Many children get 40 percent of their calories each day from sugar, reports C. Keith Conners, author of "Feeding the Brain: How Foods Affect Children." If your child displays hyperactive behavior, a diet high in sugar may exacerbate his symptoms and cause poor attention span and an inability to focus on the task at hand. Changing your child's diet by replacing sugary foods with those lower in sugar may help improve your child's hyperactive behavior.
Fresh Fruit
Added sugar is what causes problems with concentration and focus in hyperactive children, report Gareth Zeal and Hazel Courteney, authors of "500 Health Tips." Fresh fruit contains natural sugar that does not have the same negative effects on your hyperactive child. Zeal and Courteney suggest slicing a banana or apple onto your child's breakfast cereal to increase her fiber and nutrient intake without adding refined sugar to the meal. Serve low-sugar yogurt with fresh fruit as another way to increase your child's protein and fiber intake without a great deal of added sugar. Offer fresh fruit, such as berries, watermelon or grapes, as healthy snacks or side dishes throughout the day.
Nuts and Seeds
Zeal and Courteney suggest serving your hyperactive child a variety of nuts each day as a low-sugar way to offer protein, vitamins and minerals. The only exception is peanuts, which Zeal and Courteney note may not reduce symptoms like other varieties of nuts do. Chop some pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios or walnuts and sprinkle them on low-sugar yogurt or add to your child's breakfast cereal to increase nutrients without added sugar. Almonds and sunflower seeds are additional options that can be sprinkled on many of your child's favorite foods. You can also offer your hyperactive child different kinds of nuts served plain as a snack or side dish.
Whole Grains
Many hyperactive children experience an increase in behavior problems when they consume foods made with white flour and refined sugar, says Gary Null, author of "The Food-Mood-Body Connection: Nutrition-Based and Environmental Approaches to Mental Health and Physical Well-Being." White bread and pasta, as well as white rice, are some of the most common offenders. Replace these foods with whole wheat bread and pasta and brown rice to reduce the amount of sugar your child consumes each day. The whole grains will also provide fiber so your child feels full and is less likely to lose concentration and focus. Whole grains may also help regulate your hyperactive child's blood sugar, notes Null.
References
- "Feeding the Brain: How Foods Affect Children"; C. Keith Conners; 2001
- "500 Health Tips"; Gareth Zeal and Hazel Courteney; 2004
- "The Food-Mood-Body Connection: Nutrition-Based and Environmental Approaches to Mental Health and Physical Well-Being"; Gary Null, 2000
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