Acclaimed nutritionist and author Patrick Holford believes a balanced diet high in fruit and vegetables, rich in minerals and vitamins and low in additives or added sugar will make your child smarter.

According to Holford, in order to maximise your children's potential you need to feed them the best brain food possible to balance their moods and improve concentration.

Below is Holford's five-point plan, with handy tips, to capitalise on your children's mental performance and to help control their moods:

1. Take your child off foods with additives or added sugar

Sugar creates imbalances in energy that can contribute to erratic behaviour, hyperactivity and mood changes.

Avoid giving your child processed foods and instead opt for natural, sugar-free alternatives.

One of the biggest problems with getting kids who eat a lot of junk food to switch to healthy whole foods are the artificial flavours and additives lurking in the processed foods.

Whole foods can seem bland by comparison at the start, but perseverance and the gradual introduction of healthy ingredients and clever use of herbs, spices, nutritious oils, lemon juice etc. will yield the desired results.

2. Increase fruit, vegetables and foods rich in vitamins and minerals

White bread, rice and pasta have had the nutrients stripped out of them so opt for wholemeal varieties which are more filling and contain fibre to encourage healthy digestion.

Some 'brown' breads are only brown because of added colouring! Ensure children's diets are rich in fresh fruit and vegetables which provide vitamins and minerals essential for building a strong healthy body.

Use your imagination to make fresh food more exciting — tempt them with bite-size snacks of cherry tomatoes, berries or grapes, bake apples or bananas with sultanas and serve with creamy Greek yoghurt, and cut vegetables into fun shapes to eat with dips or puree and disguise them in sauces and soups.

3. Boost levels of essential fats

The brain and nervous system needs a good supply of special fats called omega 6 and omega 3 to function and develop effectively.

To ensure your children get enough of these fats include oily fish (salmon, mackerel and fresh tuna) three times a week in their diet and a heaped teaspoon of freshly-ground seeds in their cereal/soup/salad every day.

4. Supplement the diet

The cornerstone to mental and emotional health is a varied and nutritious diet. But sometimes even the best diets fail to provide the appropriate levels of nutrients we need.

Supplementation is the most reliable way to ensure your child gets appropriate levels of all the vitamins and minerals they need to be optimally nourished. Patrick endorses the Bioharmony range of supplements and has formulated specific supplements for children.

5. Eliminate allergens from the diet

If you suspect your child is intolerant to a particular food, eliminate it from their diet and monitor the difference/reaction. If after two weeks if you see no difference in the behaviour or symptoms, reintroduce it and see if there's a reaction. The most common foods that cause problems are wheat, gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye and to a lesser extent oats), diary foods and eggs.

For more information visit www.bioharmony.co.za

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