How Does My Childs Lunch Affect His CMT Scores

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• How Does My Childs Lunch Affect His CMT Scores?
• FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION FOR IMPROVED ACADEMIC
  PERFORMANCE
• Vicki Kobliner MS RD
• 150 Danbury Road
• Wilton,CT 06897
• 203 834-9949
• vicki_at_holcarenutrition.com
• www.holcarenutrition.com

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• What is Functional Nutrition?
• Determining and correcting underlying imbalances
  in nutritional status
• Using nutrition to optimize health and
  performance

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Back to Basics

• What do our children need for optimal health and
  function?
• What are they not getting enough of?
• What are they getting too much of?
• What can we do as parents and teachers to change
  the balance?

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• Eating better simply works for kids. In school
  lunch programs . they got rid of most processed
  foods and started making foods for the kids more
  from scratch. When the schools added in more
  fruits and vegetables, more legumes and whole
  grain products, lowered the fat and salt, they
  saw a tremendous change in studentsa dramatic
  improvement in attendance, grades and
  performance. It just may be that simple to get
  our schools and our children healthier, better
  educated, and better behaved.
• Dr. Mona Morstein ND

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Functional Nutrition and the Brain

• Gut and brain are closely connected
• Gut is first line into body- border patrol
• Gut impacts digestion, absorption, utilization of
  nutrients
• Immune system
• Neurological function
• Detoxification
• Normalizing gut function can improve brain
  function

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Signs and Symptoms

• Bowel problems
• Infant colic/thrush
• Eczema/psoriasis
• Peeling fingers/toenails
• Chronic congestion
• Dark circles

• Ear infections
• Bloated belly
• Toe walking
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Sleep problems

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• WHAT CHILDREN NEED

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What Children Need

• Nutrients
• Protein
• Fat (omega 3s)
• Carbohydrates
• Vitamin
• Minerals
• Fluid
• Fiber
• Probiotics

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PROTEIN

• Essential to structure of red blood cells, proper
  functioning of antibodies resisting infection,
  regulation of enzymes and hormones, for growth,
  and repair of body tissue.
• Important at all meals, especially early in day.
• Sources Animal foods, nuts, beans, seeds,
  certain grains, dairy

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• Protein at breakfast can improve academic
  performance
• Spring, Maller, Wurtman, Digman, and Cozolino
  (1982)

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FAT

• Not all the same
• Monounsaturated (liquid) types can reduce
  inflammation
• Allow more plasticity of brain cells-better
  communication
• Trans Fats are hard
• Fats carry fat soluble vitamins and are essential
  components of a good diet

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Good Fats

• Avocadoes
• Sunflower Seeds
• Coconut Oil, Palm Oil
• Macadamia Nut Oil
• Olives
• Some Nuts
• Olive Oil (not at high heat)
• Fish and Flax

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Omega-3s, ADHD, and LD

• 41 Children with ADHD and LD given a Omega-3s
  for 12 weeks or a placebo.
• After 12 weeks, children in the treatment group
  had significant improvement in their ADHD scores
  compared to placebo.

Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology
Biological Psychiatry (2002)
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CARBOHYDRATES

• Comes from
• simple sugars fruit/vegetables and refined
  sweets
• Complex carbs-grains and starchy foods
• Primary energy source for body and brain

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Not all Carbs are Created Equal

• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Whole Grains
• Legumes
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Slow infusion of good energy which body can
  regulate

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Vitamins and Minerals

• Needed at cofactors in myriad body processes
• Iron, Zinc, Magnesium
• often low in typical American diet
• Implicated in behavior and academic performance

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• WHAT CHILDREN ARE MISSING

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What Children are Missing

• Zinc
• Magnesium
• Iron
• Folate
• Calcium
• Fiber
• Probiotics (acidophilous and more)
• Essential Fatty acids (Fish Oil)

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Zinc

• Inadequate Zinc related to ADHD and aggression
• Multiple studies link zinc supplementation to
  reduced aggression, hyperactivity and improved
  behavior in deficient individuals

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Magnesium

• Inadequate Magnesium related to ADHD
• Supplementation of Magnesium shown to reduce
  negative behaviors and improve attention in ADHD,
  autism

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Iron

• One of the most prevalent nutritional
  deficiencies of children in the US
• Leads to reduced immunity, shortened attention
  span, irritability, fatigue, and difficulty with
  concentration.
• Anemic children do poorly on vocabulary, reading,
  and other tests.

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Fiber

• Sort Term effect
• Gut function and Bowel Movements
• Long Term Effects
• Cancer
• Cardiovascular Function
• Age 5

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• WHAT ARE THEY GETTING TOO MUCH OF?

