Nourishing Minds: How Nutrition Boosts Academic Performance
What does diet and nutrition have to do with academic performance? Everything, well, at the basic level we eat to live and food is the fuel for the body and mind. As per the 1000-day study, from the moment a child is conceived till it is 2 years of age, the nutrition and diet it follows can have long-lasting effects on its cognitive functions, health and development. At every stage of their life, a student’s nutrition needs will evolve and increase to support the varying levels of activities. If the child is not provided with a nutritious diet in the right measure to satiate their hunger, they will fall ill, miss school, be unable to keep up with their peers and miss out on many learning opportunities.
Understanding hunger and academic performance
Calories are burnt in physical and mental activities. Hungry students tend to earn poorer grades as they are more focused on their hunger and unable to concentrate. If their meals lack the proper nutrition and only bear empty calories or synthetic flavours and ingredients, then they are susceptible to a lack of concentration and behavioural changes. Poor dietary habits don’t just lead to malnutrition, or cause diseases such as juvenile diabetes and hypertension, obesity, anaemia, etc. Diets that are dense in trans and saturated fats negatively impact learning and memory and lead to nutritional deficiencies that can affect the cognitive development of school-aged children. A diet rich in whole fruits, grains, and vegetables aids in better cognitive function, concentration, and energy levels.
Essentials for ensuring nutrition to boost academic performance
Proper meals and proper intervals
There are three standard meals - breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, for students who are engaged in academic commitments and various extracurricular activities in school, these three meal times will be inadequate. So, it is important to have snack time at proper intervals where students are given nutritious snacks, such as dried fruits and nuts, fresh fruits, milk, eggs or something similar. Often, when a student is reacting negatively, is unable to follow instructions, isn’t alert in class or is feeling drowsy it is because they haven’t had a proper meal.
Educate about and Avoid fad diets
There is an increased trend of putting children on a “diet” to curb their consumption of unhealthy “junk” food, to combat obesity. Due to a lack of education, peer pressure and societal judgement many students resort to fad diets that set an unhealthy relationship with food and lead to extreme issues such as anorexia and bulimia. Parents and schools must first educate themselves on good eating practices. Avoiding excessive use of butter and oil, forcing a child to eat more than they can, or not allowing them to serve themselves or eat by themselves, are some negative indications.
Do not ignore carbohydrates and fats
Terms such as proteins, carbohydrates, fats etc. have gained prominence as fitness consciousness has grown over the years. However, there is a perpetuation of the idea that fats and carbohydrates are bad and proteins and fibre are good, which is incorrect. A body needs all nutrients in some measure to function correctly. If the body doesn’t get an adequate amount of carbohydrates, it will not have energy. So, rather than isolate nutrient groups, the student must aim towards eating wholesome meals that are home-cooked, not pre-packaged, and fresh.
Hydration is important
Urine infection has become quite common among your school goers as they do not drink water regularly and temperatures soar as we approach summer. Even in other seasons, be it monsoon or winter, the body requires water to function smoothly. Many schools are implementing compulsory water breaks every hour in which students are encouraged to drink at least half a glass of water. There is no substitute for water, and adding flavour to it with fruit syrups will devalue its benefits as the child will be consuming sugars and empty calories that are not good for their gum health or gut health. Encourage students to drink plain water.
Mindfulness and appreciation for food are important to encourage students to make students understand the role of nutrition and make the right dietary choices. The good eating habits that are cultivated from a young age will help the student in long-term academic excellence.
