Children need a diverse range of nutrients to live and grow. Nutrients are chemical compounds, such as fats, minerals, carbohydrates and vitamins. Eating a healthy, balanced diet helps to enrich and revitalize the body, and nutrients help to stimulate and maintain body processes. Nutrients can be divided into essential and nonessential nutrients. Essential nutrients cannot be made within the body, such as vitamins and minerals. Thus, it is vital to consume these nutrients. Nonessential nutrients, such as glucose and certain fatty acids, can be produced in the body. A misunderstanding is that essential and nonessential is a distinction between healthy and nonhealthy nutrients. A healthy diet should contain both essential and nonessential nutrients, and many nonessential nutrients are extracted from food.
Preschool may not be a place of formal education. Yet the ability to pay attention is vital for many activities. A lack of nutrients affects a child's cognition and other brain functions, such as reasoning and making judgments. Preschoolers who eat well-balanced, nutritious diets provide their body with nutrients to meet different challenges in preschool. According to the Franklin Institute, our brains are hungry organs and brain cells need twice the amount of energy as other cells in the body. The energy for the brain cells comes mainly from carbohydrates, which are broken down into glucose or sugars. Vitamins, trace elements and nutrients are needed for the breakdown of carbohydrates into glucose. Livestrong says no single nutrient is responsible for the breakdown of glucose. However, a balanced diet that contains a range of different nutrients helps to promote processes involved in providing the brain with energy.
Essential fatty acids are needed for brain function and a healthy body. Omega-6 and omega-3 are essential and they cannot be produced in a preschooler's own body. Omega-6 can be found in foods such as eggs, nuts and wholegrain food, while omega-3 fatty acids are found in fish, such as sardines and salmon, and nuts. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMM), omega-3 fatty acids are important for a preschooler's memory and brain performance. Symptoms of omega-3 deficiency are fatigue and poor memory. The average preschooler is more likely to get more omega-6 fatty acids from her diet.
Eating breakfast is a way to ensure that the brain has enough nutrients to learn. Preschoolers who eat a balanced breakfast with nutrients are prepared to learn and concentrate. The Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) says poor breakfast habits influence children's memory recall and affect the amount of errors they make. Preschoolers who eat breakfast tend to be able to concentrate more, and they act in calmer way. Overall, preschoolers who eat breakfast have a more adequate nutrient intake. Thus, lack of nutrients affects a preschooler's performance and ability to concentrate. A varied diet which is rich in grain products, vegetables and fruit promotes growth and overall ability to learn.