Break-fast for your Brain – The Most important meal of your child’s life!
Our brains use 20-30% of our daily caloric intake, and that’s at rest alone, so when we wake up in the morning, after an overnight fast, its fair to say, our brain is, well, starving!
As we know, the brain is the control centre of our body, regulating the correct functioning of each working system; immune, endocrine, cardiovascular, digestive, nervous, skeletal, muscular, reproductive, lymphatic and urinary systems. When we break that down, that’s every single organ, tissue and cell in our body under the brains control. This includes our ability to think, digest food, fight off a cold, walk, reproduce, our emotions…….. are we getting the picture yet; there is no action within the body which isn’t influenced by the brain and no food choice which doesn’t impact on our brain function, which is why proper nutrition is extremely important to allow our brain to carry out these everyday, but crucial daily processes.
‘Proper Nutrition’; A wholefood diet which includes a broad spectrum of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and is free of any artificial or synthetic additives. This is living food, produced by the earth, not chemically, synthetically or commercially produced in a lab otherwise known as a commercial kitchen, fast food outlet of factory. Think – ‘Super foods; herbs, nuts, seeds, vegetables and fruits; those which are found in your Monavie juice.
Children’s brain health
Early life malnutrition has been linked with below-normal intelligence and functional and cognitive defects. The importance of good nutrition and adequate calorie intake begins right from conception with the developing fetus and child being more susceptible to brain damage as a result of malnutrition. Sadly, Australia has now become the third highest consumer in the world of ADHD medications, with up to 5% of children being diagnosed with the disorder, which is largely over diagnosed, as a control method for those children who simply can’t concentrate in class. Poor concentration, irritability, reduced memory and impaired cognitive behavior are all symptoms which can be improved and controlled by correct nutrition and healthy brain chemistry.
Concentration, memory & Cognitive Function
We all know too well that feeling of waking up in the morning with a fuzzy head, can’t quite think straight……….. until we’ve had our morning coffee of course that is! Well this is our brains way of telling us that it is hungry, hungry for nutrition; unprocessed whole grain carbohydrates, lean proteins, omega and unsaturated fatty acids and vitamins and minerals and the extra special stuff, to keep everything running smoothly; antioxidants. Just like a car needs fuel in order to run, so does our brain and a morning shot of MonaVie Juice with your breakfast is a quick, simple and effective way to kick start your brain for a busy day.
Brain chemistry, which involves the production of neurotransmitters – the biochemical messengers, which send the brains instructions to its corresponding tissue, are largely influenced by what ‘food’ we chose to fuel our brains with. From mental clarity to feelings of happiness, this chemistry, via the production of these neurotransmitters has the ability to shape our days proceedings, based on our emotional wellbeing and ‘mood’ for the day. Our overall energy intake including the nutritional breakdown of our food intake largely influences our mental health and general brain functioning, so this is exactly why starting your day with a nutritious breakfast is so important.
MonaVie, the perfect recipe for a happy, healthy alert brain.
We’ve all heard the term ‘balanced diet’ a million times before, but what does this actually include? A Balanced diet in my opinion is one that involves all three macronutrients; carbohydrates, proteins and fats, a diverse range of ingredients so to cover a broad spectrum of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytochemicals, it must be fresh, free of processed chemicals and additives and contain as little ‘packaging’ as possible.
Carbohydrates, through the process of digestion are broken down into glucose molecules and provide the primary fuel source for our brain. However the types of carbohydrates we eat are detrimental to the working order of our brain. Carbohydrate choices must be of an unrefined, complex nature, in order to supply our brains with a steady, consistent amount and avoid dips in energy supply which result in mood and behavioral changes such as poor concentration, fatigue, irritability and general fogginess. Simple sugars like those found in lollies, soft drinks, cakes and other sweet treats flood our cells with dangerously high levels of sugar, which is toxic, signaling the release of the hormone Insulin, which in turn surges blood sugar levels right down again. This roller coaster of up and down blood sugar levels directly affects our mood and concentration and general ability to think straight!
Healthy complex carbohydrate choices for breakfast; Low irritative grains such as oats, millet, rye, quinoa and buckwheat. Wheat is highly inflammatory and not a good option, even though it’s the cheapest and therefore most prominent grain used in most common breakfast foods; toast and cereals. Other carbohydrates which are great to include in a balanced breakfast include; low GI, high antioxidant fruits such as berries, banana’s, grapefruit, although any fresh fruit is a good option when combined with your complex carbohydrate choices. The high antioxidant fruits which make up the MonaVie blend provide a nutritious carbohydrate hit for your brain.
Proteins; made up of amino acids, it is these little wonders which influence the amounts and types of neurotransmitters our brain produces. Serotonin, is often referred to as the happy hormone and is secreted by the brain in response to a good supply of the amino acid tryptophan along with the nutritional co-factors, zinc, vitamin B6, biotin, folic acid and vitamin C. Serotonin is responsible for control of appetite, sleep, memory and learning, temperature regulation, mood, behavior, cardiovascular function, muscle contraction, endocrine regulation, and depression.
High Tryptophan containing foods; egg whites, spirulina, soy beans, cottage cheese, pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and sunflower seeds.
Fats; now I’m talking about he essential ones, omega 3, 6 & 9 and unsaturated fatty acids which play an important role walls of our cells and are particularly important in nerve cells. The lipid bilayer of cells which is concentrated in these fatty acids, allows for the speedy conduction of nerve impulses to and from the brain, allowing us to carry out all our brains instructions quickly and competently throughout the day.
‘Good’ fat sources; Walnuts, sunflower seeds, pepitas, linseeds, chia seeds, salmon, avocado’s, macadamia nuts, just to name a few.
Consider these idea’s as a great way to kick start you and your child’s brain for the day.
Muesli Berry Blend
1/4 cup of Rolled oats
2 tablespoon of ‘Brain Boost’ seed blend (Chia seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
30 ml MonaVie Juice
¼ cup of Coconut milk
5 crushed, Macadamia nuts (or walnuts or almonds)
Fruit of your choice – no more then 100gm approx ie strawberries, blueberries, banana
Goji Berries
Combine all ingredients together. Add more cold water if you would like it to be less thick and sweeten with Agave syrup if desired.
Toast with Substance
Savoury Option
Wheat free bread, toasted, spread this with ¼ avocado, sliced tomato and 1 tablespoon of cottage cheese. Sprinkle with 1 tsp of chia seeds, 1 tsp of flaxseed oil and a pinch of himalayan salt
Sweet Option
Wheat free bread spread with sliced or mashed banana, tahini, raw honey or agave syrup and sprinkled with sunflower seeds.
If your child is a morning toast eater, be inventive, don’t just serve them up white bread, butter and Jam or vegemite, experiment with different spreads and don’t be afraid to give them a knife and fork to help them get through their hearty toast meal, this goes for you aswell! The above ingredients aren’t for everyone, but you’re guaranteed to find something from the recommended ingredients that will provide them with better nutrition and fuel to stimulate their brain, improve their concentration and sustain them through the morning.
Eating should be fun, so be creative and experiment with some new super foods, serving your toast with a MonaVie juice shot is a great way to start this and I assure you, you’ll be doing more then just kicking goals for the day.
Stacey Foat
Naturopath/Nutritionist
