Sunday May 24, 2009
A learning diet
Postive Parenting by Assoc Prof Dr POH BEE KOON
Good nutrition provides your child with all the necessary tools he needs to learn about this world.
YOUR child is born to learn. He begins exploring the world very early in life. This is when immense learning takes place, and vital skills like speaking, reading, writing, and counting are acquired. What your child learns during this period is critical for laying a strong foundation, not only for formal schooling, but also for a lifetime of learning.
As parents, we often want our children to be excellent learners. Hence, the question, “What can we do to give our early learners a great learning experience?”
Like every parent, you provide your child with as much love, attention, and care as you can to enable him to have a wonderful learning experience. You teach your child about the world around him, and you show him how to get the most out of what he is learning at school and at home.
But in all of this, do you really take into account the fact that every step your child takes, whether it’s his first scribble on a piece of paper, or his first major exam, depends on how well his body is working? And for his body to function well, he needs to be well nourished.
With optimal nutrition, you can do a great deal to help your child’s learning abilities.
Supporting brain development
Your child’s learning potential is tremendous and this depends greatly on the development of his brain, especially in the early years of life. The brain is composed of a highly complex network of neurons. Thinking is a pattern of activity across this network and the messengers relaying those thoughts are neurotransmitters, which are made from, and directly affected by, what we eat. You can help your child’s brain development by providing him with good nutrition.
There are four specific kinds of fat (known as AA, DHA, EPA, and DGLA) which make up a major percentage of the brain, so deficiency of these can have huge repercussions on intelligence and behaviour. Studies have shown that supplementing DHA in infants can improve the speed of their thinking and other measures of mental performance. Essential fats remain important throughout life, so it’s never too late to boost your child’s level of essential fats. Besides that, iron is also important in several aspects of brain development, including neurotransmitter production.
Developing concentration
There are some children who can’t sit still, who fidget all the time and seem to have short attention span. In fact, “attention deficit” has become one of the most common problems afflicting today’s children. Being able to stay focused on a task is essential in maximising your child’s ability to learn, while raising his capability to make intelligent decisions.
Keeping an even blood sugar level is critical as it will affect your child’s ability to concentrate. If your child eats too much of the wrong kind of carbohydrates, such as sweets, his sugar levels will start to rollercoaster. When this happens, your child’s concentration can wander and any restless behaviour can get worse. Additionally, our blood sugar level can be very low overnight, and this is why it’s important that your child eats a nutritious, low glycaemic load breakfast every morning in order to maintain an even blood sugar level.
Ending sleep deprivation
School-aged children need something between nine and 12 hours of sleep at night. Without sufficient sleep, your child may have difficulties concentrating in class, feel moody and irritable, and in the long-term, even depressed. When it’s tired, the body also finds it harder to fend off infections. All of these can place a huge burden on your child’s learning.
You may have heard of the wonders of warm milk in sending your child off to dreamland. Do you know why it’s true? This is because dairy foods contain an amino acid called tryptophan, a sleep-promoting substance that can help ease your child’s sleep. Foods including poultry, bananas, oats, and honey contain this substance. It’s also true that carbohydrate-rich foods complement dairy foods by increasing the level of sleep-inducing tryptophan in the blood. However, do avoid foods that are high in sugar, since the sugar low that will follow may disturb your child’s sleep.
Beating the blues
Childhood is supposed to be a joyful time, but it doesn’t always seem to be that way and many children are no stranger to sadness, boredom, and anger, which could limit their opportunities to learn effectively and prevent them from reaching their full potential later. Ensuring your child is optimally nourished will not only improve his mood and ability to learn, it will also give him the energy and motivation to deal with life’s inevitable ups and downs.
Among nutrients, the most promising for improving mood are B vitamins and folic acid, zinc and magnesium, and the essential fats, especially omega-3s. Folic acid and the other B vitamins are involved in a biochemical process that is critical for balancing the neurotransmitters that keep your child motivated and happy, while zinc and magnesium help relax both the mind and muscles. Omega-3 fats on the other hand, appear to affect the neurotransmitter pathways in the brain. The better a child’s blood levels of omega-3 fats, the better his levels of serotonin (the “happy” transmitter) are likely to be.
Defending the immune system
Your child’s immune system plays an important role as the body’s defense system. It attacks foreign invaders and does its best to keep your little one free from disease. Studies reveal that healthy immune systems result in less sick days in children, thus keeping them fit to learn and explore, while allowing them to gain immense experience.
Proper nutrition is essential for your child’s immune system to work well. Your little one will receive his first immunity boost when he’s in the womb, and right after birth from breast milk, which is naturally rich in antibodies. You should continue to boost your child’s immunity by giving him a diet rich in antioxidant vitamins. Colourful fruits and vegetables of dark green, red, yellow, and orange are packed with antioxidants.
Food for thought
To support brain development, provide your child with essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fats from breast milk, sardines, tuna, anchovies, salmon, and flaxseeds.
To improve concentration, give your little one a nutritious, low glycaemic load breakfast before going to school. Examples include cereals, oats, fruits, nuts, seeds, wholegrain bread, and porridge.
To ensure a good night’s sleep, feed your child plenty of tryptophan-rich foods eg as breast milk, milk and cheese, fish, meats, poultry, and eggs.
To improve mood and behaviour, give foods rich in B vitamins and folic acid, zinc, magnesium and omega-3 fats such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, fruits, flaxseeds, and oily fish.
To ensure a healthy immune system, supply your child with foods high in antioxidants such as beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc eg broccoli, spinach, carrots, tomatoes, apricots, papaya, and sunflower seeds.
To learn more about how proper early nutrition can benefit your child, join us and our team of experts in a series of Positive Parenting Child Nutrition Seminars that will be held throughout Malaysia in the coming months. The upcoming seminar will be conducted in the Klang Valley on June 20, 2009. For more details, please call 03-5621 1408 or 03-5621 1691.
>This article is courtesy of Positive Parenting Nutrition Programme by the Malaysian Paediatric Association in collaboration with Nutrition Society of Malaysia, and supported by an educational grant from Abbott Nutrition International. For more information, please visit www.mypositiveparenting.org.
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