Hello parents,
We know that an unbalanced diet can cause:
- Digestive problems
- Poor dental health and tooth decay
- Brittle bones and lack of energy
- Lowers levels of immunity
- Stunted growth
- Impaired cognitive development and shorten attention span
- Obesity
But did you know that, an unbalanced diet is also a big culprit in behavioural challenges and mood irritability?
An unbalanced diet includes too much or too little of the recommended food groups. Here at West, we hold the Canadian Food Guide as our standard, and encourage staff, families, and children to incorporate healthy choices provided by the food guide into meal preps.
If you are finding a change in your child’s mood or energy level, there are two areas which I would like to highlight to you in this blog:
Sugar and sugar substitutes
- Offer foods that don’t have added sugar or sugar substitutes. Limit refined sugars (sucrose, glucose-fructose, white sugar) honey, molasses, syrups, and brown sugar.
- Sugar substitutes, such as aspartame and sucralose, are much sweeter than sugar and have no nutritional value. They may lead to a habit of only liking sweet foods and make it difficult for your child to adjust to fruits and vegetables. It’s a good idea to limit them in your child’s diet.
Juice and water
- Serving fruit instead of fruit juice also adds healthy fibre to your child’s diet.
- Serve vegetables and fruit more often than fruit juice. Offer water when your child is thirsty, especially between meals and snacks. Limit juice to one serving (120 mL [4 oz.]) of 100% unsweetened juice a day.
- Sometimes children will drink too much at mealtime or between meals, making them feel full.
Nutrition is key for optimizing our children’s learning and development.
Until next time,
Mariam
Comments