Brain Food

Pediatrician and author Dr. William "Bill" Sears was asked to examine a 5-year-old boy whose teacher was sure he had attention-deficit disorder.

It's a common diagnosis, made as often by parents and teachers as it is by health-care professionals. Sears, though, has a different theory to account for some of the cases.

He believes that many of the children who reportedly suffer from ADD actually have NDD — nutrition-deficit disorder. Meals that should be helping them develop strong brains and healthy bodies are, instead, sabotaging them.

. . .

The biggest deficiency, nutriton-wise, he said, is a dearth of Omega-3 fats.

. . .

"Bad words" on food labels include "high-fructose corn syrup," "hydrogenated" and "anything with a number on it, like red dye 5." Not all bad choices include one or more of those, but about 90 percent do. "And if you become a 90-percent mom, that's pretty good," he said. "If you can make just that simple change, you're going to do fine. And kids can remember that."

. . .

The other thing? Eat your fruits and vegetables.

The article appears in the Deseret News today and can found
here .