Back to School with Brainy Nutrition
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Check out what Dr. Sears has to say about healthy foods to start the day for our back to school children. If your like many of our Suzy Gal Pals nutrtion has taken a back seat to "fun in the sun and Pj's til 10". These tips may help you get your healthy groove back.
Back to School with Brainy Nutrition
BEGIN THE DAY WITH A BRAINY BREAKFAST
The brain, above all other organs, is affected, for better or worse, by what we eat. If a child starts school with junk food in the brain, you get back junk learning and junk behavior. It’s as simple as that! This is especially true when you break a fast. Unlike other organs, the brain does not store glucose. The child has just gone eight to ten hours without food and the reserve tank is nearly empty. Just as you wouldn’t drive your car to work on an empty tank, you shouldn’t drive the brain to school without premium fuel.
FOUR BENEFITS OF A BRAINY BREAKFAST
Here’s how a brainy breakfast helps break the epidemic we call NDD (Nutrition Deficit Disorder):
Breakfast eaters are smarter students. One of the best ways to prevent a teacher from labeling your child with a school-related D, such as ADD, is to begin the day with smart food. Breakfast builds smarter brains and helps concentration. Studies show that compared with breakfast-skippers and junk-food-breakfast-eaters, children who begin the day with a brainy breakfast enjoy:
higher grades
better attention and participation in class
higher learning and math scores
improved memory, especially on complex tasks
fewer "D's": ADD, ADHD, OCD and depression
Breakfast eaters are healthier students. Studies reveal that kids who begin the day with a brainy breakfast miss fewer days of school because of sickness. This is most likely due to their healthier immune systems. If you start the day off with a body and brain full of germ-fighting phytonutrients, you get sick less often. Makes sense!
Breakfast eaters tend to be leaner. Lean kids suffer fewer illnesses and sports injuries than do overweight children. By a biochemical quirk called front loading, kids who begin the day with adequate nutrition tend to need fewer calories the rest of the day. Breakfast-skippers or junk-breakfast-eaters, on the other hand, often compensate by overeating the rest of the day.
Breakfast eaters eat better all day. Studies also show that breakfast sets the nutritional habits for that day. Begin the day with a healthy breakfast and a “smart switch” seems to turn on prompting the child to crave healthy food throughout the day. Food researchers fed one group of kids a junk-food breakfast and another group a brainy breakfast. These two groups automatically chose either junk food or real food from the school lunch offerings according to what they ate for breakfast.
Back to School with Brainy Nutrition
BEGIN THE DAY WITH A BRAINY BREAKFAST
The brain, above all other organs, is affected, for better or worse, by what we eat. If a child starts school with junk food in the brain, you get back junk learning and junk behavior. It’s as simple as that! This is especially true when you break a fast. Unlike other organs, the brain does not store glucose. The child has just gone eight to ten hours without food and the reserve tank is nearly empty. Just as you wouldn’t drive your car to work on an empty tank, you shouldn’t drive the brain to school without premium fuel.
FOUR BENEFITS OF A BRAINY BREAKFAST
Here’s how a brainy breakfast helps break the epidemic we call NDD (Nutrition Deficit Disorder):
Breakfast eaters are smarter students. One of the best ways to prevent a teacher from labeling your child with a school-related D, such as ADD, is to begin the day with smart food. Breakfast builds smarter brains and helps concentration. Studies show that compared with breakfast-skippers and junk-food-breakfast-eaters, children who begin the day with a brainy breakfast enjoy:
higher grades
better attention and participation in class
higher learning and math scores
improved memory, especially on complex tasks
fewer "D's": ADD, ADHD, OCD and depression
Breakfast eaters are healthier students. Studies reveal that kids who begin the day with a brainy breakfast miss fewer days of school because of sickness. This is most likely due to their healthier immune systems. If you start the day off with a body and brain full of germ-fighting phytonutrients, you get sick less often. Makes sense!
Breakfast eaters tend to be leaner. Lean kids suffer fewer illnesses and sports injuries than do overweight children. By a biochemical quirk called front loading, kids who begin the day with adequate nutrition tend to need fewer calories the rest of the day. Breakfast-skippers or junk-breakfast-eaters, on the other hand, often compensate by overeating the rest of the day.
Breakfast eaters eat better all day. Studies also show that breakfast sets the nutritional habits for that day. Begin the day with a healthy breakfast and a “smart switch” seems to turn on prompting the child to crave healthy food throughout the day. Food researchers fed one group of kids a junk-food breakfast and another group a brainy breakfast. These two groups automatically chose either junk food or real food from the school lunch offerings according to what they ate for breakfast.
