The Effects Of Nutrition On The Brain

Malnutrition is being reported by medical professionals everywhere and is of major concern in almost every state in the nation. Children who suffer the effects of malnutrition contribute to a high number of those with negative health problems. Obesity is being associated as a side effect of malnutrition, as children who don’t get enough to eat regularly eat foods that are less healthy. Childhood hunger also contributes to health conditions like a deteriorated immune system, chronic fatigue, developmental problems, and behavioral issues. Many poor children in the United States today, experience an uneasy or painful sensation caused by lack of food, or hunger.

Despite the vast research on nutrition and health, malnutrition is still a major fatality in this present day. Policymakers, social scientist and medical experts have expressed alarm about the growing problem. While most agree that the issue deserves attention, consensus dissolves around how to respond and resolve the problem. Malnourishment continues to be a primary health liability in developing nations such as Asia, sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. It is globally the most significant risk factor for illness and death, predominantly with hundreds of millions of pregnant women

Nutrition is essential in every stage of the human life, from infancy to adulthood. There are many factors that lead to malnutrition, which include but are not limited to poverty, infections, lack of Knowledge and little amount of food. Some people, however do not now that their child is malnourished. In a study conducted in Rural china mothers were interviewed on malnourishment and the affects it had on the development of the child. One mother stated “It doesn't matter what he eats.That does not affect his development at all”( Yue et al,2016). Another mother said “I don't think there’s a big impact of nutrition on health. Formula and porridge are good enough for my baby ’’(Yue et al,2016). However, Undernourishment on its own can bring disorders. One of them is Marasmus which is caused by a lack of food, and this disorder leads to death. Children are the most impacted by malnutrition, from birth to twelve months of age is a crucial time period because most of the brain development is occurring and malnutrition affects the development of the brain. Another affect it has is that children may fall behind enduringly, in their cognitive and psychosocial skills compared to their peers, even if they manage to physically grow the damage has been done. Extreme malnutrition can affect the child's motor skills. Undernourishment is not only due to a lack of food, but it’s also due to many other factors. The negative impacts that undernourishment can have on a child can be

Children in need of these nutrients can suffer from stunted growth never reaching potential height. Statistics have shown stunted growth children score significantly lower on intelligence tests than do normal children. Hunger interferes with physical, emotional and academic development. According to Freedom from Hunger, “more than 4 million children will die due to hunger related causes.” NASW(2016) shows an important connection food security and nutrition play in physical and mental health.

“What does malnutrition look like? Most of us think of bloated bellies or skin and bones, but the appearance of a hungry child might surprise you. Internationally hunger often stunts growth. Imagine a 9-year-old who appears to be only 5” (“Feed the Children.” Feed). Almost 1 billion kids worldwide live in poverty and 1 in 4 children around the world suffer from malnutrition that stunts growth (“Feed the Children.” Give). This is a very big problem not only in America but everywhere else, malnutrition is the cause of almost half of child deaths each year around the world (“Feed the Children.” Give). It is close to impossible for a malnourished child to recover from diarrhea or to fight off a small illness because their immune system is just simply too weak (“Feed the Children.”

Vitamins A,B,C,D,E,K are very important in maintaining a healthy mental lifestyle, and some major foods that contain these vitamins are carrots, meat, citrus fruits, seafood, almonds, and leafy greens. Some main beneficial foods I learned more about, were dark chocolate and avocado. Dark chocolate improves mood and energy by releasing endorphins and helps the health of the brain with magnesium. Avocados have many good fats, counteracting the claim that they are negatively too fatty. They also contain potassium and folate which both lead to better brain health and function.

