By Clare Marcangelo
In the past, having an anxious child may have been something a parent chose to hide for fear of being judged, or their child treated unfairly, as it was not seen commonly, or at least not commonly discussed.
This is no longer the case. Now more than ever, children are experiencing high stress and diagnosis of anxiety is on the rise. Because of this new era of understanding and prioritising mental health, there are many supports available for our children to enable them to manage their feelings.
As parents and carers however, we can almost feel powerless to help them on a day to day basis, so thankfully there are many things we can do at home that make a difference. Using nutrition to support neurotransmitters and blood sugar stability can make a difference to our children. The following a simple ways to start in your kitchen.
Cut the Sugar
Whether it’s spiking or dipping refined sugar can really influence your child’s mood. Continually snacking on sugar laden or even just simple carbohydrate foods causes too many big ups and downs in blood sugar levels. For some children, their “hangry” can be extreme emotional dysregulation. Adding good fats and proteins to meals/ snacks will help stabilise things. Refined sugar itself can have an excitatory effect on the brain and nervous system so opting for natural derivatives is a much better choice.
Feel good foods
Try foods containing tryptophan to boost your child’s mood. Tryptophan is a precursor to both Melatonin (for sleep) and Serotonin (the good feeling chemical). Try foods like chicken, pork, and Turkey, edamame, nuts and nut butters, dairy foods and oat porridge.
Keeping them well
Unfortunately, chronic stress can lead to inflammation, which is the body’s reaction to any stressor which can potentially affect the immune system. Certainly not something we want to see happen right now. Winter brings the usual virus’s but many of us may have a somewhat lowered immune system if we have recently been unwell.
To compensate for this, try to give your child as many anti inflammatory foods as possible, such as olive oil, oily fish, nuts and berries like blueberries and oranges. Its important to avoid sugary snacks fried foods, and refined carbohydrates like pastry biscuits and white bread.
What about my fussy eater?
This can be tricky but start slow and use weekends as a great time to gently transition from one problematic food to a more calming one. When in doubt, don’t add more stress. If change is just too much for your child, little short cuts like milkshakes or smoothies can be used to hide things we can’t get away with on a plate.
Every little whole food you swap for a sugary or artificial additive laden food makes a difference to their health and wellbeing, so its OK to aim for better, not for perfect.
Clare Marcangelo is a local registered Nutritionist and former Early Childhood practitioner who specialises in children’s health. As a mum herself, she knows how hard it can be to make even the smallest of changes to a family diet.