Dinner Topics for Tuesday

Are We Raising Generation Rx?

Avoid the prescription trap and support your child’s mental health with nutrition

Often, the first signs of nutritional imbalances or deficiencies in children appear as mood and behavior changes. ~Jack Challem

By Jack Challem

Natural Grocers Health Hotline

There is an epidemic of over-medicated children in the United States. From antidepressants and anti-anxiety meds to stimulants to control hyperactivity and inattentiveness, our children are being prescribed more pharmaceutical drugs than ever, many with frightening side effects. While some children may require a prescription to work through mental health issues, all children will benefit from a healthy diet and certain nutrients to support healthy brain function. Your child’s “bad” behavior may just be a brain starving for nutrients. Before you resort to a prescription, consider nourishing your child’s brain first—the difference in behavior may surprise you.

The human brain is an exquisite biological machine, and one that is especially sensitive to its nutritional mileu. That’s because nutrients form the foundation of brain chemistry—that is, the neurochemicals that influence mood and behavior. The effect of nutrient, or their absence, may be most obvious in children and teens, whose brains are rapidly developing. Often, the first signs of nutritional imbalances or deficiencies in children appear as mood an behavior changes.

A healthy diet and some well-chosen supplements help maintain positive moods and better focus and concentration simply because good foods and supplements support normal brain chemistry.

Dietary Strategies

Unfortunately, most kids now live in a sea of junk foods—manufactured edibles that provide little in the way of good nutrition. In fact, many of these foods and beverages, rich in sugars and other refined carbohydrates, actually function as anti-nutrients that deplete the body’s nutritional reserves. For example, high-carb diets can deplete vitamin B1, which is necessary for the production of a neurotransmitter that affects memory and learning.

For many parents, it may feel like a herculean task to feed their kids a mostly healthy diet while avoiding food fights. But it is possible, and the benefits can be significant. For starters, it is best to avoid foods with added sugars, artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives because each of these ingredients has been linked to hyperactive behavior. For some children, it’s also important to avoid wheat and dairy, mainstays in processed foods for kids, and also common food allergens. Children with food allergies often exhibit behavioral problems.

Replace the all-too-tempting convenience and junk foods in your pantry and fridge with nutrient dense foods including healthy protein, healthy fats, vegetables, and fruit. Plan your meals; if you wait until the last minute, you’ll be more likely to succumb to less healthy processed foods. Replace sugary juices and soft drinks with healthy beverages, such as filtered water or flavored sparkling water. And be sure to keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand so when your child grabs a snack, it will be a nourishing one.

Supplement Strategies

Many children are finicky eaters, which can increase their risk of developing nutritional deficiencies that may negatively affect mood and behavior. A few fundamental supplements can go a long way in filling in those nutritional gaps. The younger your child is when he or she starts taking supplements, the more likely the habit will continue. Multivitamins, the omega-3s DHA and EP A, and probiotics are my top three supplements for children, but many others have specific roles in certain mood and behavior disorders.

Multivitamins

Multivitamins provide much of what a child needs in a single dose. Multis also include the B-complex vitamins, which play a multitude of roles in supporting healthy moods. Dose: You’ll find many multivitamins formulated for small children. You can tailor an adult dose to a “tween” or teen’s weight, for example, giving one capsule instead of two.

Omega-3s: EPA and DHA

Your Child’s Brain is Crying Out for Fish Oil

  The omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA are essential for normal brain development and function in children (and adults). These fatty acids profoundly affect a child’s brain, influencing mood, behavior, memory, attention and focus, and overall learning ability.

And now, the results of a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Sleep Research concluded that higher blood levels of the omega-3 DHA led to better sleep quality in children, reducing nighttime waking and increasing the amount of time spent sleeping. According to the researchers, “Sleep problems in children are associated with poor health, behavioral, and cognitive problem, as are deficiencies of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids such as DHA. “

Like most adults, children are often deficient in EPA and DHA—indeed, it is likely the number one nutrient deficiency in this country. Unless your child eats fatty fish daily, a fish oil supplement is the best source of these important omega-3s.

The omega-3 fatty acids (DHA) and (EPA) are particularly important brain nutrients. Both DHA and EPA are needed for normal brain development in utero, during infancy and childhood, and throughout life. Numerous studies have found that EPA and DHA can improve learning and moods in children, benefiting a wide range of mood problems, including depression, bipolar disorder, poor memory, impulsiveness, hostility, and physical aggressiveness. Dose: Flavored omega-3s are more palatable for children and are available as liquid, soft gels, or gummies. Look for a supplement that contains a higher ration of DHA to EPA. Aim for 300 to 1,000 mg total DHA and EPA.

