What the research really says on foods related to brain power

As the children head back to school, what better time to make sure our children’s diets are full of all the right foods to help them to be bright and alert in class. The balance of foods that we feed our children, and the timing of their meals, can have an impact on how they perform at school.

For such a small organ, the brain needs an awful lot of energy; in fact the brain uses about 20…30 % of our total energy needs.

The correct nourishment in childhood is crucial to support brain development and meet these energy needs. The brain can only store a bit of energy at a time so it is no surprise that eating meals regularly throughout the day has been reported to improve brain function – regular meals allow a constant supply of energy for the brain.

Breakfast is a very important start to the day. Our overnight fast means that blood sugar levels are low in the morning and this can cause children to feel irritable and tired, making it difficult to concentrate. Many studies have shown that regular breakfast consumption results in children performing better at school, compared to those children who don’t eat breakfast. Dr Joanne Lunn, Senior Nutrition Scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation explains "Research has shown that eating breakfast may improve children’s problem solving abilities, their memory, concentration levels, visual perception and creative thinking". Breakfast choices which release energy slowly tend to be better. Joanne suggests some good options "Porridge is a really good choice at breakfast because it is full of fibre – add fruit such as raisins or banana to sweeten it and get a serving of fruit at the same time. Muesli is also great because it is a wholegrain food and is typically high in fibre, and provides some calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc and iron as well as a number of B vitamins. Other breakfast cereals can also provide a range of important vitamins and minerals and many are a great source of fibre too".

All these breakfast options are usually taken with milk, and this provides additional calcium, protein, vitamins and minerals.

Calcium is essential for bone growth and development during childhood and adolescence.

The cells which make up our brain are rich in fats, particularly omega-3 fatty acids. These are found in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, pilchards and fresh tuna. Eating omega-3-rich foods is important in early childhood, because these fatty acids are essential for brain development. There has been some interest in the effects of omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil supplements on academic performance and behaviour in children. But there are only a few published studies on this so far, so we really need more research before we can confirm whether there is an improvement in school performance and behaviour in children.

Minerals such as iron, zinc and selenium, in addition to the vitamins folate and vitamin B12, have also been linked to healthy brain development and IQ levels. For example adequate iron levels are required for good cognitive and social-emotional development, particularly in infants. Good sources of iron include meat, beans, nuts and dried fruits. Iron is also found in fortified foods such as many breakfast cereals. Meat, milk and fish are also sources of vitamin B12.

Lisa Miles, Senior Nutrition Scientist adds "And don’t forget fluids – the water we get from food and drink is very important for the whole body to function well, and we need to be well hydrated to be able to concentrate properly. The amount of fluid we need varies according to body size, the temperature and our activity levels, but as a guide try to drink 1Ѕ to 2 litres of fluids a day".

So the overall balance of the diet is important for children to make the most of their learning opportunities at school – they need plenty of starchy foods for energy, some long-chain omega-3 fatty acids from oily fish, a variety of foods.

Task 5 Read, translate and discuss the main points of the article.

A recent editorial in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), written by researchers from the University of Oxford, has called for food labels to list trans fats as well as cholesterol and saturated fat to help reduce coronary heart disease.

This information sheet has been put together in response to this editorial.

What are trans fats (trans fatty acids)?

Trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are unsaturated fatty acids with at least one double bond in the trans configuration. Unsaturated fatty acids have some of their carbon atoms joined by double bonds, and these can exist in two different geometric forms. In the case of trans fatty acids, the two hydrogen atoms are on opposite sides of the double bond.

Which foods contain trans fatty acids?

Trans fatty acids occur naturally in small amounts in foods produced from ruminant animals, e.g. milk, beef and lamb. However, most of the trans fatty acids in the diet are produced during the process of partial hydrogenation (hardening) of vegetable oils into semi-solid fats. They are therefore found in hard margarines, partially hydrogenated oils, and in some bakery products, fried foods and other processed foods that are made using these (see below).

What are the health effects of consuming trans fatty acids?

Trans fatty acids have an adverse effect on blood lipids and have been shown to increase the risk of heart disease. Trans fatty acids increase LDL-cholesterol (the ‘bad cholesterol’) and decrease HDL-cholesterol (the ‘good cholesterol’) and, in this way, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease if consumed in high amounts. They may also have adverse effects on cardiovascular disease risk that are independent of an effect on blood lipids (Mozaffarian et al. 2006).

In a recent review of prospective studies investigating the effects of trans fatty acids on cardiovascular disease risk, a 2 % increase in energy intake from trans fatty acids was associated with a 23 % increase in the incidence of coronary heart disease. The authors also reported that the adverse effects of trans fatty acids were observed even at very low intakes (3 % of total daily energy intake, or about 2…7 g per day). (Mozaffarian et al. 2006).

However, in this recent review it is only trans fatty acids produced during the hardening of vegetable oils that are found to be harmful to health. The public health implications of consuming trans fatty acids from ruminant products are considered to be relatively limited.