Health Canada CU – Diet has often been linked to occupation where individuals engaged in labor intensive occupations generally tend to consume more carbohydrates as source of energy and individuals engaged in academic work tend to benefit from more protein rich foods.
Canadian dietitian Heidi Bates has compared human learning to that of highly active sports cars that require doses of the correct fuel although the day.
“If you’re not fuelling the body at regular intervals, the amount of sugar in your blood — which is really the fuel for your brain — will go up and down, up and down, which can really compromise your brain’s ability to function,” said Bates.
To obtain to optimum focus with learning, Bates advices individuals to eat something every 2 to 3 hours of the waking part of each day and also stated that teachers can identify kids prior to arriving at school, due to their hardships in focus as they often are said to complain about a headache or stomach ache.
Bates also indicated that for adults the lack of focus can manifest as feeling sleepy or headaches.
Heidi Bates serves as director of the University of Alberta’s dietitian practicum program, conducted by the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences, nutrition lead for the Green and Gold Sport System, she also is a sport nutrition consultant.
Bates also laid out her tips for children of all ages indicating why breakfast is the most vital meal for the day as we likely to not have had any food for 8 or 12 hours and due to the morning rush, we quite often skip breakfast. She suggested covering 3 of the 4 recommended food groups such as milk, protein, grains, and fruits and vegetables.
She also warned against a worrying trend of schools and parents permitting kids to order foods for lunch where they tend to order unhealthy junk food.