Parents typically have the best intentions when it comes to nutrition for their kids heading back to school—until life gets busy. That’s where the trouble starts, according to Dr. Paul Hrkal, a naturopathic doctor at the Pain and Wellness Centre in Vaughan, Ont., who has five kids of his own. When counselling patients, Hrkal talks about setting up healthy family routines and planning ahead to stay on top of nutrition needs, because good habits are what promote the benefits of nutrition that kids require for learning by maintaining energy throughout the school day.
Why sugary, processed foods harm focus and energy
Ultra-processed foods are industrial formulations that usually contain artificial food additives for colour, taste and smell. They’re commonly inexpensive, nearly imperishable, highly palatable and easily consumed—and they’re eye-catching on supermarket shelves and ultra-convenient to serve or add to a lunch bag. Research has linked these foods to a higher level of inflammation, the doctor explains. For children, that means they’re not going to be able to focus and have a smooth, consistent source of energy.
Instead, they’re going to have a big blood sugar spike followed by a blood sugar crash. “We obviously know that we’re just coming off the summer vacation time where kids are having s’mores and treats and ice cream,” he says. The amount of sugar in ice cream or a chocolate bar that you’d consider a treat is similar to a sweetened yogurt, soft drink or even a juice, so the doctor advises checking the ingredient list on packaged kids’ snacks to see if sugar is 15, 20 or more grams per serving. “This is a very large amount, and that’s going to cause some of these detrimental blood sugar spikes and crashes.”
The compounds in these foods are so tasty they keep a child’s brain wanting more, triggering a strong pleasure response.
The addictive property disrupts the brain’s neurochemistry so you can’t focus. “We’ve all heard of how scrolling on screens causes dopamine hits,” Hrkal says of the chemical that plays a role in the brain’s reward centre. “But well before screens, there is the same thing happening when you have something that’s very, very sugary or very hyper-palatable.”
That’s the core of the problem for many families.
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The convenience of packaged snacks is hard to beat, even when parents know better. The pull of a bright wrapper or a sweet taste can override the best-laid plans for a balanced lunch bag, especially on a rushed school morning.
Aim for whole foods and DIY mixes
The good habit here is aiming for whole foods for the best nutrition, which often means making it yourself. Snacks could be a mix of roasted seeds with a bit of dried fruit or low-sugar chocolate chips, or fruit and plain yogurt with added berries.
Also, don’t skip breakfast.
Everybody, but kids especially, needs to start the day off by fueling their body. “You wouldn’t let your kid go to bed without brushing your teeth. You should probably have the same principle with breakfast. Have some whole food with breakfast. A piece of fruit is great and you know, minimally processed, minimal sugar,” says the doctor.
“The biggest complaint that people tell me is ‘I’m not hungry in the morning’. Well, that’s a habit you have to actually cultivate because most parents that get up, grab a cup of coffee on the go, they’ve habituated to that for years. And it’s unfortunately unhealthy for your body’s metabolism to be fueled in that insufficient way.” He adds that setting an example for your kids starts with breakfast, so make a point of eating with your family.
Psychology researchers at the University of Leeds studied breakfast’s effect on children’s cognition.
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They determined that tasks requiring attention, executive function and memory—all critical for learning—were facilitated more reliably by breakfast consumption relative to fasting, with effects more apparent in undernourished children.
If kids aren’t set up with nutritious fuel, they can experience irritability, fatigue and even anxiety.
Hrkal says lunch is also important, with whole foods to sustain energy in the afternoon and reduce snacking when they return home, like “rummaging around the cupboard for cookies.” His kids always have fruit and veg in their lunch bag, and ideally a complex carb and protein for additional key nutrients.
“If they have two eggs in the morning, at lunch, you’re going to make sure maybe you have some leftovers with half a chicken breast or ground beef pasta. So there’s some good protein and a good source of B12 and iron,” he suggests, noting that eggs are rich in choline for brain health, and B12 is important for growth and energy. Iron is key for these aspects as well as muscle recovery for more active school activities. The doctor also suggests being mindful of iron for girls when they start menstruating, especially if they’re very tired, their hair is falling out or they have easy bruising. They may need an iron supplement.
Other key nutrients Hrkal flags are vitamin D, healthy fats including omega-3s (he recommends a quality omega-3 supplement to support brain development), and probiotics in supplement form to boost immunity as cold and flu season returns.
Get creative with packed lunches
Dr. Christine Cho-D’Souza, also a naturopathic doctor at the Pain and Wellness Centre, emphasizes the merits of balanced nutrition for young kids like her five-year-old daughter who is going into senior kindergarten. As a parent, she’s transitioning from daycare, where lunches and snacks were provided, to planning and prepping the lunch bag. “I think that my daughter is actually pretty flexible, so I’m lucky with that. But I know from speaking with patients, even my sister or other family members, they have a lot of trouble with packing school lunches that are both going to be eaten and provide the nutrients for their kids,” she says, noting the impact on regular meals for focus, mood and their ability to recall what they’re learning.
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“The really important thing to remember is that what the kids eat at school is just as important as what they eat at home because they spend so much time there.” Her tips are packing colourful choices that can, to some extent, compete with candy favourites like Skittles. She suggests berries or whatever fruits they’ll eat so they’ll get B vitamins and fibre. With vegetables, you can also explore something new, like beets or radishes or other brightly-coloured vegetables.
“Sometimes when they’re at school, they’re chatting, not paying attention to what’s actually going in their mouth. So they may pop one or two of those small pieces. They may not like it, but at least they’re trying and exposed to these things.”
Cho-D’Souza is also big on protein and suggests dinner leftovers, individually portioned cheese, or cutting up a cheese block into cubes to accompany the fibre and other nutrients from the vegetables. Another option is make-your-own yogurt parfaits with a little sweetener like honey and fruit, steering away from the high-sugar premade ones. If your kids won’t eat the vegetables you pack, add more fruit as opposed to a sugary granola bar.
“It’s not to say that you can’t have packaged or convenience foods, but try to keep them to a minimum if possible and do your own thing whenever you can as well.” She recommends fruit-only bars that contain dried fruit, “nothing like the fruit roll-ups that we had back in the ’90s.”
As well, with all the energy drinks and carbonated sugary beverages available today, quality hydration is something parents need to emphasize.
Make sure they have a water bottle with them for school. “Any form of caffeine or energy drinks, or caffeinated drinks from coffee places, that kind of stuff should be really at a minimum, even for adults,” she adds. “Those kinds of things you don’t need to have on a daily basis for just hydration purposes. For most people, water is adequate.”
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