5 Essential Nutrients to Boost Child's Brain Power

Providing right nutrition to kids is essential for ensuring right brain development. Read on to learn about the 5 nutrients which help to boost brain power of children.Every parent wants their kids to be the smartest and is therefore justifiably concerned about nutrition which plays a major role in shaping brain power and intelligence. Nutritionists and child specialists say that 70% of the brain development is complete by the age of 5 which is why kids need all the requisite nutrients and proper diet to ensure optimum brain development. Here are 5 essential nutrients which you as a parent should ensure that your child gets. In this articleCalciumIronCholineFibreWaterCalciumCalcium is one of the most important elements that should be included in your child’s diet and the reason is more than just healthy bone development. Calcium along with phosphorus contributes a lot in the cranial development of children which happens at a very early age. Milk is one of the best forms of food that has a good amount of calcium, phosphorus and Vitamin D in it. Milk should be an integral part of your child’s diet unless he or she is suffering from lactose intolerance in which case you should switch to yoghurt.IronIron is one of the most critical elements that contribute to the proper functioning of the cognitive power of the brain. Even a small dip in the iron level can cause a serious dip in the brain power of children. Make sure that your child’s meals include plenty of iron. Some of the richest sources of iron include mutton (any form of red meat), spinach, dairy products and broccoli. Iron deficiency is a pretty common problem nowadays so does make sure that you add the above mentioned food groups to your child’s meal plans.CholineCholine is scientifically proven to aid in the creation of new memory cells in the brain. The more number of memory cells are there in the brain the better is the function of the memory. Choline is one of the most recommended nutrients for women who are lactating or pregnant. Choline is found in abundance in eggs and nuts so make sure that your child’s diet contains a lot of either of these two food groups. However, do make sure that your kids are tested for food allergies before you serve them eggs and nuts as both these items are potential allergens.FibreThough fibre is present in many types of breakfast cereals it has been proved that oatmeal is one of the richest and the most effective sources. On a recent scientific trial done in the Tufts University it has been seen that school children who were fed oatmeal over a period of many weeks performed better in map reading, navigating and other tasks involving the use of spatial memory. Apparently oatmeal digests quite slowly and gives the brain a steady stream of energy along with adequate mix of proteins. If your kids do not like the traditional preparation of oats and milk allow them to add toppings like fruits, dry fruits and nuts to make the food more appealing.WaterMost kids are very high energy and are in a state of constant motion. Their daily water intake should be spaced out at frequent intervals to ensure that their bodies are never dehydrated. However, most parents neglect the importance of water and research has shown that 60% of kids spend their childhood in a state of mild dehydration especially around play time.Even a very mild condition of dehydration saps away the brain power making kid feel lethargic, low and lazy. The solution is to offer your kids plenty of water at all meal times and to increase the intake when they are playing or are engaged in other physically demanding activity.Give your children the best from the right time to make them competent for their fast paced life.Which nutrients are essential for boosting brain power of children? How to ensure right brain development of children? How to include foods that aid in brain development in child’s diet? Discuss here.