3/12/2018 10 Foods to Boost your Child’s Brain Power

10 Foods to Boost your Child’s Brain Power

Have you heard of the term GIGO? It means ‘Garbage In Garbage out”. It means that if the input is
bad, the output would be bad as well. This is true for many things in life. This is also true in terms of
nutrition for the body. That is why athletes who compete at the highest level are super conscious of
what they eat to ensure peak performance of the body.

This is true for the brain as well. It is exam time now and parents are always looking for ways to help
their children perform to the best of their ability. So is it possible for us to eat something that would
make our brains function better? Apparently there is!. When the body is stressed out (as it does
especially during exam time ), it releases cytokines which have an inflammatory effect on the body.
There are certain foods that can reduce this inflammation and restore balance to the cells.
Therefore, brain boosting foods would refer to those foods that would contain antioxidants that would
reduce this inflammation and contain good fats, minerals and vitamins. The following foods are
considered brain boosters and it would be good to consciously include these in our diet!

1. Coconut Oil: This much maligned oil in the past decade is making a comeback as the elixir for
many things including hair and skin health, hearth health and now even brain health as it contains
saturated fat that is important for the functioning of brain cell membranes.

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2. Walnuts and Almonds: These nuts contain Omega 3 fats which are important for brain power. If
your children don’t like to eat them as is because of their bitter taste, sneak them into a simple
banana bread recipe which you can find all over internet! Sometimes it could be as simple as leaving
a jar of nuts on the dining room table so that those who walk by just pop one into their mouth like a
snack.

3. Tomatoes: There is a sound reason why tomatoes play such an important part in our food. Be it in
a south Indian rasam/sambar or in a north Indian sabzi, we knew that tomatoes contain powerful
antioxidants like lycopene which are important for brain health.

4. Broccoli: This vegetable which we never saw growing up, is now available in India and is
considered a super food. It contains sulfurophane which helps in detoxification and reduces
inflammation. Children love steamed Broccoli with a sprinkling of cheese on top.

Rote Beete – sauer eingelegt

5. Beetroot: It is not a very popular vegetable in most of our houses. However, they are one of the
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most nutritious vegetables you can eat. They boost the blood supply to your brain, reduce
inflammation and even have anti-cancer properties. I have tried beetroot paratha like mooli paratha.
While they look red and weird, they tasted pretty good.

6. Avocado: Also known as Butter fruit in India, Avocado is rich in monounsaturated foods that
protects brain cells. Besides the good fat, Avocadoes also have Vitamin K and Folate which improve
memory and concentration.

7. Spinach: We have always known that leafy grains are good for health. They contain brain
protective antioxidants. If your kids don’t like to eat Spinach as a subzi, sneak it into a paratha or
make it as a filling for a vegetable puff or samosa!

8. Dark Chocolate: Everyone loves chocolate! But, you have to love the right kind Slowly introduce
your children to the taste of dark chocolate (It is an acquired taste due to the bitterness). Dark
chocolate contains flavanols which contain anti-oxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. My
children will eat anything when they are desperate for something sweet- That is a good time to
introduce them to dark chocolate! Try to pick a brand that has at least 70% cocoa.

9. Eggs: Egg yolks have been getting a bad rap over the past few years as being considered high in
cholesterol and therefore many people have started just eating the egg white. But, egg yolk is rich in
choline and bethane a chemical that actually triggers the hormone for happiness! So if you have been
shying away from eggs, it is time to bring back this super food that is super cheap on the wallet and
easy to feed children.

10. Oily fish: Just like chocolate, not all fish are created equal Oily fish (as against white fish that
store oil only in the liver) like Salmon, mackerel, sardines and tuna contain healthy doses of Omega 3
oils which are brain boosting. If you are not sure what these are in terms of Indian usage, you can
check it at this website that has a glossary of the Indian equivalent names of these fish depending on
which place you hail from or are living in – http://soulsdelight.blogspot.in/2009/09/no-more-confusion-
over-fish-names.html

Finally, many of our children are rapidly becoming couch potatoes. The rapidly shrinking space in the
urban areas for children to play is adding to our troubles. Most kids today seem to be taking a break
with video games or watching television. But, exercise is an important brain booster ! Research shows
that Aerobic activities like running, walking, swimming, tennis, badminton etc. improves cognitive
function and sharpens the brain. As a parent you need to figure out how to get your child to get some
aerobic activity during the day! Play Frisbee with your child for some time, kick a ball around or if you
simply don’t have space and are a video game family, get a video game like ‘Just dance’ or any other
game which would needs the kids to get up and jump around!

We hear these proverbs all the time “Little drops of water make a mighty ocean”. There are small
things that you can do that will add up to big influences in our lives. While it could seem overwhelming
to add all of these things into our diet, taking baby steps help. For example, leave a box of nuts on
your dining table. Whenever you cook fish, switch to Oily fish. Give standard instructions to your

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vegetable wala to bring you 1 broccoli every week etc. These would help you effortlessly incorporate
these foods into your life

Author : Navina Anand

Navina Anand is a blogger, fitness trainer and a yoga enthusiast. Born and raised in Chennai, she
currently lives in Bangalore with her husband and two kids. Navina has an MBA in Finance from India
and a Masters in Education from the University of Minnesota,. She has worked for companies like
Ford India and Nestle India and has also taught high school in the US. Always up for new adventures,
she believes that change is possible at any time and therefore is always constantly evaluating her
parenting style and enjoys blogging about her parenting experiences on Playablo.com.

All images Courtesy : google images, open source

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