Junk Food Diet Makes Children Badly Behaved
Diets high
in processed foods are causing bad behaviour and learning
difficulties in children, scientists have warned.
They claim
junk food stops the brain working properly, leading to
underachievement and a host of disorders. Such foods not only lack
the vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids that boost brain
power but actually reduce the body's uptake of nutrients that
improve concentration, a study has found.
Thousands
of children given medication to combat attention deficit disorder
might be better off simply improving their diet, according to the
research.
The Oxford
University study showed that giving children essential fats found in
fish and nuts could improve their brain power. Their ability to
learn was increased and their behaviour dramatically improved by
supplementing their diets with such fats.
Startling results
Startling
results in children who were underachieving and in some cases being
disruptive were recorded after just three months.
The study
involved more than 100 British children battling with physical
co-ordination problems. They were given daily supplements rich in
omega-3 essential fats that are vital for brain development but have
been reduced in the national diet over the last couple of decades.
In the
study, around 40 per cent of children given omega-3 supplements made
dramatic improvements in reading and spelling. There was also a
significant improvement in concentration and behaviour,
according to a report in this month's issue of the American journal
Pediatrics.
Researchers
were led by Dr Alexandra Richardson, from Oxford University's
department of physiology. "What
we've shown is that you can improve behaviour and learning with
these oils," she said.
"Food
affects behaviour. To ignore the role of nutrition is indefensible.
If you paid attention to diet you could really make a difference."
Patrick
Holford, who runs the Brain Bio Centre which tackles mental health
problems through nutrition, said:
"We're seeing outrageous imbalances in brain chemistry caused by
the kinds of foods that sadly millions of kids are eating, and
no one's doing anything about it. These kids are digging their own
graves with a knife and fork.
"We know some fats found in processed and fried foods should be
avoided. However, there are other fats that are essential and a
deficiency can negatively impact on a child's behaviour."
The study involved 117 children aged five to 12 in schools in County
Durham. The children were of normal ability but underachieving and
suspected of having dyspraxia, a condition that affects
co-ordination. It is thought to affect at least 5 per cent of
British pupils.
Even greater numbers have learning and behavioural disorders such as
dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Half the
children were given omega-3 essential fats capsules for three
months, while the remainder were given "dummy" treatment with
capsules of olive oil.
Making progress
Those on omega-3s made up to ten months' progress in reading in
three months, compared with those taking olive oil who made normal
progress.
When the children swapped treatments, there was a similar jump
forward for those transferred to omega-3s for the second three-month
period.
After three months on the supplements, half showed such improvement
they were no longer classified as having problems.
In some cases, children improved their reading age by up to four
years.
Dr Richardson, who is also co-director of the Food and Behaviour
Research charity, said unhealthy dietary fats can actually displace
the healthy fats in the brain. Known as trans fats, they are mostly
found in processed foods such as crisps, biscuits and cakes.
Jenny Hope, Daily Mail, May 3, 2005
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/womenfamily.html?in_article_id=347122&in_page_id=1799
Stephanie Thompson's comments
What a great
study. I have been working with nutritional psychology
(Nutrichology) for many years, and am grateful to researchers doing
work like this.
Also essential to
keep in mind, though, is that all of this applies to adults too.
The above article
tells only a tiny part of the story. There are many vitamins,
minerals, fats and amino acids which have substantial effects on
behaviour, mood, intellect and nervous system function. However,
increasingly it seems that fats are major players. A simple summary
might be:
If you are
interested in learning more, some of this nutritional information is
covered in the
Stress Inoculation course and
Stress Coaching.
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