The escalation of mental, emotional and other health-related ailments amongst children and adolescents have reached epidemic proportions. I believe that taking a holistic approach to all areas of health can help to see what supports a child or adolescent and what doesn’t.

The symptoms related to mental and emotional distress are complex. I believe the consumption of highly processed, sugary foods and beverages, trans-fats, food dyes and other chemicals, need to be factored in when it comes to mental and physical health issues. Coming from an informed place and navigating the overwhelming material and contradictions about nutrition is something I wish to address here. 

Seeing through a systemic lens

To provide some context, I’m using this space to unpack some of the issues I’ve come across in my practice. 

Looking through a systemic lens, we need to recognise the impact of a frazzled saturation of advertising and social media messages directed at children and adolescents. It appears that the sole purpose is profit (which equates to billions of £££) in the absence of integrity, transparency and honesty, and all the insidious ways in which food conglomerates use food dyes to brighten up and attract consumers. 

The intention is to find ways to addict infants, children, adolescents and the population itself. Hiring social psychologists who specialise in discovering and then causing addictive behaviour by the use of ingredients to induce cravings is, unfortunately, not a conspiracy theory. It’s an actuality. And it’s been happening for the past fifty years or more.

Evidence that reveals that the processed food industry is neglecting the health of children and adolescents 

As Mark Hyman, MD and specialist in nutrition, says, “there are over 92 papers documenting the impact of food colouring on autism, behaviour, ADD and on mood.” Primarily he's referring to the US, which is a lot worse than the UK, but still, ultra-processed foods, if you can call them foods, are filled with sugar, unhealthy trans-fats, dangerous food dyes and a cocktail of unhealthy chemicals made to taste good. These foods, and fizzy drinks full of sugar are affecting the mental, emotional states and behaviour of our children, their capacity to learn and a host of physical and medical conditions. In addition, as Dr. Hyman points out, these fizzy drinks contribute to belly fat in children and young people. 

Belly fat is an indicator of poor diet and linked to a host of medical issues including diabetes. In 2022, Diabetes UK published a paper stating that 50% more children are being treated for Type 2 diabetes.

The quality and quantity of food and drinks that children consume makes a difference to their mental capacity, physical health, emotions and behaviour. 

The gut and how it affects mental and emotional states and the brain's capacity to learn

It is estimated that there are 100 trillion microbial cells in the human gut; ten times more than the entire body. According to medical studies, the gut uses the same chemicals and cells as the brain. 

Bidirectional communication between these two nerve centres signifies how our biological ecosystem is affected by the food and drinks we ingest, as well as the impact of stress. All of which affect the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. And when the gut nerves are malfunctioning as a consequence of consuming foods high in sugar content, unhealthy fats and chemicals that are incompatible with our biology, it causes dysfunctions. Inflammatory issues often arise as a consequence. Gut reactions are also known to affect mood, and can give rise to depression, anxiety and lowers capacity for concentrating and absorbing information. Other health conditions linked to poor eating habits include diabetes, as mentioned, obesity and skin problems.

What are microbiomes and why are they important?

Microbiomes can be described as a microbial community which include bacteria, fungi, viruses and their genes. They protect the body against germs, break down food to release energy and produce vitamins. On a most basic level, microbiomes keep us alive. So when we consume ultra-processed foods this often saturates the microbial community with bad bacteria causing adverse effects on many different levels within the body.

Sugar cravings and addiction  

Sugar messes with our taste buds and the more sugar we consume the less desire there is for real, wholesome foods. It dulls the senses. According to medical studies addictive drugs including sugar, cause sporadic yet repetitive increases in extracellular dopamine - also known as the happy chemical. These neurochemical assimilations also imitate the effect of opiates in small doses including opioids in the brain, causing dependency. Children who from a very young age have been nourished with healthy, real foods are far less likely to succumb to the overconsumption or even consumption of sugar. It’s well worth fostering conscious eating in our children as early on as possible.

The dark side of the processed food industry 

Food industry scientists use children in experiments to find their “the bliss point” for the purposes of increasing their sugar cravings with the intention of them becoming addicted. They actually hire “craving experts” and use children as young as two year-olds for their experiments. When I first heard Dr Mark Hyman speaking about this during an interview I felt the need to write about this subject of food and children. Since poor nutrition is a contributor to what makes them sick and turn many of them into junk food addicts I felt it was worth mentioning.

This makes me think about the Nestlé company’s processed milk campaign in Africa which started many years ago. They had billboards posted everywhere. Sadly, mothers in third world countries still believe that lie. Their ultra-processed milk contains heaps of sugar. They did a good job in learning the art of persuasion to make mothers believe that their nutritious natural breast milk is inferior to their Nestlé product. 

