Guest Post
Childhood is a critical time for brain development, so it’s important that your kids are eating the right foods. Include the following five foods in your child’s diet so that she or he can reach optimal brain health and have the best chance to become the next Einstein.
Apples
An apple a day really does keep the doctor away. Apples contain an important antioxidant called quercetin, which protects the brain cells from free radicals. Most of an apple’s quercetin is found in its skin, so don’t peel it. Studies also show that drinking apple juice three times a week improves memory and lowers the frequency of negative moods. Be sure to have a cup of apple juice on hand the next time your child throws a temper tantrum!
Eggs
Eggs are full of brain-enhancing nutrients such as protein, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and vitamin E. The yolk is especially important because it contains lecithin, which is believed to improve memory and concentration.
Blueberries
Research has shown that blueberries greatly improve your memory and brain performance. Packed with antioxidants and vitamins, these little blue wonders are also great for heart health and preventing cancer and Alzeheimer’s disease.
Yogurt
What’s not to love about yogurt? It comes in convenient little cups, multiple flavors, and it’s rich in calcium, which improves nerve functioning. Yogurt also has an amino acid that is key to the production of dopamine, a hormone that increases memory and mental alertness. Many brands of yogurt are high in sugar, so if you don’t want your kids bouncing off the walls, buy plain yogurt and add a little vanilla extract along with some brain-boosting blueberries.
Chocolate
Chocolate is great for brain development, but don’t go stacking up on Hershey bars just yet. It’s dark chocolate that you want, not the highly-processed milk chocolate they try to tempt you with at the checkout stand. Purchase chocolate with a high percentage of cacao, which enhances mood and increases concentration.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of brain foods, but these five are definitely the top contenders. Other brain foods include avocados, salmon, spinach, and believe it or not, Concord grape juice! Include these other foods with the top five listed above, and your child’s brain will be tough as nails and equally sharp.
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Good to know. I had no idea about the chocolate. Great tips. Thank you.
Thank you for the information. I am glad we have been giving our kids a balanced diet that includes at least 3 of the items mentioned daily except the chocolate, which is given as a treat once a week.
Those are good for all of us, but especially for kids. I believe they should eat healthy also. Today is hard to trust the food from supermarkets, so if those products will be bio, that would be perfect.
I agree that giving children the right kind of snacks and a good breakfast is what a child not only needs to grow but need to engize there brain good blog thanks
This was very helpful! Our youngest son gets really sluggish with sugar, so we try to keep him balanced with proteins. He doesn’t enjoy eggs, so he eats more meats & nuts.
Love this list, it’s all things my kids gobble up!
My kids love apples and my son just started eating blueberries this year!
WOW! I never knew that these foods can help maximize our child’s brain development! my daughter loves apple, yogurt, eggs and chocolates! thanks for this very helpful information 🙂