Every person goes through the adolescence stage of growth and development. In this adolescent, a person experiences significant changes that attribute to their physical, cognitive, social, and emotional aspects.
Physical changes in a teenager are manifested by the process of puberty that involves some drastic changes to a teen’s physical aspects. These changes include height, voice, and other hormonal changes to the body. Meanwhile, social changes refer to a teenager’s journey of discovering their identity, which is contributed by social factors such as family and peer pressure. Lastly, emotional changes involve experiencing the fluctuation of emotion, which also molds the psychological health of an adolescent.
Cognitive Development and Proper Nutrition
Out of the psychological aspects mentioned above, cognitive development is the most significant change that an adolescent should recognize and nurture. Attending a class lecture in school and learning new information are factors that heavily weigh on a teen’s brain development. Feeding yourself with knowledge isn’t all there is to development. Supplying yourself with specific nutrients is equally essential as well. There are special nutrition requirements for adolescent brains to mature and remain healthy.
Essential Sources of Nutrition for Adolescent Brains
Eating healthy food and avoiding junk food doesn’t only help in maintaining your ideal body shape. Providing teenagers with special nutrient requirements for adolescent brains would significantly propel and encourage proper brain development. Here are the following nutrients for feeding a teenage brain:
1. Protein
This macronutrient is essential to any stage of human development, and more so during the earlier developmental stages before early adulthood. It helps in repairing tissues throughout the body. Sources of protein include poultry, egg, meat, fish, beans, and nuts.
2. Polyunsaturated Fats
Polyunsaturated fat enables the proper development of brain cells in a teenager. Polyunsaturated fats found in food such as salmon, fish oils, and fatty acids, are represented by omega-3 fatty acid and omega-6 fatty acid.
3. Zinc and Iron
Both nutrients affect the brain’s stability and regulate the communication between neurotransmitters in the brain. Sources of Zinc include seafood, meat, and dairy products, and to find iron look to leafy vegetables, potatoes, cereals, and meat.
4. Choline, Folic Acid, and Iodine
Choline is responsible for helping the brain in developing neurotransmitters related to concentration and acquisition or learning. Dairy products, meat, and specifically eggs are an excellent source for this nutrient. Folic Acid, or Folate, is crucial for the generation or reproduction of cells in the brain. Sources of Folate include liver, cereals, and spinach. Lastly, the deficiency in iodine could lead to brain damage. Iodized salt, dairy products, and seafood will be your primary source for iodine.
5. Vitamins A, B6, B12, and D
Food such as carrots and sweet potato contain vitamin A. Vitamin B6 can be found in organs of meat products including liver, fruits, and vegetables, while vitamin B12 comes from animal products including meat and poultry. Food rich in vitamin D includes salmon and fish oil.
While several studies proposed the specific nutrients and vitamins above for the benefit of teenage brains, there are other benefits to them. These nutrients are all useful in the prevention of mental or psychological issues that a person could develop at any point or stage of human development. This prevention is especially crucial during late adulthood to old age developmental stages.
Factors that Hinder Brain Development in Adolescence
The brain of a teenager during adolescence undergoes much construction. A teenager is placed in an unfavorable position when existing or external factors stunt neurological growth. Teenagers are often vulnerable to activities that spark their curiosity at this stage. Here are some things to watch for while nurturing the brain of an adolescent:
1. Malnutrition
Inadequate food intake could lead to detrimental implications holistically. Because the brain is the powerhouse of the body, damaging it may severely affect the rhythm of your body. The lack of substantial nutrients for the brain has serious consequences.
2. Substance Abuse
While a sip of an alcoholic beverage seems safe, binge drinking liquor could impair a teenager’s memory and learning ability. Similarly, the regular intake of drugs will disrupt the maturation of the brain.
3. Inadequate Exercise
Some scientific studies have discovered that physical exercise improved brain development. On the other hand, decreases in cognitive performance among adolescents resulted from low levels of sports involvement, and insufficient activity.
4. Eating Disorders
An eating disorder comes in several forms and often related to an individual’s thoughts and emotions. Some of the most common eating disorders are:
Anorexia Nervosa
– A condition wherein a person perceives himself or herself as overweight even though he or she is severely underweight. It has one of the highest mortality rates among mental disorders.
Bulimia Nervosa
– This condition isn’t the same as anorexia nervosa but is binge-eating followed by forced vomiting, or purging, to compensate for excessively eating. Other withdrawal methods include laxatives and abnormal fasting.
Binge-Eating Disorder
– A condition that is similar to bulimia nervosa but without engaging in withdrawal. It is the lack of control over eating.
5. Learning Disorders
Learning disorders aren’t common among the general population and may not apply to most adolescence as a hindrance to brain development. Disorders such as dyslexia and ADHD, however, do cause trouble for some adolescence
Nutrition during the developmental stage of adolescence should have great attention put into it. It is evident that teenagers should learn to nurture themselves. Many environmental factors entice their curious minds, so being vigilant and responsible is key. Proper nutrition and dietary routine need to be kept in mind daily but cheat days are also a must.
Learn more about the brain, and how it interacts with the gut right HERE!
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306868/
www.health.harvard.edu/blog/brain-food-children-nutrition-2018012313168
https://www.momjunction.com/articles/nutrition-for-teens_00350871/#gref
www.healthfully.com/364298-how-nutrition-affects-the-brain-of-adolescents.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3621648/
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/eating-disorders/index.shtml
