Eat Better, Act Better? Food as a Predictor of Behavior in Children

This week on The Inspiring Cook blog, we are fortunate to have a guest blogger help build the case for feeding our children more natural food.
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Most of us know if we eat healthy we’re more likely to be healthy. But how often do we relate what we eat to our behavior, and more importantly perhaps, the behavior of our children? In a talk I recently gave about nutrition I had used several examples of every day foods to bring my point home about what is really in the foods we are eating, that we may be unaware of. One of these foods was children’s breakfast cereal. A conventional brand listed sugar as the first ingredient, and therefore a main ingredient. Yet every parent knows that after eating sugar kids are likely to go off the deep end and become hyperactive and misbehave, followed by the sugar low that causes irritability. So why are we feeding our kids sugar first thing in the morning? Are we helping them to start their day on the wrong foot? Among other toxic and possibly disease causing ingredients, there were 3 different food dyes in this cereal. Food dyes have been linked to hyperactivity, reduced mental capacity and several forms of disease, including asthma and cancer.Reading the ingredients in this one food got me thinking more about the ever increasing incidence of ADD and ADHD in children, and the behavior problems that parents and teachers are so well aware of. Is it possible that by simply changing what we feed our children we can relieve and perhaps eliminate hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in children? Increasing evidence indicates the answer is “Yes”.

Guest Blogger: Carole Hoffman, CNDP, is a Holistic Health Practitioner. She may be reached at 919-303-5851, carole@carolehoffman.com, or visit her on line at www.achievingoptimumhealth.com