Good for the Brain Foods
According to health and nutrition expert Patrick Holford, the brain is 60 percent fat, therefore, children who eat good fats–from raw nuts, seeds, and oily fish–double their chances of high academic performance. Children who eat damaged fats–in fried food and takeaways–are reportedly often badly behaved and also, perform badly at school.

The Culprits
Many studies associate sugar consumption with symptoms of restlessness and inattention. If you want your child to be able to concentrate better, limit their sugar intake. In particular, you have to limit their intake of processed and refined sugar.

4 Ways to Improve Your Child’s Behavior with Food

1. Keep a food diary for a week, noting everything that is eaten – including at school. At the end of the week, you should have a better idea of your child’s exposure to food additives which can help curb these foods.

2. Eating a balanced diet of fresh produce and whole grain foods will help towards keeping additives out of your child’s system. Organic packaged foods have little or no added synthetic colors or preservatives.

3. The best foods for good academic performance are dark green leafy vegetables, raw nuts/seeds, and oily fish.

4. Read labels. Particularly keep an eye out for the following:

• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
• Sodium Nitrate/Nitrate
• Sulfites
• Potassium Bromate
• FD&C Blue No. 1 and FD&C Blue No. 2
• FD&C Green No. 3
• FD&C Red No. 3 (Erythrosine)
• FD&C Yellow No. 5 (Tartrazine) and FD&C Yellow No. 6
• Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) (Credit: www.healthychild.org)