One age related illness that leads to malnutrition is Dementia as low levels of protein in the diet destroys brain cells and inhibits problems of memory loss, difficulty thinking and communicating. This causes the inability to communicate needs when it comes to eating. As dementia gets worse, the ability to remember flavours tampers with taste buds. At the same time taste buds diminish with age and the salivary glands start to dry up, this can have an effect on eating habits so food preferences can change frequently and be

Dementia is a progressive loss of brain function affecting memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. When older adults cognitive function declines, many changes impact the way they eat. As they age, cognitive impairment affects older adults physical ability to eat independently and their ability to enjoy food or their ability to eat may be affected by food choices because they become overwhelmed by too many food choices. Dr. Heidi K. White presentation on Nutrition and Dementia, described how Alzheimer’s disease affects malnutrition, ways to improve nutrition for patient with dementia, and nutritional needs for end of life care and the role for tube feeding.

Malnutrition is defined as a lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat. This is another environmental factor in which children of poor families are at a great disadvantage due to the fact that it tends to occur most in those confronting the adverse socioeconomic and environmental conditions typically associated with poverty. It has become widely known that malnutrition may lead to increased early child mortality, impairment of physical growth and substantial destruction to brain development. In addition, the short-term implications of malnutrition lead to long term complications and cognitive delays such as attention deficit disorder, impaired school performance, decreased IQ scores, memory deficiency, learning disabilities, reduced social skills, reduced language development, and reduced problem-solving abilities. It has even been argued that nutrition may be the single greatest environmental influence on babies in the womb, during infancy, and throughout the first years of life.

Malnutrition affects children because it causes lifelong mental impairments and stunts physical growth. IQ of children who

The brain is our essence as a human being, we rely on it for absolutely everything, it is one of the most valuable resources that we are given from the moment we exist. Our brain requires natural nutrients to survive and grow rather than shrink with age due to the Mitochondria within our brain cells being unable to provide our brain cells with enough energy to survive. As a result, all human beings should adopt a healthy lifestyle in order for the Mitochondria that works for our brain cells to function properly, this will protect our brain and allow us to continue to flourish and grow as individuals. We need to eat nutritious and all natural food that has Vitamins B, Antioxidants and Sulfur as this will help the Mitochondria thrive and as a result so will our brain.

Clear associations between nutritional deficiencies and psychosocial effects have been made. However, the results of the study indicated malnutrition impact on development of infants and toddlers was unknown, but malnutrition in children led to iron-deficiency anemia (Skalicky et al., 2006).

Malnutrition is a growing problem in the world. According to Medical News Today, malnutrition can include many things such as undernutrition and even overnutrition. Undernutrition can include not getting enough nutrients and calories in the diet, which can diminish a person’s growth and ability to fight off diseases. Overnutrition is the opposite where too many calories are consumed leading to an imbalance of nutrients in the diet and can also cause some health effects such as obesity. If certain nutrients are missing in the diet or if too many nutrients are in the diet, it can affect nutrition and how the body functions.

As previously mentioned the brain is enriched with polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularily DHA and the omega-6 AA. While the brain can synthesize saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, it must rely on uptake of either the preformed DHA and AA or their dietary precursors, which can be converted to DHA and ARA within the brain. While the brain does have the capacity to synthsize DHA its rate of synthesis relative to uptake from the plasma is relatively low suggesting that uptake from plasma and not synthesis within the brain is the major source. Furthermore, while the liver can upregulate its ability to synthesize DHA especially under conditions of low dietary omega-3 intake, the brain does not upregulate DHA synthesis under these conditions.

In fact, multiple brain functions are associated with DHA. (13) 97% DHA content is found in the human brain, according to one research. (16) Studies and researches postulates that Omega-3 fatty acids can prevent breast cancer (17), slow cognitive decline (18), can be a potential aid for concussion or traumatic brain injury (13), and can treat cardiovascular disease. (16) Not only Omega-3 fatty acids can improve human health but it is also have became important in the field of sports. Recent studies show that Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during exercise or training can have significant impacts in improving athletic performance. Omega -3 fatty acid supplementation can improve the neuromuscular function, cognition, immune system and cardiovascular fitness of an