What it Takes to Learn - What you feed you body feeds your brain and lets face it you may be giving your brain the lowest grade fuel possible. Just as any engine performs better on better fuel, your brain performs better on better food. What you put into your body governs how well your brain receives and processes information. If you need to advance in memory, learning or testing skills the first thing to consider is your diet. It may be easier to address the elephant in the room, and that being the foods you should not be eating and feeding your kids.
Foods That Help Kids Learn Better
by katiem2
There are many simple things anyone can do to speed up the learning process making it easier to get it quicker. Learn how to get smarter easier and faster.
Brain Food for Better Learning
The most vital component to learning and learning faster is memory.
You know those foods you rationalize won’t hurt, just a little and only if I eat it or feed to our kids from time to time? Yet, the only on occasion and from time to time is too much if what you desire is being smarter faster or at all for that matter.
You must memorize the information being brought to your attention. Attention that's another vital aspect of learning you must be able to focus attentively. Food can help or hinder the brain in this process. Junk food is never ever going to help the brain develop of function at it's best. There are a few key foods to eat before, during and after learning, studying and testing.
These three basic super memory foods are; cashew nuts, avocado, and beets. These three foods will have you fully focused, soaking up information and storing it with easy retrieval when you need it.
The Best Food for Smart Kids
The best thing you can do for your child is feed them healthy.
It will becomes far easier to do what’s right for our kids and best for their health and brain once we take an honest look at what we should NOT do!
Hyperactivity may be one of the biggest obstacles keeping children from reaching their intellectual peak if not the biggest.
The truth is food affects kids even more so as they maneuver the crucial once in a life time years of education.
It is up to those of us who love and care for them to help them to understand the positive and negative effects foods have on them helping to learn the best way to eat for their mental well being and over all brain health. Many foods make kids hyperactive, we all know this prevents them from focusing and learning.
10 Hyperactive Food Tendencies
Taking notice of hyperactive behavior is the first step to learning better faster.
First you must know if you or your child is hyperactive and if not which foods can make any person or child hyperactive. You know how you feel if you've had to much coffee, tea or caffeine in general, do you want that feeling for your child, in the classroom while trying to learn? Determine is you or your child is hyperactive by noting the following 10 hyperactive tendencies?
The 10 Hyperactive Tendencies
- Can’t sit still
- Can’t be quiet
- Learning difficulties
- Short attention span
- Moderate to Intensely aggressive
- Uncontrollable
- Disrespectful
- Trouble sleeping
- Power hand eye or motor coordination
- Disrupts the household, classroom or playground
Hyperactive Food Triggers
Paying attention to your diet, how you feel before and after you eat is key to learning food triggers.
Pay attention to you and or your child’s diet watching for signs of hyperactivity after eating any of the following foods.
Vegetables
- Cucumbers
- Pickles
Fruits
- Apples
- Apricots
- Blackberries
- Cherries
- Currants
- Grapes
- Nectarines
- Oranges
- Peaches
- Plums
- Prunes
- Raisins
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
While these are foods that are commonly thought to be healthy they are foods that can trigger hyperactivity.
Once you pay attention you may notice this occurring in your child.
This happens when children are sensitive to the aspirin like substance called salicylates. You will want to see what happens when you eliminate these foods from your child’s diet.
The Negative Reaction to Food Additives
Food additives found in the seemingly kid friendly foods have a negative impact on learning,
Food additives are other culprits which cause hyperactivity in adults and children making it very difficult for them to learn and enjoy the world around them. While each person has a different trigger flipping the switch of hyperactivity there is a list of trigger foods to watch for as they have been known to cause reactions.
Once you find the culprit eliminate it from your and or your child’s diet. I experienced a similar experience with both of my children and once we found the foods and cut them from our lives, their world was a much better place. My kids understand certain people have sensitivities and or allergies to certain foods and they need to stay away from them just as someone with a peanut allergy or the like. The affects are different but devastating in a different way.
Hyperactive Trigger Foods
Foods parents should avoid to prevent hyperactive kids.
The List of Trigger Foods
Breakfast Cereals with artificial colors or flavors and all instant breakfast preparations, the instant oats, microwave ready foods etc, etc.
Baked goods and mixes that are manufactured boxed and packaged such as cakes, cookies, pastries, sweet rolls or doughnuts, pies, breads and crackers.
Lunch meats such as ham, pork, bacon, sausage, salami, hot dogs and bologna.
Poultry including prepared stuffing, any barbecued or self basted poultry.
Note: It took us some trial and error but we learned that boxed stuffing, pastas and potatoes dishes made my youngest extremely ill as if she had came down with a terrible virus. Thankfully we've learned to stay away from these foods and she’s finally healthy and enjoying life. She’s great at reading labels. She has a major allergy to MSG and other food additives! Yikes, it so worth it to learn this!
Fish such as those with artificial dyes and flavors including frozen fillets.
There is a whole other list of foods and yet if you just consider the additives in products and buy all natural staying away from over processed and additive packed products the learning capacity of you and your family will be greatly improved and renewed.
Foods Kids Should Avoid
While these foods often have offending chemicals present you can easily choose those that don't by checking the labels.
Commonly Laden With Chemical *but available in all nature chemical free
- Ice creams
- Puddings
- Flavored yogurts
- Powdered breakfast drinks
- Diet soda
- Chocolate milk
- Quick mixes and powders
- Mustard's and ketchups
- Soy sauce
- Chili sauces
- Cider and wine vinegar
- Cloves
- Mint flavored items
How Artificial Flavorings Effect Kids
Artificial flavorings impact learning abilities tremendously.
All things artificially flavored are suspect and you should watch for signs of hyperactivity in your child. Thinking about the thousands of chemicals in our food it's not surprising we experience negative impacts on our learning abilities. There is no need to struggle the brain is a beautiful and complex organ which does brilliant things once given the proper fuel, the best fuel you can buy.
Updated: 07/04/2013, katiem2
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Chat about food that helps kids learn
Thanks 2uesday for the helpful addition.
Good stuff Katie, I agree with you good brain foods make a huge impact on our kidos.
It makes a huge difference with myself and my kids. Being in therapy after a brain injury I had to learn many things over again. I can tell such a big difference in my therapy sessions and intellectual challenges when I eat brain healthy foods.
As for my youngest she is like two entirely different people if she eats offending foods. I lean toward vegetarian diets with organic foods. Huge difference.
I need to pay more attention to this. I have never really done much with my son's diet but planned on that this year. Can't hurt. Great information.