Are You Sending Your Child to School
Ready to Learn?
By Vicki Lunsford~Hartzog
Body Ecology Coach
If your child
is going to school in the morning with the average American breakfast in their belly they are
not going to school ready to learn.
In fact, their breakfast might be a recipe for disaster laying the foundation for them to experience difficulties concentrating
as well as increasing their chances of having behavioral issues.
It
has been proven that when children eat meals high in sugars and processed foods they experience a drop in blood sugar a few
hours after their meals. This contributes to drowsiness, hyperactivity, depression, and anxiety, as well as concentration
difficulties and decreased activity. Sugar and processed foods are also much harder for our bodies to digest which takes away
much needed energy from our children when they are trying to learn. Sugar suppresses the immune
system, robs our bodies of minerals, is highly processed and offers no nutritional value.
Breakfast
cereals, fruit juices, store bought baked goods and even most breakfast meats are full of sugar and are also very processed.
All of the most popular cereals and white flours have been so overly processed that there are no naturally occurring vitamins
and minerals left in them and so they are “fortified”. What most of us are not aware of is that the vitamins and
minerals that have been added back into the food are synthetic and our bodies are unable to use them.
What should you feed your children to send them
to school ready to learn?
Children need foods that keep their blood sugar levels more stable
and don’t leave them anxious, tired, and depressed. They also need foods with good fats to feed their brains and prepare
them for the day. Don’t be afraid of good healthy fats our children’s brains need them. Good fats are typically
non~saturated and come from unrefined vegetable sources like olive, coconut, flax, and pumpkin seed oils. Fish oil is also
very good for our kids’ brains and blood sugar levels. As a rule of thumb you should use oils that are cold pressed
and remain liquid at room temperature (one exception is coconut oil which remains solid up to about 72 degrees).
Below are a few suggestions for breakfasts that help set children up for success
and will enable them to learn and concentrate better throughout the day:
1 ripe avocado
1 TBSP Organic cocoa powder
dash of non alcoholic
vanilla extract
splash of mineral
water 100
*xylitol or stevia to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth like pudding.
- Softly
scrambled eggs in coconut oil with sautéed vegetables.
- Red potatoes and vegetables sautéed in olive oil with garlic. Drizzle pumpkin seed or flax oil on the top
after cooking.
- Home made
vegetable or chicken soup. Pumpkin seed oil or flax oil can be added after cooking.
1 ripe avocado or plain milk
kefir (found at most grocery stores in the health food section)
10 frozen strawberries
Handful
of blueberries
Dash of non alcoholic vanilla
Dash of cinnamon
*Xylitol or vanilla cream stevia to taste
Mineral
water to desired thickness Combine
all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
*Stevia, lakanto, and xylitol are all
alternative sweeteners that don’t
raise blood glucose levels and therefore don’t create blood sugar instabilities. They can both be found in many grocery
stores and also health food stores. Like everything else; all things should be consusmed in moderation. We have
found some that used too much xyltiol to report slight stomach discomofort.
__________________
vicki lunsford~hartzog
body ecology coach
contact vicki for a private consultation
