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A Healthy Breakfast Improves Marks At School
Paediatricians from the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Paediatrics, state that children's breakfasts must be very rich and healthy at the same time. Science confirms the importance of breakfast even in school performance.
Children are extraordinary living beings in the midst of their evolution and growth. They need lots of nutrients to grow and develop healthy and robust physical and mental structures. If breakfast is the most important meal of the day for us adults, it is even more so for our children.
Supporting this thesis is not only common sense, but science itself. A scientific paper published by Cambridge University showed how children, if they have breakfast, can get marks up to two times higher than those who skip breakfast.
This study involved 5,000 children aged 9 to 11 and tested the nutritional habits of young students in relation to their school performance. It has emerged that children who have a hearty breakfast before going to school have on average much higher grades than children who do not.
How do these results are explained? And why is breakfast so important for children? A research published by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition answer perfectly this question. Children, but also teenagers who skip breakfast, have a lower ability to remain alert, less visual memory and generally less cognitive performance in the early hours of the day.
In short, skipping breakfast makes cognitive performance worse. Breakfast, on the other hand, improves children's brain activity and allows them to learn more in class. Breakfast for children is a fundamental meal because it allows them to face the day with all the energy necessary for school’s mental and physical activities.
Children who skip breakfast are then deprived of the nutrients necessary for attention, concentration and cognitive performance. Children aged between about 3 and 10 years, need double the amount of glucose compared to adults. Glucose is the fuel of our body, including the brain. Some of the foods we eat are transformed into glucose for the functioning of our body. But that does not mean children have to eat processed sugar!
Experts from the Italian Society of Preventive and Social Paediatrics (Sipps) have developed guidelines to advise parents in preparing breakfast for their children. Breakfast and lunch together must represent 60% of the total caloric intake of the day.
Breakfast, in particular, must be particularly rich, because it is the first meal after the nocturnal fast and is the body's first source of sustenance. The indications on what to eat for breakfast generally follow what the WHO suggests for adult nutrition.
Therefore, seasonal fruits and vegetables, whole grain cereals, vegetable proteins and unsaturated fats are preferential. Children should consume foods that are low in added sugars and have a low glycemic index, avoiding carbonated drinks, sweets, fried foods and packaged products with low nutritional value.
(source Adkronos)
Here at Iswari, we have selected the best natural, organic, and nutritionally rich ingredients to develop a delicious instant mix for your childs breakfast. Our Little Buddha range has a base of milled buckwheat, a gluten-free cereal rich in fibre and vitamins and complex carbohydrates. These are assimilated gradually and turned into available energy for many hours, keeping our children satiated and active until lunchtime.
Each version of the Little Buddha contains special superfoods, such as tigernut flour (not actually a nut!) and Lucuma, which is rich in vitamins and minerals, and ground Flax Seeds, which is a great source of unsaturated healthy fats, Omega-3 and fibre. Then there are 3 flavours to choose form: Bananapple (banana apple), Blueberry Magic or Carob Breakfast, for a naturally irresistible taste.
How to prepare a breakfast Little Buddha kids breakfast? Very simple: just add 3 tablespoons of the mix to a bowl, and mix in milk/milk alternative, yogurt or even just water, to get a creamy, hot or cold porridge. You can add sliced or chopped fresh fruit as you like to add garnish and texture. The healthiest and heartiest breakfast for your little ones!
