Mindful eating - why growing brains need healthy food

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Mindful eating - why growing brains need healthy food

The main worry about children over consuming junk food is usually the effect on

their waistlines. But West Australian researcher Oddy thinks too much

processed food, sweets, and soft drink is also harming their heads.

In the last 18 months the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth

has published two studies linking diets high in these foods to a greater risk of

behaviour and emotional problems, as well as double the risk of having ADHD.

Both studies, based on data from around 1800 WA adolescents from all

backgrounds, whose health has been tracked by the Institute since birth, showed

that these problems were less among teens with a healthier style of eating.

“We’re showing a significant relationship between what children eat and their

brain function, yet it’s not being taken seriously, " says Associate Professor

Oddy, leader of nutrition studies at the Institute. “We don’t have enough

promotion of fruit and vegetables, but you can walk through a supermarket and

see whole aisles devoted to sweets, soft drinks and refined breakfast cereals.”

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The research classified the children’s diets into two eating styles - a

‘healthy’ pattern high in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and fish,

and a 'Western' diet higher in saturated fat, refined sugar and salt, with

more takeaway foods, confectionery, processed, fried and refined foods.

Like any other part of the body, the brain needs the right nutrients to make it

work properly, and this research isn’t the first to connect diet to either

mental health or behaviour. But just what’s wrong with this food in terms of

brain health isn’t clear.

Food additives might be playing a part - sweets, soft drink are all high in food

colourings and flavourings so an overload of chemicals could play a part, says

Oddy, though she suspects that the main culprit may be what these teenagers

aren’t eating. What’s missing from highly processed foods - and probably

crucial for brain health - are omega-3 fats and B vitamins including folate,

found in foods like whole grains, leafy green vegetables, legumes and some

fruits.

“Omega 3 fats are an essential part of the nervous system and the theory is that

when there’s not enough in the diet, brain function is affected. This is

something the omega-3 industry has latched on to with fish oil, but I think this

misses the point that some plant foods like nuts also contribute some of these

omega -3 fats, " she says. " About 50 per cent of the children in these studies

also ate white bread – which is high in carbohydrates but low in nutrients,

including B vitamins – and growing children need nutrient dense foods. On the

other hand, vegetables and fruit have also been shown to be protective of brain

health - they’re high in antioxidants including vitamin C and vitamin E that

help prevent inflammation that’s also been linked to depression.”

Still, it could also be a two way street, with impulsive behaviour or depression

also affecting what the teenagers ate. Other research has found that impulsive

young adults are more likely to go for snack foods when they’re hungry, for

instance, while feeling depressed or emotionally distressed can drive

preferences for eating sweet carbohydrate or fatty foods.

There’s also a link between being overweight and being depressed, says Oddy.

“Because we’re seeing more overweight and obesity, I think we’ll see more

depression, although I don’t know whether the depression comes first or the

obesity.” she says. “We also know that people who are overweight or obese have

more inflammatory factors in their blood so it may be that this is having an

effect on brain function.

“Human beings didn’t evolve on a diet of processed foods and it’s only in the

last century or so that we’ve been eating so many of them. My theory is that

this is somehow linked to problems with brain function. I think we have enough

evidence now to have a public health message that says that for healthy brain

function children need healthy food. "

Is there much difference between what you ate as a teenager and what your

teenagers eat now?