The psychology of marketing cleverly crafts a connection between colour, logos and taste. As an example, “some chains [such as McDonald’s] are specifically engineered to deliver immediate rewards - the fries, for instance, are designed to begin disintegrating the moment they hit your tongue, in order to deliver a hit of salt and grease as fast as possible, causing your pleasure centres to light up and your brain to lock in the pattern. All the better for tightening the habit loop." (Charles Duhigg, The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do, and how to change)

These international corporations seem to have the power to bypass accountability towards an epidemic of obesity and chronic diseases in children. Yet, as parents, guardians and consumers, we have the power to say no. We have the power of choice based on awareness of what the labels mean.

Reading the labels

The line in Thomas Grey’s poem (1742)  “ignorance is bliss” that crept into the English language, can be related to the ignorance of buying foods and drinks without understanding what is actually in those foods and drinks. If we think about it, a mass population continues to ingest highly processed products. So what could it be about ignorance that ranks higher than knowledge and wisdom when it comes to eating and drinking things that contain harmful chemicals? Here’s what comes to mind:

Satisfying cravings, pleasure, instant gratification, convenience and - on the surface - lower cost. Under the surface, the price of ignorance and the consequences on health and wellbeing is a high price to pay. 

Depression and anxiety

Studies in Canada established links between the daily consumption of fresh vegetables and fresh fruit and a decrease in depression and psychological distress. Indications showed that biochemical stimulation of serotonin in the brain increased. Serotonin has many biochemical functions, one of which relates to mood. Although this is not groundbreaking news since our ancestors were already in-tune with the foods of the earth, these findings at least provide some scientific backup. Real foods - food that has not been re-engineered aka highly processed - that are rich in antioxidants, are significant contributors for better health, also increasing the capacity to focus. These healthy foods support emotional stability and sense of wellbeing. 

Functional medicine looks through a bidirectional lens into multiple causes of a condition, such as depression. Depression can be caused by many different components. A holistic approach widens the possibility of successful treatment alongside therapy. For example, if there is an issue with inflammation, this will have an impact on the individual and that may be depression. So the physical and the mental and emotional conditions are not separate. 

In a way, the body is like an oracle, communicating through every nerve and cell and DNA into the roots of the self.  

There is an increasing reliance on medications to treat issues such as depression and anxiety amongst children and young people. Surely it would make better sense to look at the whole picture, which includes ultra-processed food consumption, use of screens and lack of movement? Medications have side effects. That’s why they have labels listing all the possible negative side effects. 

See below an excerpt from the NHS website about antidepressants:

“The use of antidepressants is not usually recommended in children and young people under the age of 18.”

“For moderate to severe depression, antidepressants may be used if both the following apply:

• the person being treated will also receive talking therapies in combination with antidepressants
• the treatment is supervised by a child and adolescent psychiatrist (a doctor who specialises in treating mental health conditions in children)”

It’s important to be aware that antidepressants lose their potency after a time and often what happens is a need to increase the dosage. This can result in dependency on antidepressants. These pills don’t make depression go away. Therapy is needed. Sometimes parent counselling is also needed, alongside changes in dietary habits and life-style.

Awareness and choice

Medical doctors who specialise in nutrition, whose knowledge of gut and functional medicine and how the ecosystem works, is what I would suggest. There are many YouTube videos and interviews as well as books which can provide knowledge and wisdom. Then you can bring discernment into this holistic picture and how healthy life-style changes can support the whole family.   

Taste makes a difference. On a practical level, children need to enjoy what they eat and drink. Nutritious and delicious dressings on salads, for example, make all the difference and are quick and easy to make. 

I can recommend Dr Mark Hyman’s recipe book, Food: What the Heck Should I Cook? He’s published a number of books - the previous one to this is Food: What the Heck Should I Eat? He also does interviews on his online channel with other food experts who understand the social, holistic, political agendas and planetary impact of this very big and important subject.

Life-force energy in real foods - Qi

Qi, phonetically pronounced Chee, translates from Chinese language to “life energy”. This life energy is the vitalising force which exists in all living beings and everything that grows in nature. So when I refer to real food, I am relating it to qi which is what gives healthy unadulterated food and beverages their medicinal and healing qualities. By the term healthy I do not mean the word healthy stamped on re-engineered products “with added vitamins” or genetically modified soya products claiming to be healthy. They are not. They might taste good but lack the nutrients that support a healthy digestive system. Since highly processed foods are not real food, neither do they have any life force energy in them. 

We need to become more conscious of the natural flow and interactions within the ecosystem of our bodies and our planet which is also alive in a very real and conscious way. What we put in our bodies makes a difference, what we do to our Mother Earth makes a difference. We each have a choice of being indifferent, unconscious and continuing to make poor choices about food, or becoming conscious, and open to explore what it means for you and your children to take this healthy path.