Probiotics

Intestinal bacteria make 95 percent of the body’s serotonin, a neurotransmitter that has calming and anti-depressant properties. A study conducted at Cork University Hospital, Ireland, found that L. rhamnosus can boost brain levels of GABA (gamma aminbutyric acid), a neurotransmitter that reduces anxiety and enhances mental fcus. Clser to Home, researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, reported that a combination of probiotics—B. animalis lactis, S. thermophiles, L. bulgaricus, and L. lactis—enabled women to do a better job coping with stress and anxiety. Children are likely to have similar benefits. Dose: Look for a product that contains several strains of probiotics. A good probiotics is especially important after a child takes antibiotics.

SPECIFIC MOOD ISSUES

*NOTE: Remember that herbs are medicinal, more for crisis situations, and may have side effects. Today’s lifestyles take a heavy toll on us, physically and mentally. Experience has shown that adults require fairly high potencies of B complex and Omega 3s to cope with stress. When choosing a B complex, be sure it includes a substantial potency of the B vitamins Choline and Inositol. These are vital nutrition for the brain.

For most of the following chronic conditions, an ongoing regimen of good nutrition and food supplements is more effective for permanent healing and long term well being. For more information on diets for natural healing, see Bee. ~C.D.

Mood Swings

Jekyll-and-Hyde mood changes are often related to changes in hormone levels in “tweens” and teens, but they can also result from extreme blood sugar fluctuations. Cravings for sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods are one clue to blood sugar problems. At the very least, blood-sugar swings can exacerbate other mood issues.

Recommendation:

Maintain healthy blood sugar levels throughout the day with meals around healthy protein and fats, along with restricted intake of refined carbs and other sweets.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Often abbreviated as ADHD, this disorder is characterized by poor attention and concentration and varying degrees of hyperactivity. Some experts believe that stimulant drugs such as Ritalin are over-prescribed, especially when research has found that dietary supplements can be as effective as Ritalin in treating ADHD symptoms.

Recommendations:

Avoiding processed foods, with their added sugars, colors, and preservatives, can usually reduce symptoms. Adding an omega-3 fish oil, plus gammalinolenic acid (GLA, an omega-6 plant oil) can reduce impulsive and hyperactive behavior in children. Look for products that provide a higher ratio of DHA to EPA, such as 400 mg of DHA to 200 mg of EPA. Adding 50-100 mg of GLA will often help. In addition, 100-200 mg of magnesium citrate may have a calming effect.

Depression

Depression can range from very mild to severe. First try to identify any psychosocial causes, such as grief or being excluded by friends. Whether or not a social cause exists, supplemental omega-3 fish oil can help. So might a moderately high-potency multivitamin or B-complex supplement. Considerable research has shown that the herb St. John’s wort can relieve depression in both adults and children. *[ St. John’s Wort: check with health care expert. St. John’s wort can have a side effect of being sensitive to sunlight.]

Recommendation:

For the omega-3s, try approximately 100 mg of DHA and 50 mg of EPA for small children, and at least 200 mg of DHA and 100 mg of EPA daily for tweens. For teens with adult-size bodies, try 400 mg of DHA and 200 mg of EPA. For the B-complex, try a formula with 10 to 20 mg of the major Bs (B1, B2, B3).*

Seasonal Affective Disorder

A type of seasonal depression, SAD tends to develop during the shorter daylight hours of autumn and winter and improves when daylight increases in the spring and summer. The pattern correlates with the body making less of its own vitamin D, and some research has confirmed the relationship gbetween low vitamin D and SAD.

Recommendation:

For small children, try 600 to 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily. For tweens and teens, try 1,000 to 2,000 IU daily. Reduce the amount during spring and summer, especially if children spend condiderable time outdoors.

Antisocial Behavior

Irritability, explosive anger, bullying, and aggressive behavior can all come under the umbrella of antisocial behavior. Studies have found that the omega-3 fish oils, B-Complex vitamins, and multivitamin supplements can improve moods. Meanwhile, researchers at the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, Naperville, Illinois, have reported that excessive copper relative to zinc is strongly associated with explosive anger. In that study, consumption of sugary foods and other refined carbohydrates also exacerbated mood and behavior issues.

Recommendations:

Try 200 to 1,000 mg of omega-3 fish oils daily, as well as a moderately high-potency multivitamin (with 10-15 mg of the major B vitamins). In addition, 10-15 mg of zinc might be helpful.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism was so rare 60 years ago that most doctors had never heard of it. Now it affects one in every 50 American children. The increase is not related to better diagnosis—no one would have missed such an obvious disorder in the 1950s. Placing your child on a gluten-and dairy-free diet can help, as can the Feingold diet, which avoids all additives. Opt for organic foods to minimize pesticide exposure.

Studies conducted at the Autism Research Institute in San Diego have found that a combination of vitamin B6 and magnesium supplements led to significant improvements in the behavior of children with autism. Adding dimethylglycine (DMG) and zinc might further reduce symptoms and improve learning. Probiotics might help as well. studies have found that autistic children have an imbalance in gut bacteria—and the greater the imbalance, the more severe the autistic symptoms. Look for a supplement containing several strains of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria.

Read more about children and mental health

Parenting: Childhood, Mental Health, and Drugs