Calming foods for hyperactive kids

How can foods affect your child's behavior? Kids that eat foods high in sugar or refined carbs, such as white rice, white flour products can experience a drop in blood glucose which can affect their mood.

"[These foods] can trigger the release of regulatory counter "stress" hormones like adrenaline and cortisol. These are the "fight or flight" hormones that make us fidgety, irritable, and anxious –certainly not something that we want to occur in our young children who are already rambunctious by nature," explains Dr. Ann Kulze, MD of www.dranns10steps.com.

Kulze says that of all the organs in the body, "The brain is the most sensitive and the most discriminating in terms of its nutritional needs." She says that in order to get the most out of your brain you need to give it a constant and steady supply of blood sugar as well as amino acids, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

Switch out processed foods for natural foods

"Food additives and colors plus artificial sweeteners make the nervous system overactive. That's in addition to what too much sugar can do," explains Dr. Jennifer Greenfield, Center for Chiropractic Wellness.

"Foods that have calcium and magnesium, like vegetables, nuts and seeds, can be calming," adds Greenfield.

Researchers are continually looking at how food coloring and preservatives influence hyperactivity in children and experts such as Kulze suggest eating as many natural foods as possible and avoiding "factory made" food choices.

Calming food choices

Some of Kulze's top snack picks for kids include instant oatmeal, granola bars, air-popped popcorn, hard-boiled omega-3 fortified eggs, stone ground tortilla chips, fruit smoothies with wheat germ and dark chocolate.

She also recommends incorporating these foods into your children's diet:

• Cut fresh veggies (baby carrots, celery sticks, bell pepper strips,
  broccoli/cauliflower florets, etc.) – serve along with a "healthy dip" like hummus, low-fat salad dressing, guacamole, or salsa.
• Low-fat yogurt or low fat cottage cheese– plain sweetened with blended fruit or a bit of frozen concentrated fruit juice is best. If you use low-fat fruit flavored yogurts, cut in half with plain to reduce their sugar content.
• Nuts or seeds – almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts, etc. Don't
  forget about sunflower seeds and toasted pumpkin seeds. Try roasted soy nuts.
• Fresh, frozen or dried fruit – serve cut up in an interesting cup or bowl. Even better, create a "healthful" fruit/yogurt parfait by alternating layers of fruit with low-fat yogurt and granola.
• Reduced-fat cheese – you can now find an amazing array of cheeses made from 2% milk in lots of kid friendly packaging.
• Whole grain crackers, like Ak-mak, Kashi TLC, or Triscuits with 2% milk cheese, peanut butter, almond nut butter, hummus, salsa, or spreadable fruit.
• Healthy cereals – dry or with skim or low-fat milk. To select a
  healthy cereal, be sure it contains at least 3 grams of fiber per serving and that you see the word "whole" as the first word in the ingredients list.
  

Healthy options to satisfy a sweet tooth

If you're looking to satisfy your child's sweet tooth Kulze suggests trying fresh fruit smoothies, or light ice cream topped with berries. Homemade "healthy" cookies are all good alternatives to store bought pastries and candy.

Kulze suggest avoiding processed foods with additives, particularly food dyes and refined carbohydrates and sugars. "The worst choices here would be donuts, pastries, cupcakes, cake, candy (especially those with lots of food dye, sugary kids' cereals, Lunchables, Pancakes (waffles [white flour-based]), soda and other sugar fortified beverages (fruit drinks, sports drinks) and white bagels," says Kulze.

Calming nighttime snacks

If you're nighttime routine is anything but dreamy, Cyrus Schwartz, father of three and President of Mountainside Farms and ZenSoy says, "Before bed, children should always avoid caffeinated beverages, candy, high-sugar fruit juice and ice-cream."

"In terms of caffeine intake for children, a safe bet is to limit your children to 45 milligrams per day, an equivalent of a 12 ounce soda," says Schwartz.

Schwartz's list of healthy nighttime snacks includes low-fat milk, soy products, peanut butter, and cheeses.

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