NUTRITION AND YOUR CHILD'S LEARNING ABILITY

It is well known that poor diet during childhood can have a lasting affect on their body and mind.  Unfortunately, the role that nutrition plays is not always understood and therefore many time it is ignored by parents and teachers.  There seems to be a direct link between high saturated fat intake and mental performance.  Many popular food items served at school cafeterias (hamburgers, chicken nuggets, pizza, French fries, etc.) can actually lower a student's ability to stay awake, concentrate and focus on what is being taught.  Studies also show that students who had consistently low protein intake scored lower on achievement tests than their peers.  Also, students with chronic iron deficiency were more likely to suffer from ADHD.  All of these children were found to be more prone to infections and illnesses, causing them to miss school and fall behind in their studies.

Children are increasingly being exposed to a wide variety of food and drinks that could cause cavities.  These foods and drinks contain sugars and acids that break down or demineralize the enamel of teeth.  This demineralization could ultimately become cavities.  Water is the best beverage to drink since its pH is 7 or neutral.  All other beverages have a lower pH which means they have the ability to breakdown the enamel.  Enamel starts deteriorating at pH 5.5.  Orange juice's pH is 3.6, apple juice has a pH of 3.5, ice tea has a pH of 3.0, and many regular sodas and diet sodas have a pH of 2.7, and some sport drinks have a pH as low as 2.3  Fresh fruits are healthy, however, too much at certain times can be detrimental to the health of your teeth.  Tomatoes have a pH of around 4.0, apples have a pH of 3.7, strawberries' pH is around 3.5, and oranges have a pH of around 3.3. It is important that parents limit the number and frequency of acidic foods and drinks.  Discourage holding drinks in the mouth and recommend the use of straws.

It is estimated that in the United States, one out of three children is overweight.  However, both overweight and underweight children are considered malnourished.  Malnourished also means that children are lacking the proper nutrients.  Therefore, even though American children may have a great amount of calorie intake, they may not be receiving the essential vitamins, nutrients, and minerals.  Children who are lacking these nutrients are reported to have more problems with health, academic learning, and psychosocial behavior.  Malnutrition can lead to long-term neural issues in the brain which in turn can impact a child's emotional responses, reactions to stress, and their ability to learn.  Unhealthy foods have been proven not only to affect the ability to learn, research also shows that a poor diet also affects a child's attitude and behavior in and out of school.

You think that the bottled water and the sports drinks that your children are drinking should be healthy.  They may not be too healthy for  your children's teeth.  Many of them have the potential of enamel erosion due to the pH (acidic) levels. Erosion of the enamel starts at pH 5.5.  Some of the sports drinks that are considered extremely erosive are Gatorade Orange (3.3), Gatorade Lemon-Lime (3.1), PowerAde Orange (2.75), PowerAde Zero Orange (2.93), and many others.  Those drinks that are considered mildly erosive are Dasani Lemon (3.0), Gatorade Rain Lime (3.19), Propel Berry (3.0),  Sobe Life Water Blackberry Grape (3.15), Skinny Water Acai Fruit Punch (3.81), and Vitamin Water Essential Orange (3.23). Most plain bottled water has a pH of around 7.0 which is obvious the better choice. 

American Dental Association