I’ve decided to make my first blog topic related to children’s nutrition as I am appalled by what some parents are feeding their kids and I think one of the most important roles we play as parents in a child’s life is that of a nutritionist.

Now I know that the reality of being a parent in today’s fast paced world, makes it difficult to spend a significant amount of time preparing elaborate meals. But there is definitely a way to provide balanced meals without spending hours in the kitchen. Happy Meals, Pizza, Soda, White Bread, Peanut Butter…the staples of a typical American child’s diet. However, just because a food is marketed towards children and approved by the FDA does not mean it’s good for them at any age. In researching a preschool for my daughter, I was also surprised by the poor quality of snacks at some child care centers, despite the fact that one of the items included during their inspections is the nutritional quality of their snacks. On the list at one center were potato chips, sugary drinks, cookies, fake “fruit” roll snacks…the list goes on and on. You’ll find by reading the labels of a lot of food products marketed to parents and children that refined sugars such as High Fructose Corn Syrup are primary ingredients. You’ll also see the continued presence of additives and preservatives such as artificial food dyes (Yellow #5, Red #40) in many of the foods made specifically for our children. So the question is how does that impact my child’s behavior?

Based on many of the articles I’ve read related to this topic and my own personal observation, it seems that hyperactivity in normal children, the increased prevalence of ADD and ADHD and the severity of various developmental disorders such as Autism correlate to what a child eats. There are studies supporting that artificial food coloring attributes to hyperactivity in children. They are also finding that gluten commonly found in wheat products and casien found in milk based products can increase the severity of speech delays and affect behavior in children with developmental disorders. Several resources supporting these findings are listed below:

Hyperactivity
In the recent study “Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial” by McCann D, Barrett A, Cooper A, Crumpler D, Dalen L, Grimshaw K, Kitchin E, Lok K, Porteous L, Prince E, Sonuga-Barke E, Warner JO, Stevenson J. Lancet, it was concluded that; “Artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population.”

Also, there is speculation that excessive amounts of High Fructose Corn Syrup cause behavioral problems in children, including hyperactivity and inability to focus as explored by the following websites:
PreschoolRock.com
BabyandKidAllergies.com

There is also scientific evidence that a diet high in High Fructose Corn Syrup can cause children to develop diabetes later in life as indicated in the article “Soda Warning? High Fructose Corn Syrup Linked to Diabetes, New Study Suggests”

ADD & ADHD
Michael Jacobson in his article, “ADHD & Diet: How Food Affects Mood” for Mothering Magazine, cites findings back in 1982 that indicate a link between food additives and hyperactivity and ADHD.

Autism & PDD
There are findings that reduction of gluten (found in wheat and grains) and casien (found in milk and milk products) in an autistic child’s diet causes an improvement of speech development and overall behavior. Visit AutismWeb.com for more information.

Poor diet in children is becoming an epidemic, resulting in not only behavioral problems but also an increase in physical ailments such as “adult” onset diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Children learn their eating habits from their parents. There is even a show on TLC called “Honey, We’re Killing the Kids”, which gives parents a glimpse of what their children will look like when they turn 40 if they continue the poor eating habits instilled at a young age (fried foods, fast food, sugary foods, etc…) in the hopes that they will scare the parents into feeding their children healthy foods. It’s just terrifying!

I think once parents have an awareness of the importance of what a child eats in regard to behavior and overall wellbeing and the role we have as parents in establishing good eating habits in our children, we may be able to successfully combat the health issues facing our children today. I would love to hear any feedback, stories, comments, and recommendations that you may have related to this topic so that we can continue this discussion. Also please contribute any tips you have for how you were able to get your children to eat healthy.

Thank you for reading!
-Tela

Also be sure to check out Feingold.org for more information about the Feingold Diet Program for ADHD.

Tags: add, adhd, autism, diet and behavior in children, feingold, food additives, healthy child, organic