By Anna Coogan
Feeding children is a tough job at the best of times. But when you're tired and stressed and mashing carrots with turnips, the temptation to dish up junk food for the sake of peace and some rest, can be hard to resist.
Yet more and more there is a school of thought that children's behaviour is strongly associated with the foods they eat.
As one granny said; "We just thought they were a bit wild but today's parents know children have had too much sugar when they're tearing wallpaper off the walls."
It can seem like a full-time job getting nutritious food into children.
Now a new book by one of the United Kingdom's leading authorities on how food affects children, Dr Alex Richardson, could shed some light on what foods will bring out the best in your children, leaving them and you happier.
We take a look at some of the connections Dr Richardson makes between what children eat and how they may behave as a result.
Could low blood sugar be contributing to ADHD (attention deficit hyper-activity disorder) symptoms?
Blood-sugar levels need to be kept within a narrow range just to keep you alive (it's why uncontrolled diabetes can be dangerous).
When your body senses that your blood-sugar levels are falling dangerously low (you had no breakfast - or maybe a chocolate bar and a sugary fizzy drink on the way to school or work), it's pretty easy to see why an inexplicable adrenalin surge might 'kick in'.
From your perspective you feel restless and 'antsy' for no apparent reason. It's the 'fight or flight' response - so which is the child in the classroom going to choose?
Anyone eating a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates is likely to experience dramatic swings in blood sugar throughout the day. This will lead to corresponding fluctuations in attention, memory and mood (glucose is the brain's only fuel).
High-sugar foods usually have very little nutritional value themselves. They replace other, nutrient-rich foods that children could otherwise be eating.
They deplete your child's nutrients (used up in digesting the refined sugar).
They can feed yeast in the gut, adding to unhealthy 'dysbiosis', impairing digestion and immune function.
Long term, there is a risk of your child developing metabolic syndrome, a precursor to Type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Could food allergies be a cause of dyslexia?
One UK school for dyslexic children reported benefits after adopting a wheat-free diet for all its pupils. It was done following remarkable improvements shown by one child who'd been put on to a wheat-free diet for his digestive problems. According to his teachers and parents, there was a dramatic reduction in his dyslexic 'symptoms'.
Wheat and other grains containing gluten have always come high on any list of common foods that can cause 'adverse reactions'.
Wheat-free or gluten-free diets are therefore popular with many nutritionists, other health practitioners and companies who sell various tests purporting to diagnose allergies or intolerances.
Some people do seem to benefit from removing wheat and other grains from their diet - but the exclusion of any major foods or food groups (particularly grains or dairy produce) should never be done without getting advice from a doctor.
Could a lack of the B range of vitamins explain a child's anger?
In a study of patients with biochemical evidence of thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency related to junk food diets, the adolescents especially were found to be quick to anger, irritable, aggressive and impulsive.
Just one reason why refined sugars (for example, in soft drinks) are so bad for your child is that they help deplete their bodies of B vitamins and essential minerals such as magnesium and zinc.
Lack of these can lead to mental and physical disorders - which may then get treated with drugs... which may deplete B vitamins further.
Vitamin B is actually a whole range of vitamins, which are important for energy production, maintaining a healthy heart, growth and reproduction of cells, and various mental functions including attention, thinking skills, coordination and memory. The B range of vitamins is found in eggs, meat, dairy products and a wide range of grains and vegetables.
Could low levels of omega-3 result in behaviour, learning and health problems?
In 96 boys with or without ADHD, blood concentrations of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids were examined in relation to their parents' ratings of their children's behavioural, learning and health difficulties. Low omega-6 status was related only to physical health measures (such as dry skin and hair, frequency of colds, and antibiotic use), not to parental ratings of either behaviour or learning.
Low omega-3 status was associated with physical signs consistent with fatty-acid deficiency (such as excessive thirst, frequent urination and rough, dry skin and hair) and also with both behavioural problems and learning difficulties.
Children with the lowest omega-3 levels showed more conduct disorder, hyperactivity-impulsivity, anxiety, temper tantrums, and sleep problems.
Foods that provide omega-3 include flax seeds and flax oil, walnuts, green vegetables, seafood, wild game and organic meat, fortified eggs and fortified milk and dairy products.
Could artificial food colourings lead to hyperactivity in children?
Many rigorous scientific studies have shown that the artificial food colouring tartrazine and other 'azo dyes' can worsen the behaviour of hyperactive children.
In one such double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 54 children were tested with 6 different dose levels of tartrazine, and parents rated their reactions over the next 24 hours. 24 of the children reacted badly to tartrazine.
The negative effects increased systematically with higher doses of tartrazine. All of these children had a history of allergies, asthma, eczema or allergic rhinitis (runny nose). Different children reacted in different ways, but the effects varied between the younger children (two to six years) and the older ones (ages seven to 14 years).
Younger children showed constant crying, tantrums, irritability, restlessness, and severe sleep disturbance and were described by their parents as 'disruptive', 'easily distracted and excited', 'high as a kite', and 'out of control'.
Their parents were exhausted through lack of sleep and the constant demands of their children, who couldn't be comforted or controlled.
Older children showed behaviours described as 'irritable', 'aimlessly active', 'lacking self-control', 'whiney and unhappy' and 'like a bear with a sore head' - but their sleep difficulties were less likely to disturb the entire family.
- They Are What You Feed Them: How Food Can Improve Your Child's Behaviour, Mood and Learning by Dr Alex Richardson.
A parent says...
AVEEN BANNON is a consultant dietician with the Dublin Nutrition Centre, and mum to a bouncingly healthy Maia
"From the minute you introduce solids into your child's diet you should think about what you are feeding them. See the weaning period as a window of opportunity to offer a variety of foods with different tastes, textures, and flavours. Rougher food consistencies can come in the later stages.
"I try to eat meals with my daughter Maia to make it a social occasion for her. I try to eat the same meals. She's a fussy eater and knows her own mind so it can be a challenge. But I try to introduce new things with the foods she likes.
"This can take patience but remember that a child needs to be exposed to a food up to eight times before they know if they like it or not. And it begins with the infant meeting the key milestones of taste and textures when it's being weaned. This critical time can prevent any faddy eating later on. You should aim to introduce a variety of flavours and don't allow your own tastes dictate what you give your child.
"Serving homemade produce gives children a great start in life. But it can be a good idea to give them some commercial products too to get them used to both tastes.
"I got to the point where my daughter would not eat from a jar but when we travelled it was a nightmare to prepare and keep fresh meals for her. Once your child reaches a year old they should be eating a similar diet to you. They should be having three meals per day, and including snacks like dried fruit, fresh fruit, yogurts and rusks.
"Make sure the diet is balanced and you include something from each shelf in the food pyramid. Kids love dried apricots and prunes as they are so sweet and they provide lots of folate, iron and energy.
"Hummus on toast can be a great tea-time meal. Making lentil burgers and chickpea stews are great and they freeze well. My little one loves sausages so much that it was one of her first words. What I do is give her quorn sausages at home and she doesn't differentiate between them. Serve them with potato and a vegetable to balance the meal." - Evening Herald