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1. Optimum Nutrition for your Child's Mind
Maximise your child's potential
If you want to maximise your child’s potential you need to feed
them the best brain food. Whether it's their first toddle on the
kitchen floor or, their sudden plunge into emotions and
relationships as teenagers all depends on how well their brains
are working. And that in turn depends, in large part on how well their brain
is nourished.
Below outlines an easy to follow five-point plan to help you balance your
child’s mood and improve their concentration both at school and at play.
1.Take your child off foods with additives or added sugar
Sugar creates imbalances in energy that can contribute to erratic behaviour,
hyperactivity and mood changes. Sweets, chocolates, cakes, biscuits, some
breakfast cereals, soft drinks, puddings and many other foods all contain sugar in
one of its many forms. When checking labels, avoid foods that contain sucrose,
glucose, malt, dextrose, inverted sugar syrup, golden syrup, corn syrup and
honey. Also check for additives – artificial colourings, sweeteners, preservatives
and flavourings can all contribute to adverse behaviour, particularly the orange
colouring tartrazine (E102) found in some orange squashes and sweets, mono-
sodium glutamate (MSG) and caffeine. It’s better to avoid giving your child
processed foods and instead opt for natural, sugar-free alternatives.
Sugared and caffeinated drinks are the worst. Researchers at Yale University
gave healthy children a sugary soft drink followed by a blood test. They
discovered that their adrenalin levels were FIVE times higher than normal for up
to five hours after they’d consumed the drink and that levels of irritability and
anxiety increased in the children during the test period. A UK study found that
reducing sugar levels halved the number of disciplinary actions in young
offenders.
2. Increase fruit, veg and foods rich in vitamins and minerals
Rather than letting your child fill up on junk food, give them whole, nutritious food
to eat. White bread, rice and pasta have the nutrients stripped out, so opt instead
for wholemeal varieties, which are also more filling and contain fibre to
encourage healthy digestion.
Ensure too their diet is rich in fresh fruit and vegetables which provide vitamins
and minerals essential for building a strong healthy body. Some children may be
reluctant to swap the sweets for an apple, but if you hold firm, often

2. their sweet tooth will recede. Also use your imagination to make fresh
food more exciting – tempt them with delicious fruit smoothies (with
Herbalife’s Nutritional Shake), bite-size snacks of cherry tomatoes,
berries or grapes, bake apples or pears with cinnamon and serve with
creamy Greek yoghurt, cut vegetables into fun shapes to eat with dips,
or puree and ‘disguise’ in sauces and soups.
For children who are used to a diet of processed food such as chicken
nuggets or fish fingers, it may help to switch across first to a home made
equivalent such as chicken strips and fish cakes and then gradually
introduce more vegetables into the mix e.g. fish and broccoli cakes etc.
That way their taste buds gradually adjust to natural vegetable flavours.
3. Boost levels of essential fats
Some types of fats called trans fats found in processed foods should be
avoided. These are hydrogenated fats and are typically found in packaged foods
with a long sell by date. However, there are other fats that are essential and a
deficiency could negatively impact on your child’s behaviour. For example, the
brain and nervous system needs a good supply of special essential fats called
omega 6 and omega 3 to function and develop effectively. To ensure your child
gets enough of these fats give them the following:
Oily fish i.e. salmon, mackerel, tuna (preferably fresh not tinned tuna as there’s
more omega 3 in fresh) 3 times a week;
AND
A heaped tablespoon of freshly-ground seeds on their cereal or sprinkled on
soups or in salads every day. The magic formula is mix half pumpkin, sunflower
and sesame with half linseeds, store in a glass jar in the fridge then grind fresh in
a coffee grinder before serving.
AND
Supplement essential fats. A trial studying the effects of essential
fats on school children up to 12 years of age found significant
improvements in reading, writing and symptoms of ADHD after
three months. Herbalifeline (Herbalife’s omega 3) contains
both omega EPA and DHA.

3. 4. Supplement the diet
Your child can benefit from a quality daily multivitamin in addition to a well-
balanced diet. All the evidence shows that just eating the recommended daily
amount (RDA) of vitamins is not enough to really maximise their potential. Simply
put, if you want to guarantee optimum nutrition for your child to give them a high
strength children’s multivitamin with more than the RDA, especially for B
vitamins. A study in Sweden found a direct association between
school grades and homocysteine (an indicator of vitamin B deficiency).
The higher the homocysteine levels, the lower the school grades.
Researchers in the US gave 200 seventh grade children a daily dose
of zinc and found that those given the highest level – twice the RDA – had
faster and more accurate memories and better attention spans than those
given the RDA. Zinc is rich in seeds and nuts. Herbalife’s Nutritional Shake
and multivitamin contains all the essential vitamins and minerals
that are needed for optimum functioning.
5. Eliminate allergens from the diet
If you suspect your child is intolerant to a particular food – for example, you
notice they react badly after eating the [same thing] certain foods, or they seem
to crave a particular food – eliminate it from their diet and monitor the reaction. If
after two weeks you see no difference in behaviour/symptoms, reintroduce it and
see if there’s a reaction. If not, then try a different suspected food group until you
find what’s bothering them (or find that food’s not in fact the problem). The most
common foods that cause problems are wheat, gluten (the protein found in
wheat, barley and rye and a slightly less allergenic version in oats), dairy foods
and eggs.
6. Never skip breakfast
Eating a decent breakfast really is essential for your child to be able to
concentrate at school. If their blood sugar stays low all morning they can
experience anything from dizziness to lack of focus. Avoid toast and jam or
sugary cereals as these will fire up your child for a short time, making them
hyperactive or irritable (see point 4) and then result in an energy dip mid-
morning. Instead, oatflakes instead of sugared cornflakes or porridge made with
natural rolled oats and sweetened with fresh fruit will keep them feeling
energised until lunchtime.
Studies in the US and UK have shown that children of all ages show significantly
improved listening, concentration and mental agility skills when they have had
breakfast, than those who skip it. In one study, 8-11 year olds who were fed a
healthy breakfast took just half the time to complete an arithmetic test as their
hungry counterparts.

4. Some ideas for healthy eating:
Breakfast – Avoid sugary cereals and opt for oat based cereals such as porridge
(sweetened with grated apple) or muesli, fresh fruit smoothies (fruit blended with
yoghurt/milk and seeds and Herbalife’s Nutritional Shake) poached or boiled egg
with wholemeal soldiers, or kippers.
Lunch – a sandwich made with wholemeal bread with a tasty filling (e.g. tuna,
egg, cheese, salad), hunks of cheese, cherry tomatoes, vegetable sticks, a slice
of quiche for packed lunches; jacket potatoes, soups, scrambled or poached
eggs or salads at home.
Supper – It is important to make sure there is some element of protein in every
meal - fresh (not processed) meat, fish or vegetable protein (soya, beans or
lentils) with fresh vegetables, wholemeal spaghetti with a fresh tomato sauce,
chilli with brown rice or fresh vegetable risotto. If your child eats a very limited
range of vegetables find something new that they like and introduce it in small
quantities.
For healthy snacks – fresh fruit (for faddy eaters it often helps to cut fruit into bit
size pieces and place on the table in front of them - they will gradually eat it
without noticing! OR serve it in the form of a fruit smoothie), oat cakes or
wholegrain bread with peanut butter, almonds and pumpkin seeds, or homemade
flapjacks sweetened with dried fruit or honey.