They Are What You Feed Them: How Food Can Improve Your Child’s Behaviour, Mood and Learning. Dr Richardson Alex

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СКАЧАТЬ people do to make the same amount of vitamin D. This needs to be recognized, as indoor lifestyles (and even some habits of dress) can make it difficult to achieve enough exposure to sufficiently bright sunlight in the UK (or any other countries at a similar, or greater, distance from the equator).

      If more than a quarter of our children and adults are frankly vitamin D deficient for large parts of the year, why haven’t we heard more about this? Could it be because no one can patent sunshine, and there are no big profits to be made from selling vitamin D? Looking on the bright side (sorry)—at least sunshine is free: just make sure that you and your child get enough. Take care never to burn (if skin turns even slightly pink, that’s more than enough), but the evidence suggests that moderate exposure can bring real health benefits, with no serious additional risks of skin cancer, which we have all heard plenty about.

      TB and Vitamin D

      During the Industrial Revolution, many people worked inside for long, long hours and were never out in the sunshine. TB (tuberculosis) was prevalent then, and sufferers were sent off to sanatoriums, where the medicine given was good food and sunshine. Many recovered. Incidentally, the better food alone didn’t cure TB; the daylight really made a difference.

       Vitamin E

      Vitamin E has powerful antioxidant properties. It particularly helps to protect important fats that your brain and body need.

      Vitamin E is actually a whole family of substances (different tocopherols and tocotrienols) which act as ‘antioxidants’—discussed later in this chapter. Vitamin E helps to protect fats and fat-like substances from going rancid. It’s needed by all our cells, but particularly those in the brain, nervous system and vital organs, because these are rich in essential omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are easily destroyed by ‘oxidation’. Deficiencies of vitamin E and these fatty acids usually go hand in hand—and can contribute to some movement and coordination disorders.¹⁰ Vitamin E deficiency may also result in fragility of the red blood cells which carry oxygen around your body.

      More superficially, you may have seen vitamin E added to skin care products—aimed at helping keep your skin looking and feeling younger, or minimizing scar tissue. It’s probably more effective to provide it from the inside, via a healthy diet that provides many other skin-nourishing nutrients! And you need to know that unless you have enough vitamin C with it, vitamin E won’t work—and could even have the opposite effect. Basically, a whole range of different antioxidants work together—so you need them together, in the way they are usually provided by many natural foods. Vitamin E is found in wheatgerm, whole grains, seeds and nuts (including nut butters), unrefined vegetable oils and some fruits and vegetables. (Commercially produced bread without whole grains contains virtually no vitamin E, as milling destroys it. The same goes for refined oils—and Chapter 8 will give you more good reasons to avoid these.)

       Vitamin K

      Vitamin K is needed to help with blood-clotting.

      Vitamin K activates some of the proteins involved in bone growth, and helps your blot clot when you cut or bruise yourself. It’s found in soya, broccoli and spinach. If you have ‘good’ gut flora, some of these bacteria produce vitamin K for you.

      Water-soluble Vitamins

      Vitamin C and the B vitamins are water-soluble. Unlike A, D, E and K, they can’t be stored by your body, so regular supplies are needed each and every day.

       Vitamin C

      Vitamin C is an all-round antioxidant and also essential to help build healthy bones, cartilage and teeth, to heal wounds, and a whole lot more.

      A deficiency of vitamin C results in scurvy, a nasty disease that probably killed more than 2 million sailors on long voyages until it was discovered that a little lemon juice (or home-grown cress!) could prevent this completely. Vitamin C helps your immune system to protect you from viruses and bacteria. It’s also a natural laxative. If your child is deficient in vitamin C, you might notice she’s tired, may be prone to infections, any wounds are slow to heal, and her gums bleed easily.

      Vitamin C is found in fruit (especially citrus fruits) and vegetables (especially leafy green ones). Don’t be fooled by artificial vitamin C (ascorbic acid) added to soft drinks: many contain negligible amounts, and these drinks may also contain sodium benzoate—a common preservative that reacts with vitamin C to produce the toxic chemical benzene. (See Chapter 6 for more details on how this brain poison has been found in many soft drinks at up to 8 times the maximum that’s legally permitted in drinking water.) The message is: get vitamin C from fresh fruits and vegetables—as many different types as possible!

       Vitamin B

      Vitamin B is actually a whole range of vitamins. All are used as co-enzymes – that is, they help other enzymes to perform numerous tasks around your brain and body. They’re important for energy-production, maintaining a healthy heart, growth and reproduction of cells, and various mental functions including attention, thinking skills, coordination and memory.

      The B vitamins all work together, so they’re known as the ‘B Spectrum’. I can’t begin to do justice to them all here, although I’ve singled out a few for illustration. You can find plenty of details elsewhere if you want more information on individual members of the B family.¹¹

      Vitamin B Complex is essential for:

       normal growth and development

       energy-production

       functioning of the brain and nervous system

       functioning of the liver, kidneys and other organs

       health of the heart and circulation

       maintenance of other body tissues

       digestion

       immune function

       protein, fat and carbohydrate metabolism

       manufacture of red blood cells

       endocrine and hormonal systems

       cell division and DNA repair

       numerous enzyme systems

      Better Nutrition Can Reduce Antisocial Behaviour

      Results of a study by my colleague Bernard Gesch,¹² funded by the charity ‘Natural Justice’, revealed the remarkable effects of micronutrients on behaviour. This was the most definitive study yet showing the impact of diet on antisocial behaviour, including violence: a rigorously controlled trial involving 231 young offenders at a high-security prison in the UK.

      Half the young men received daily multivitamin and fatty acid supplements (providing micronutrients only at doses close СКАЧАТЬ