The Importance of Nutrition on Healthy Brain Development

            Every day at 11:30, my students excitedly line up and head to the cafeteria to receive their lunches. They become less excited when they find that their lunch includes brown noodles, brown rice, or brown bread- quite different than the foods they like to eat at home in most cases. Therefore, every day at 12:00, I watch my students throw most of those brown foods into the garbage can.

            What the students fail to understand, however, is that those brown noodles, brown rice, and brown bread made with wheat and whole grains are healthier alternatives to the white variations that are loaded with carbohydrates and starches. They also fail to understand how crucial those more nutritious alternatives are to healthy brain development in this optimal growth period of their lives. From pregnancy throughout childhood, nutritional decisions are laying the foundation for the development of cognitive, motor, and socio-emotional skills the child will rely on for the remainder of their life (Dewey & Prado, 2014).

            So, how do we educate these children, as well as the families that are feeding them at home, on the importance of making healthier choices? After all, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 allowed the USDA to improve the nutritional level of foods that schools are serving for breakfast and lunch (whitehouse.gov, 2010). So the brown foods are to be served whether those eating the lunches like it or not. As educators, it is our job to teach each child holistically. We need to consider incorporating lessons on proper nutrition into the classroom as often as possible. We need to stop using junk food like candy as rewards. Mypyramid.gov provides resources for educators incorporating the value of nutrition into their instruction.

            To those parents, educators, or anyone interested, here are several resources (provided by The National Association for the Education of Young Children) to explore the topic and initiate change:

·      Alliance for a Healthier Generation-www.clintonfoundation.org/cf-pgm-hs-hk-home.htm

·      American Heart Association-www.americanheart.org

·      Fit Source- www2.nccic.org/fitsource/

·      KidsHealth for Parents- www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/pyramid.html

·      MyPyramid.gov- www.mypyramid.gov

References

Prado, E., & Dewey, K. (2014). Nutrition and brain development in early life.  Nutrition Reviews, 72(4), 267-284. Retrieved November 5, 2015, from     http://nutritionreviews.oxfordjournals.org/content/72/4/267.full

Resources for encouraging good nutrition and physical fitness. (2006). Young          Children. Retrieved November 5, 2015, from

 https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200605/ResourcesBTJ.pdf

Child nutrition reauthorization healthy, hunger-free kids act

of 2010. (2010). Retrieved November 5, 2015, from

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/Child_Nutrition_Fact_Sheet_12_10         _10.pdf