Be Fat Smart
Boosting your child's brainpower may be as simple as choosing good-fat snacks.
Incorporating snacks that contain more polyunsaturated than saturated fatty acids in your family's diet could help your children sharpen their memory skills and perform better in school, a recent study suggests. Walnuts, pistachios, and pumpkin and sunflower seeds are smart choices.
Saturated-fat snacks to avoid giving your kids include candy bars, chips, and buttered popcorn.
In a recent study, researchers looked at the effects of different kinds of fat on psychosocial and cognitive functioning in children between the ages of 6 and 16. Total fat intake had no effect on performance, overall. However, they found that children who regularly ate foods high in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) performed better on tests requiring short-term memory skills. An increase in dietary cholesterol reduced their performance on the same tests.
Polyunsaturated fats are found not only in nuts and seeds, but also in vegetable oils, green leafy veggies, soy products, and some seafood, such as salmon, mackerel, and cod. Many kids love snacking on fresh, steamed soybeans or sipping smoothies made with vanilla or strawberry flavored soymilk. Add a dash of flaxseed oil for added PUFAs.
