According to lead researcher Dr. Maria Åberg, Centre for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, the late teens are a critical period for the brain “plasticity” that underlies intelligence and emotional and social behavior. Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to reorganize the connections among cells in response to normal experience, like learning a new skill, or to injury.
Omega-3s are essential at all stages of life. For infants up to the age of three, DHA is essential for the development of the brain and eyes. After the age of three, both EPA and DHA are important for cognitive function, and research suggests that it may improve behavior and learning disorders. Additionally, research indicates that EPA and DHA may reduce inflammatory conditions such as asthma, childhood depression and reduce the risk of type 1 diabetes.
The final touch
All these nutrients are great for kids, but only if their bodies are effectively absorbing them.
“Prebiotics, particularly fructooligosaccharides, can create an internal environment where nutrients are more readily absorbed,” says Coni Francis, senior manager, scientific and government affairs, GTC Nutrition, Golden, CO, a business unit of Corn Products International, Inc., Westchester, IL. “This is important to ensure proper growth and bone building. Further, today’s adolescents are undergoing a lot of stress, which can put their immune system at risk. Our new 90%-pure galactooligosaccharide (GOS) comes in powder form and functions as a prebiotic that supports immune health by nourishing and stimulating the growth of beneficial microflora in the colon to support immunity.” According to the company, its new, highly soluble GOS is stable in extreme processing conditions, including high temperature and low pH, and delivers desirable textural and sensory properties. “It can be readily formulated into beverages, which adolescents love to grab and consume on their way from school to activity,” says Francis.
Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at
donnaberry@dairy-food.com.
Kids Believe in Balance
Maybe our kids are right; maybe we don’t understand them. While we imagine them shoveling down fries and burgers every chance they get, a new survey from Mintel, Chicago, found that 61% of kids and teens believe “it’s important to eat a balanced diet.” And they’re not just saying that. The survey revealed that 42% of kids and teens reach for foods that give them more energy, and more than a third (35%) purposefully eat foods that are rich in vitamins and nutrients. Further, some 25% try to eat foods that are low in fat, and 22% look for foods that are low in sugar.
—The Editors
How Sweet It Is
Regardless of how healthy a food product is, what counts most is whether adolescents find the product appealing. Most kids tend to prefer sweet, and there’s a physiological reason for that. “The relationship between sweet preference and growth makes intuitive sense, because when growth is rapid, caloric demands increase. Children are programmed to like sweet taste, because it fills a biological need by pushing them towards energy sources,” says Danielle Reed, geneticist, Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, and author of a study on this topic published in Physiology & Behavior (2009; 96(4-5):574-580).
According to the study, sweet preferences decline as children’s physical growth slows and eventually stops. “When markers of bone growth decline as children age, so does their preference for highly sweet solutions,” Reed says.