Contrary to what the advertisements claim, many foods that you give your child are bad for their brain. Breakfast cereal, processed fruit juices, instant noodles and sugary drinks are extremely harmful for your baby’s brain. Breakfast bars, muffins and bagels are also equally bad. Frozen waffles, prepackaged sandwiches, sweetened non-fat yogurts are more foods that cause harm to your child’s brain. Tea, coffee, and soda are also bad for your little one’s brain.

These are not only loaded with artificial colors and preservatives, but they also contain lots of sugar. This makes them the worst food for your child’s brain. Here is a list of 11 worst food for your child’s brain. Make sure you avoid these in their diet or at least limit the amount they consume.

Read More: 15 Ways to Improve Brain Power among Kids

11 Worst Food For Your Child’s Brain

1. Breakfast Cereal

No matter how careful you are in avoiding excessive sugar in your child’s breakfast cereal, there is always some amount present. These are also made of refined flour. This has no nutritional value for your child. If anything, these are simple carbohydrates that are waiting to turn into sugar the moment they enter your baby’s body.

Those with added sugar are even more dangerous. These can cause your baby to become hyperactive. It can affect your child’s attention and focus at school. It can also have negative influence on their behavior and mood.

2. Artificial Fruit Juices

In spite of the many benefits claimed by manufacturing companies, most fruit juices are simply sugar water with fruit flavors. The excess amount of sugar found in these packaged juices cause great harm to your baby’s brain.

Even if you give 100% fruit juice to your child, they are getting all the sugar without any of the nutritive fiber. Fruit juices become nothing but excess sugar going into your baby’s body. Instead, you can give your child fresh fruits to eat. This will ensure that your baby gets all the nutrients.

Read More: 7 Juices to Increase Lactation

3. Instant noodles

Packaged and processed foods such as instant noodles contain MSG (Monosodium Glutamate). This is often used in packaged foods to enhance the flavors. However, this is very harmful for your baby. Instant noodles contain high amounts of MSG.

This can cause hyperactivity in your baby. It can also lead to headaches and mood changes in your little one. It can also cause behavior changes that can lead to irritability. It is also best to avoid fast foods and packed foods such as chips.

Read More: Effects of Fast-foods and Snacking on Children

4. Sugary Drinks

Sugary drinks such as soda, energy drinks and others can increase the risk of your child getting type 2 diabetes. It also increases the risk of them getting heart disease. Drinking excessive sugary drinks also affects your child’s brain and memory.

It can hamper with the proper development of the child’s brain. This can lead to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s later on in their life. Research has shown that high intake of the sugar fructose can lead to insulin resistance in your child’s brain. This can lead to reduced brain function, memory and learning.

Read More: How Much Sugar is Good for Your Kids?

5. Breakfast bars

If you believe the television commercials, then there is nothing better than breakfast bars for your child. However, it couldn’t be further from the reality. Present day breakfast bars are almost like the candy bars available in the market. These breakfast bars are low in protein and have high amounts of sugar.

These are similar to eating the breakfast cereals that are high on sugar. Not only does your baby not get any nutrients, but they are also ingesting harmful sugar. Sugar is very harmful for your baby’s brain and can cause hyperactivity. In stead you can try making home made breakfast bars with fresh fruits and whole grains.

Read More: 9 Deadly Side Effects Of Junk Food On Kids

6. Muffins

Store bought muffins are one of the worst foods for child’s brain. It is very tempting to give them to your kids for a quick snack. However, there is nothing worse for your child’s brain than the muffins that you buy at the supermarket.

These are simply packed with refined flour and sugar. Once again, this combination is very bad for your baby’s brain. The sugar will make them prone to hyperactivity. It can even lead to moodiness and sugar crashes resulting in irritability. You can instead make healthy muffins at home with the numerous recipes available on the internet.

7. Bagels

You may think that feeding your child with toasted bagels with dollops of peanut butter fulfills their requirement of protein. But sadly, this is not true at all. Bagels are as harmful as white bread for your child’s brain.

They contain no nutrients and no fiber. On the contrary, they can make your child’s brain sluggish. You can instead opt for whole grain bagels and serve them with cream cheese or nut butter. These help your child to focus better on their schoolwork.

8. Frozen Waffles

You must have seen stacks of frozen waffles and pancakes in the supermarket. These may seem like an easy alternative for busy mothers but are extremely harmful for your child’s brain. The reason for this is simple. Frozen waffles are nothing, but simple carbs coated with sugary syrup.

These do nothing good for your child’s brain. They are only headed for a massive sugar crash after having these. In stead you can opt to make pancakes at home. Save time by making a large batch on the weekends. Use whole wheat or high-quality gluten free flour to make the batter. Use pure maple syrup to avoid excess sugar. However, use limited quantity.

9. Caffeine rich foods

Caffeine is very bad for your child’s brain. However, it is naturally occurring in food such as coffee, tea and even chocolate. Children have smaller brains than adults and they are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than adults.

Many companies also add caffeine to sodas and even to certain medications. You need to be very careful about how much caffeine your baby is consuming. Excess caffeine can lead to loss of sleep, hyperactivity and nervousness. It can also cause headaches, stomach aches and jumpiness.

10. Prepackaged sandwiches

There is some amount of protein present in the prepackaged sandwiches available in the markets. This may seem like the perfect option for a quick breakfast for your child, but this is not the case. Even though these are a tasty option, there is not much nutritional value that they get.

Moreover, they are loaded with fat, sodium and preservatives. These are very harmful to your baby’s brain. Studies have also linked the trans fats available in the prepackaged sandwiches can also lead to poor memory, cognitive decline, migraines and lower brain volume.

11. Sweetened, nonfat yogurt

A container of kids’ fruit yogurt or those yogurt squeeze tubes are not great options. In fact, many flavored yogurts contain more sugar than a comparable serving of ice cream. Removing the fat from dairy products and adding sugar changes a nutritious breakfast option into a food that is better suited as an occasional treat.

These can also have artificial coloring which are harmful of your baby’s brain. Artificial coloring has been linked to anxiety, ADHD, headaches and hyperactivity. Mostly sugar gets all the blame for mood changes and behavior changes in children. However, artificial coloring hidden in yogurts can be responsible.

Read More: Health Benefits of Yogurt for Babies

Conclusion

There are many foods that may seem like good options for your child, but these are very harmful for their brain. You need to be careful about how much sugar your child is eating through the different foods in his or her diet. You can also talk to your doctor for a detailed diet plan that avoids foods that are harmful for your baby’s brain.

Reference:

https://sg.theasianparent.com/foods-bad-for-child-brain/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/worst-foods-for-your-brain