Does What Your Kids Eat Have An Impact On Their Mental Health?

According to the most recent statistics, mental health issues in children can be observed in one in every nine youngsters. For individuals aged five to 19, the figure climbs to one in every eight. Emotional illnesses (especially depression and anxiety) are among the most common conditions affecting children and adolescents.

Despite greater awareness and the increased need for mental health care among young people, only one in four are getting mental health services, with many more parents reporting long waiting lists or being unable to secure a referral.

Early intervention is one of the most important ways we can aid children before their mental health deteriorates or other disorders develop. Finding innovative approaches to assist our children to acquire coping techniques to better handle stress, upsetting emotions, and other day-to-day situations that might contribute to feelings of overload can be critical.

Could paying closer attention to what our children eat help to boost their mental health and wellbeing?

Explanation of mood and food

When it comes to food, over half of us admit to having no idea what we should be eating - or what a 'proper' portion size should look like. With nine out of ten of us acknowledging that our diets are probably out of balance, it's no surprise that we're concerned about passing on the best habits to our children and teenagers. But it's not just their physical health and well-being that could suffer; a growing body of evidence suggests that what we eat can have a substantial impact on our mental health as well.

Nutritional counseling or mental health online support, along with a reduction in junk food and an increase in nutrient-rich foods like fish and legumes, has been demonstrated in studies to have a large, positive impact on mood and wellness. Increasing our consumption of omega-3 fatty acids can not only help our brains develop and operate, but it can also assist reduce stress and even help with mood disorders like depression (more research is required to determine how large of an influence omega-3 can have).