Can Healthy Food Lead to Healthy Behavior for Your Child?

We all know on some level that what our child eats can effect how he acts. 

Excessive silliness or wild behavior is often explained away by telling ourselves they’ve just had too much sugar today.

And if we paid even closer attention to what our children eat, we may notice other foods that effect their behaviors and mood.

As more research is done in this area, experts are finding that many of the factors influencing behavior are effected by the ingredients in our kids’ food.

The American Psychological Association concluded that kids who are healthy eaters cope with stress and regulate their emotions better.

But what exactly does “healthy eating” mean?

Sure, we know things like kale and spinach, chia seeds, sweet potatoes and whole wheat pasta are good for our kids, but as moms, we need a realistic plan.

And for many of us, the struggle to get our kids to eat a plate full of greens is more of a battle than we have the time or energy to take on.

What Your Child Needs

Instead of looking at what foods are best so we can feel inadequate for not being able to get our kids to eat them, let’s look at what vitamins and minerals might influence not only a child’s physical health, but also his cognitive development.

Vitamin D: Helps with brain function and attention span, improves energy and mood, and help regulate sleep. Much of this comes from the sun if your kids are light-skinned, but it’s such an important one that finding it in foods is also a plus.

Vitamin B: Research has shown that kids who tested low for vitamin B also have increased behavioral problems and can struggle with learning.

Magnesium: This is a super important one if you have a particularly hyper or anxious child. Magnesium helps the brain by calming the central nervous system, which can reduce anxiety and improve attention span.

Omega-3 fatty acids: Yet another one that’s been show to have a positive impact on behavior due to the support it gives to a child’s growing brain.

Iron: Iron is especially important to brain development in toddlers, which is why you may find your doctor testing your baby’s iron levels. Sufficient iron levels are known to have a positive effect on your child’s mood, energy, and attention.

While it's good to look for foods high in these vitamins and minerals, don't be bamboozled by the box of Frosted Flakes that proudly proclaims "High in Vitamin D!" on the front of the box. They conveniently leave off the front that there's also 15 grams of sugar in each cup!

If you stick to a whole food diet as much as possible, and prepare meals using fresh ingredients rather than pulling them out of the freezer, you're likely headed in the right direction.

Because it's almost impossible to get all the nutrition from today's food sources and the reality of how fast our lives move, you can also look into a good whole food vitamin to supplement with.

What Your Child Doesn’t Need

There are some ingredients that are just universally known to be bad, so let’s start with those.

Artificial dyes: Specifically, avoid Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Red 40. These are all associated with hyperactivity, anxiety, and headaches, and have actually been banned in many countries.

Unfortunately, most processed foods in the United States continue to include them.

Sugar: We all know about this one, but it can be so tough to avoid, since there’s sugar in most everything, even “healthier” options like whole wheat bread.

The best way to avoid sugar is to eat more whole foods, and making the effort to do that is worth it.

A diet hight in processed foods, which always contain sugar, is related to depression, cognitive delays, and sleep disturbances.

Preservatives: Some of the more common preservatives are nitrates, nitrites, and sodium benzoate, but look at the ingredient label for the word “preservative” because they come under many different names.

Again, preservatives can be avoided by eating a diet rich in whole foods.

Preservatives are known to effect mood and behavior, including hyperactivity, and to cause headaches.

There are some foods that you’ll just have to experiment with. If you’re having issues with your child’s behavior that seem more significant than what’s normal for kids, and that appear inconsistently, start a food diary and look at whether allergies to certain foods may be triggering the behaviors in your child.

Dairy: Dairy is one of the most common food allergies that effects behavior in children. The allergy can manifest itself physically through fatigue, congestion and bloating.

Behaviorally, children with ADHD can become hyperactive after consuming dairy. Anxiety, irritability, depression, and an inability to concentrate are also reported behavioral effects of a dairy allergy.

Gluten: The physical symptoms of a gluten allergy are seen in the gut and can include difficulty with bowel movements or loose bowels, and change in weight.

Behavioral reactions include hyperactivity, irritability, and aggressiveness.

Soy and Corn: Both soy and corn are other common allergens to consider if your child’s behaviors seem erratic.

If you notice your child’s behavior triggered by something at times, and completely unaffected by the trigger at other times, consider whether her diet could be the trigger.

Try eliminating the above foods one at a time, and see if you notice differences in behavior.

Obviously, if you have concerns about your child’s behaviors, this list is a good starting point, but you should seek the advice of a medical expert. 

Doctors and other health practitioners often recommend staring with an elimination diet, so going in with this information could save you time and multiple visits.

Be Creative With the Good Stuff

You can sneak healthiness into your child’s food without her even knowing it.

Having a food processor is crucial here. 

Pureeing cauliflower and adding it to mashed potatoes or mac and cheese is easy and healthy, sweet potatoes and various vegetables can be pureed and added to pasta and pizza sauces, and pureed fruit makes a nice addition to pancakes and muffin recipes.

For more ideas and recipes, try Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food. 

Finally, a lot of healthy eating habits are simply that, habits.

If you keep fruits, vegetables, and minimally processed food around for snacks, that’s what your child will be used to eating and she won’t even miss all the bad stuff.

To get you started, try some of these 15 Healthy, Kid-Friendly After School Snacks.

That’s not to say you should deny your kids any ice cream, candy, or other “bad stuff.”

For most families, that’s just not realistic, and may lead to your child obsessing over having such foods when she gets older and can make more of her own choices.

But don’t use candy and other sweets as “rewards.”

Sell them to your kids as special treats you indulge in from time to time that are okay because of the healthy daily eating habits you’ve established.

You don't have to be "that parent" who has the undesirable reputation of denying her child a rich cake laden with butter cream frosting at her birthday party.

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