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Negative Effects of Sugar

• Suppress your immune system and impair your
  defenses against infectious disease.
• Upsets the mineral relationships in your body
  interferes with absorption of calcium and
  magnesium.

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Negative Effects of Sugar

• Cause can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline,
  hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating,
  and crankiness in children.
• Produce a significant rise in total cholesterol,
  triglycerides and bad cholesterol and a decrease
  in good cholesterol.

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Negative Effects of Sugar

• Contributes to obesity.
• Feeds cancer cells and has been connected with
  the development of cancer of the breast, ovaries,
  prostate, rectum, pancreas, biliary tract, lung,
  gallbladder and stomach
• Weakens eyesight
• Adapted from Nancy Appleton, Ph.D

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Artificial Colors, Flavors, and Preservatives

• Headaches/migraines
• Nausea, Abdominal pains, Diarrhea
• Fatigue (blocks sufficient glucose entry into
  brain)
• Sleep problems
• Vision problems
• Anxiety attacks
• Depression

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Artificial Colors, Flavors, and Preservatives

• Asthma/chest tightness.
• Dizziness
• Poor Memory
• Decreased attention
• Neuralgia, loss of sensation in extremities
• Aspartame overstimulates neurotransmitters,
  resulting in cell death

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Artificial Colors, Flavors, and Preservatives

• 273 three year olds with hyperactivity enrolled
  in DBPC
• Given a diet free of food coloring and
  preservatives, then a daily drink with colorings
  and sodium benzoate.
• Significant increases in hyperactivity when
  getting the active mixture.
• Arch Dis Child. 2004 Jun

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ADHD and Food Allergy

• 76 children were treated with an hypoallergenic
  diet, 62 improved.
• Artificial colorings and preservatives were
  commonest provoking substances.
• Lancet. 1985 Mar 9.

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DAIRY

• Humans are the only animals that drink milk after
  weaning
• Lactose intolerance results when we naturally
  stop producing the enzyme that digests milk
• Cows milk has been implicated in the development
  of a host of other diseases including.

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PESTICIDES, CHEMICALS. HORMONES and ANTIBIOTICS

• Children at increased risk
• internal organs still developing and maturing
• children ingest more than adults per pound of
  body weight
• Impact of chemicals more pronounced in children
  than adults

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PESTCIDES and CHEMICALS HORMONES and ANTIBIOTICS

• Effects on children include
• Blocking the absorption of necessary nutrients
• Overloading an underdeveloped excretory system
• Affecting a critical period in child development
  when exposure to a toxin can permanently alter
  the way an individual's biological system
  operates.

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HORMONES and ANTIBIOTICS

• Precocious puberty
• Endocrine disruption
• Increased risk of breast and prostate cancer
• Possible antibiotic resistance

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PESTICIDES and CHEMICALSHORMONES and ANTIBIOTICS

• Organic Food does not pollute the bodies of our
  children and may have increased levels of
  nutrients as well

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Toxins in Umbilical Cord Blood

• 10 newborns an average 200 industrial chemicals
  and pollutants
• Of the 287 chemicals detected, 180 cause cancer
  in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain
  and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects
  or abnormal development in animal tests
• Environmental Working Group 2005

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• WHAT PARENTS (and schools) CAN DO

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What Parents Can Do

• Lean Proteins
• Vegetables
• Whole Grains
• Fruits
• Healthy Fats
• Nuts and Seeds
• Whole Foods - Minimally Processed without
  artificial additives
• Avoid Refined Sugar
• Organic, Fresh, Local, and Seasonal

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What we can do

• Step One
• Provide clean food-organic, pesticide, hormone,
  antibiotic free, no artificial ingredients
• Limit sugar
• Clean the environment with natural household and
  garden products

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Step Two

• Basic nutritional fundamentals
• Multivitamin (natural, without colorings,
  artificial sweeteners etc)
• Probiotic-high quality, with billions of CFUs
• Omega-3s free of mercury and PCBs
• Digestive Enzyme-as needed

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Other Things To Consider

• Food Allergies and Sensitivities
• Milk and/or gluten
• Soy, egg, peanut
• Other specific nutrients
• Antioxidants

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Appleton Central

• Appleton Central Alternative Charter High School
  kids struggling in conventional settings
• Natural Ovens began a healthful meal program
  for breakfast and lunch
• Vending machines selling candy, soda, and chips
  removed.

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Appleton Central High School

• Very Striking Results
• Better academic performance
• Fewer Behavior problems
• Less fighting
• Less drug use