By Sarah Hanratty – Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner
Most children have moments when emotional instability takes over and they have a major tantrum. We know that being tired makes meltdowns more likely, but when a good night’s rest hasn’t had an impact, what next? There are nutritional factors that make children more prone to tantrums and small changes to their diet that make them much less likely to occur.
Sugar, blood sugar dips and behaviour:
Dips in the level of sugar in our bloodstream leads to disruptions to mood and emotional stability. When a child’s blood sugar levels dip meltdowns can become inevitable. All the starchy and sugary foods we eat gets turned into glucose which enters our bloodstream. Our blood sugar levels are affected by how quickly the food we eat enters the blood stream. If it is a sugary snack or even a slice of plain white toast this can enter the bloodstream quickly; giving a temporary surge of energy. The body likes to keep blood sugar within a certain range and so insulin works quickly to remove the excess glucose. This can lead to a substantial drop in blood glucose levels. The brain relies on glucose supply to function well and a sudden drop leads to symptoms that affect mood – irritability, frustration, brain fog and an inability to have stable emotions. If you have ever noticed your child getting ‘hangry’ when it’s getting close to mealtimes – this is a sign of dipping blood sugar levels. Bringing blood sugar back into range is important but choosing another sugary snack to do this can lead to blood sugar levels rising too high and subsequently dropping once again. Please note that these reactive swings in blood sugar levels are a ‘normal’ physical reaction to excess glucose and are not to be confused with the chronic blood sugar issues that we see in diabetes.
What can help?
To help your child achieve balanced mood and well-being begin by avoiding sugary foods. These are the foods most likely to disrupt blood sugar levels. Fruit juices, if given away from meals can also fall into this category. A diet that relies largely on starchy foods like cereal, potatoes and pasta may also affect blood sugar levels in some children. The key is to balance starchy foods with good amounts of protein. The presence of protein in a meal or snack slows down the release of glucose into the bloodstream. Healthy fats like olive oil, oily fish, avocados and nut butters can also slow down glucose release. Slow and stable release of glucose into the blood stream will lead to sustained mood, energy and less emotional lability. Ensure that your child’s meals and snacks contain good amounts of fish, lentils, eggs, meat/poultry, nuts/seeds, cheese and pulses. Skipping meals can also make meltdowns more likely. For young children, regular smaller meals and snacks seem to work better for blood sugar balance.
Some specific nutrients are important for both behaviour and blood sugar balance in young children. These include chromium, zinc, iron, B vitamins and omega 3 fats. A diet containing whole foods, oily fish, chia seeds, lentils, red meat, pulses, broccoli and oats and minimizing processed foods is essential to keep these nutrients topped up.
Food additives that affect behaviour:
In a bid to lower the amount of sugar in products many drinks manufacturers have added more artificial sweeteners to maintain the taste. Artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than sugar and provoke cravings for sweeter foods. There are also reports from parents of mood swings, tantrums and even aggressive behaviour linked to the consumption of popular children’s drinks. This could be linked to the impact artificial sweeteners have on blood sugar. Research suggests that artificial sweeteners can still spike blood sugar in the same way as sugar. However, there is some suspicion that processing some artificial sweeteners like aspartame can be difficult for some children; and these are the ones most susceptible to the effects of having them.
There are other additives that can affect behaviour in children. These reactions can range from hyperactivity to tantrums – often swinging from one extreme to the other. These are artificial food colourings and although many food manufacturers have switched to more natural colourings there are still some popular sweets and processed foods with these additives in (Skittles, M and M’s). Artificial food colourings to look out for are E129 (allura red), E110 (sunset yellow), E102 (tartrazine), E124 (ponceau 4R), E122 (carmoisine) and E104 (quinoline yellow).
In summary, our top tips for managing meltdowns with nutrition are as follows. Avoid processed foods where possible, especially those with additives. Reduce sugar where possible and have some form of protein with all meals and snacks. Keep meals focused on whole foods and don’t leave too long between meals and snacks.