anxious thoughts and feelings, not taking frequent breaks and time for outdoor play, and getting insufficient or restless sleep. Of course, you want to help your kids who struggle to focus, but you’re busy and stressed, too! Not to worry: I’ve got you covered with some simple, practical tips for foods and nutrients that can help support mental focus in both your kids and yourself, plus some tips on how to remove some of the most common contributors that negatively affect focus.
There can be several different causes of hyperactivity and difficulty with focus. Nutrient deficiency, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the body are a few of these.
13 | TAYLORED LIVING | Fall 2020
