School is back in session and now it is time to start thinking about healthy breakfasts and lunches again when time is short and sometimes rushed in the mornings! We all want our kids to have optimal brain function during the day so they can focus, learn, and make good decisions. To make these functions possible we need to make sure they are eating enough good fat. Why is dietary fat so important for children? The answer is that adequate amounts of fat are essential to avoid essential fatty acid deficiencies as well as for absorbing basic nutrients such as vitamins (e.g., A and D especially abundant in good fats) , minerals and enzymes necessary for the growing and developing brain. Our national obsession with low-fat diets has led to behavioral, emotional and developmental problems in our children. Many kids have trouble learning, focusing or staying alert at school and some of this may be due to eating high sugar, high carb, highly processed, chemical laden food and following a low-fat diet. Let’s get back to the basics and start eating feeding our children (and ourselves) more good fat!
Tips on how to eat more good fat:
Get rid of margarine and other butter substitutes and put butter back into the fridge. Butter contains a wide range of essential fats; substitutes do not. Skip the egg whites in favor of whole eggs, preferably eggs from pastured hens (these eggs offer better-quality protein). Egg yolk provides essential fats for our nervous systems as well as fat-soluble vitamins A and D. Eggs are an amazing brain food and make a great breakfast to start your kids off on in the morning instead of high sugar cereals and skim milk. In fact, get rid of fat-free products, including fat-free milk and yogurt. Enjoy whole milk and whole-milk yogurt and cheeses, preferably organic and/or raw if available. If you are dairy-free then use coconut milk or ghee instead of milk products and butter. Make dips with avocado and chop up some veggies and raw cheese slices for a delicious midday or after school snack with healthy fats.
It’s all about eating real food! Real food contains cholesterol and fats that are healthy foods for you and your brain…and your children’s brains, too. More about fats and the brain as well as children’s health can be found in Chapters 9 and 10 of my NEW book The Skinny on Fats.
great current info in an easy to read format
Hi, Sheryl!
Really enjoy your newsletters and blog posts! I do have a question though, which I’m sure you’ve probably already been asked many times, since you have addressed GF diets and needs. But, many of us who are medically required to eat gluten free also have problems with dairy. Also, my son who has ADHD is on a GF/CF (casein-free) diet due to a dairy allergy as determined via testing with his doctor. In regard to the health benefits of full fat dairy, what would you suggest for a person who has to stay away from casein? It troubles me to give him margarine, but in a CF diet, what else can I do that would be better for him than margarine? He already takes fish oil daily, but he loves his butter (Earth Balance margarine).
Thank you for any healthy advice you may have for this situation!
You can use ghee, which is clarified butter and doesn’t have the milk proteins in it. You can also use coconut oil and sometimes combining the two works really nicely too! If he can eat eggs, that is a great way to get the fat soluble Vitamins A and D and other wonderful nutrients.