Emotional

I'm not sure whether it's my age, my hormones or my life in general but I seem to get a lot more emotional these days!

The same is true of my eldest who is fighting the upheaval that being a teen brings.

What I have found though is that food can have a huge impact on how we feel. This is especially true of children who have less of a filter. It affects their moods, their behaviour and their ability to manage complicated and busy lives.

Listen to this story though for a lovely, happy ending :)

This morning I was delighted to bump into a parent who I'd given some advice to a few months ago. She has a teen who is competing at a fairly high level in his chosen sport.

She was really worried as he didn't seem to be eating enough to sustain him and wasn't putting on muscle. He was also eating a lot of cheap, white carbs and not enough greenery.

We looked at ways to make simple changes that would improve the quality of his diet and how to focus more on nutrient dense and sustaining foods. And of course how to get him on board with the changes.

I was really rapt this morning to hear that not only is he eating better and better (even being OK with chunks of veggies in the tomato-based sauce ;) ) but that his moods have changed dramatically. He is so much happier and more well-balanced.

She said that the change is so obvious that on a Saturday morning when he's irritable and lethargic she knows he can't have eaten. It's like a switch flicked on and off.

This is something that I have heard repeatedly from families I've worked with - that their child is a different person when they eat a more balanced diet.

I know that I would find coping far more challenging if I weren't eating well.