Back to school nutrition

The school holidays are more often than not a very busy time with little relaxation when you're planning the day's entertainment. As the holidays come to an end and you start to get uniforms, books, routines ready and planned, it's also a good time to think about their nutritional needs too.

Here are a few essentials for your child: Concentration and memory So much information is expected to be absorbed and processed in just one day. To help your child absorb the most information possible give B vitamins to help them remain focussed during their lessons. Most B vitamins are either produced by friendly bacteria in the gut or ingested through the diet in protein rich foods. B vitamins are essential in supporting concentration as they help with neurotransmitter synthesis and insulating nerve cells to send messages and store information.

Gut instinct by name and by nature The digestive tract is packed with neuron activity and therefore is classed as your second brain. A lot goes on here, as mentioned earlier your good gut bacteria synthesise your B vitamins here, aid digestion of food and support energy and concentration. Therefore encourage probiotics and prebiotics into your child’s diet on a daily basis.

Don’t let them be as forgetful as a goldfish The brain is made up mainly of fatty acids and for this reason it is important to include these in your child’s diet. Good dietary choices are small oily fish such as mackerel and anchovies, which are packed with essential fatty acids that support brain structure and mind function but if your child won’t eat fish, a supplement rich in omegas 3, 6 and 9 will be a good place to start.

Keep their immune system troopers on guard Once the kids are back at school they need to beat off the colds and sniffles.  Ensure that they get plenty of vitamin C on a daily basis from a wide range of colourful fruit and vegetables to support a healthy immune system. At the first sign of a sniffle or a sore throat elderberry has been known to be effective in reducing the time that the virus sticks around. In addition taking zinc can be effective in repairing any damage to the respiratory tract.  Don’t let the lack of sunshine get them down Vitamin D has been getting so much press recently and with good reason. The government recommend 400iu of Vitamin D a day for children due to the lack of sunlight in the UK.  Vitamin D has endless amounts of beneficial research coming through to support multiple areas of people’s health including mind function, behaviour and the immune system. Hope the summer holidays have been fun filled with lots of great memories.