26th July 2017 1:00
By Blue Tutors
Unlike many areas of child development and learning, when it comes to the effect of nutrition there is now a firmly universal agreement based on a substantial body of evidence from rigours longitudinal studies (research that follows participants over a long period of time): better food makes for better learning. Much in the same way that the average height of human beings has increased dramatically over the past century, so has the average IQ (a measure of our intelligence). The former is regularly attributed to out much better diet and the availability of food no longer limiting early development, so is this also true for our brains?
This makes some intuitive sense, given that our bodies and therefore brains quite literally are what we eat. The material you put into your body is what provides the building blocks for growing and repairing tissues as well as providing the energy to run this enormous biological factory. It follows therefore that feeding your body and mind with the different food types it needs to provide energy as well as build new cells and new brain connections will give a much better chance of taking in and storing more information in a rapidly growing brain. The story, however, is more interesting and nuanced than this, with the type and timing of food producing a dramatic change in factors such as behaviour and memory recall, all of which impact long term measurable educational outcomes.
There has now been a direct link established between availability of essential nutrients and the growth of the frontal lobes, the part of the brain used for cognition and executive function. That means good nutrition has a direct effect on how good we are at problem solving, planning, strategizing and our concentration. Good diet also improves our interpersonal skills and ability to adapt and be positive in social interactions. This linked to the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is released when complex carbohydrates maintain a good blood sugar level. Equally, better physical heath linked to better diet leads to lower absences, another factor that we know affects progress.
Poor diet on the other hand, namely a lack of key nutrients, has been shown to negatively affect behaviour by changing the balance of hormones. This manifests as ‘antisocial behaviour’, meaning malnourished children have poorer self-control and are more disruptive, agitated and likely to misbehave. Malnutrition has also been linked with a higher incidence of mood disorders like depression. Such behaviour in school in the best case leads to missing out on content during class and at its worst leads to exclusion for disrupting the learning of others. The highs and lows from consuming refined sugars aggravate these and have long been associated with poor behaviour.
So what are the key things to ensure are in a child’s balanced diet. There is already a lot of advice on what constituted a balanced diet, including daily recommended amounts of vitamins and minerals. In terms of learning, protein, iodine and iron consumption have all be directly linked with children’s’ educational progress through improved cognitive function. Thiamine, vitamin E, zinc and vitamin B on the other hand measurable affect concentration. Carbohydrates, that is to say the balance of complex and simple sugars, affects broader performance through improved perception, intuition, and reasoning. There have even been smaller studies that indicate improved performance through specific foods, including blueberries or smelling the essential oils in rosemary.