4 Mom-Tested Rules for Nourishing Young Minds
What children eat—and when—can play a role in better grades.
Doing well at school isn’t just about paying attention in class, taking good notes, and studying hard. There are many other factors that affect how children perform at school, including how much sleep they are getting, their attitude about learning, and even what they are eating.
We already know kids’ nutrition can affect their bodies, but did you also know that what kids eat also affects their brains? In studies that look at the relationship between nutrition and learning, students who eat a nutritious breakfast and eat healthy throughout the day had an academic advantage.
Children who eat healthy meals throughout the day:
- Have increased energy throughout the day
- Have greater attention abilities
- Display fewer emotional and behavioural disturbances
- Have increased memory
- Demonstrate greater creativity
- Have fewer school absences
Don’t Just Nourish The Body—Nourish The Brain!
Here are Oxford Learning’s 4 Rules for Nourishing Students’ Brains:
1. Eat Breakfast.
Studies show that children who eat breakfast do better in school than those who do not. Eating a healthy breakfast consisting of food that supports the brain helps children be more alert for the entire day. They also perform better in reading, math, and problem solving. If your family too rushed for breakfast, grab an apple, a banana, and some trail mix for a healthy meal to go.
2. Don’t Skip Lunch.
A lunch bag packed with healthy foods that nourish the brain as well as the body helps students pay better attention and have improved information retention. Skipping lunch denies the body glucose, a sugar that gives energy to the brain.
Simple carbohydrates like sugar, flours, and juices can all affect the body the same way: they provide a temporary boost followed by a crash. That’s why it’s important to choose whole grains, fruits, veggies, and other foods with a minimum of refined sugar to provide sustained brain nourishment for the whole school day.
3. Eat the Right Foods.
The more natural and fresh the food is, the better students’ brains can focus on learning. That means foods such as berries, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, dairy, beans, and fruits.
Super food — food with a proven link to brain nourishment, should be high on the list. Not only do the right foods keep the body happy, they keep the brain performing optimally.
Find a great list of super foods for kids here.
4. Avoid the Wrong Foods.
If certain foods can promote better thinking and learning, then it stands to reason that other foods can detract from it. Often, it’s not food itself that causes problems, but what is ADDED to the food. Added sugars and food colourings are linked to behavioural problems in children, and diets that are too high in fats and sugars can have a detrimental effect on behaviour — particularly behaviours that can prevent children focusing in class.
Consider eating right not just as a habit necessary for physical health, but as a habit critical to school success. Providing healthy fresh foods for all meals throughout the day means that children will begin their mornings on the right foot and have improved mental performance all day long.
An apple a day not only keeps the doctor away—it keeps the bad grades away too!
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