Feeding the ADD Mind - The Importance Of A Balanced Breakfast for a child with ADD/ADHD

By: Sadiyya Seedat

We all know the importance of a healthy, balanced breakfast. But for the child with ADD/ADHD this meal takes on a special significance.

The word breakfast literally means ‘break fast’ . Your body has gone all night long without any nourishment and needs to replenished soon after you wake up.

Eating is one half of the equation, what you eat is the other. If your child is hungry very soon after eating breakfast, then he isn’t eating the right foods.

Breakfasts that consist primarily of sugary foods and refined carbohydrates such as sweetened fruit juice, doughnuts or sugar coated breakfast cereals, are likely to make your child very hyperactive, jittery and inattentive. And an hour or so later, your child’s blood sugar levels plummet making your child hungry once again.

The secret is giving your child a balanced breakfast. Protein is an essential component of a balanced breakfast because it helps to keep a child’s blood sugar levels stable.

What does a balanced breakfast consist of:

The American Dietetic Association has come up with what they call a 5 star breakfast criteria. The more stars a breakfast scored, the more balanced and nutritious it is.

Here are the 5 criteria:
The breakfast must contain one selection from 3 different food groups.
It must not have more than one food from nutritionally lacking fats, oils and sweets.
It must include high fiber foods such as wholegrain breads or cereals, or fruit.
The fat content must be reduced.
And you child must enjoy and actually eat the meal. After all it’s no use how nutritious the breakfast is if your child doesn’t eat it.

Article Source: http://www.parentingarticlelibrary.com

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