Author: Louanne Cox
Zinc is a vital mineral that we use in nearly every cell in our body. It is known to help with our immune system, wound healing, enzyme production. It also helps with controlling blood sugar levels and reproductive health among other things. It is also essential for our children to perform well in the classroom.
A Chinese study of children aged between 6 and 9 found that the children who had sufficient zinc out performed the children who did not have enough zinc. They performed better in the tasks that measured attention, perception, memory, reasoning and motor and spatial skills. Especially outstanding were how much better they were in the perception, memory and reasoning skills required to do well within a school curriculum.
Another study was conducted to look at the links between zinc and mental sharpness, this time in North Dakota. This study examined seventh graders and was a blind study with some of the group receiving plain fruit juice and some receiving fruit juice with added zinc. The results showed that the children with extra zinc had better memory recall and longer attention spans that the ones without the zinc.
Zinc is required for so many biological functions including growth and development that it has always been important to ensure that your children get enough of it. Now it appears that if you want an “A” grader then it is even more important.
Giving a supplement to a child is one way, although there are cautions against children being on zinc supplements long term, so we need to look to their diet.
Zinc sources are found in popcorn and peanuts, both snacks that children seem to like. Popping some whole wheat crackers or granola bars into their lunch boxes are also a great way of ensuring that their zinc levels are kept up.
Other sources of zinc include red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, dairy products, whole grains and some seafood. Getting your children used to eating trail mix (a mix of nuts, seeds and dried fruit) as a snack will help as nuts are a great source of zinc.
I remember years ago small cartons of milk were given to all the primary school students; obviously we were before our time in the thinking! I used to love being milk monitor because if there were any cartons left over you would get first dibs on them! Yo Naturals offers organic milk in some of their vending machines, so milk is back in school. This is a great way to fill up on zinc without having any nasty pesticides at the same time.
