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Food, Feelings, and Your Child’s Health | How Nutrition Affects Mood

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Food, Feelings, and Your Child’s Health | How Nutrition Affects Mood

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August 19, 2026 Children

Food, Feelings, and Your Child's Health

Have you ever noticed your child seems tired, cranky, or full of energy depending on what they’ve eaten? Food does more than help children grow. It also helps support their mood, learning, and overall health.

The foods your child eats can affect how they feel, think, and play each day. That’s why offering a variety of healthy foods is an important part of helping your child feel their best.

How Food Helps the Brain

A child’s brain is growing and learning every day. Just like a car needs fuel to run, the brain needs healthy foods to work well. These foods provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients that help children learn, focus, remember, and stay active.

Foods that help support brain health include:

Fruits and vegetables
Whole grains
Milk, yogurt, and cheese
Eggs
Beans and peas
Fish and lean meats
Nuts and seeds (when age-appropriate)

Young boy happily eating fresh vegetable salad

Foods high in added sugars, salt, and unhealthy fats may leave children feeling tired or sluggish when eaten too often.

Remember!

Your Child's Gut and Mood

Have you ever heard someone talk about a “gut feeling”? There may be more truth to that than you think.

Inside the digestive system are trillions of tiny bacteria. Some of these bacteria help keep the body healthy and support a strong connection between the gut and the brain. This connection, often called the gut-brain connection, may affect how children feel, think, and behave.

The “good” bacteria in the gut also help produce serotonin, a chemical that helps the body regulate mood, sleep, appetite, and energy levels. It’s often referred to as a “happiness chemical”. Serotonin also supports healthy digestion and helps the gut and brain communicate with each other.

You may be surprised to learn that about 95% of the body’s serotonin is produced in the digestive system. This means the gut does more than digest food – it also plays an important role in overall health and emotional well-being.

A healthy gut may help support:

Good digestion
Energy levels
Sleep
Mood

Foods That Help Children Feel Their Best

One way to help support a healthy gut is by offering a variety of nutritious foods each day. Healthy foods give children energy to run, jump, learn, and explore. They also help support strong bones, muscles, and teeth.

Here are a few foods that provide important nutrients:

Berries – Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries contain antioxidants that help support  overall health.
Leafy Green Vegetables – Spinach, kale, and other leafy greens provide vitamins and minerals that help support growth and development.
Yogurt – Yogurt contains calcium and may contain probiotics, which help support a healthy digestive system. Choose yogurt with little or no added sugar when possible.
Eggs – Eggs contain protein and choline, a nutrient that helps support brain development and learning.

Water is Important, Too!

Staying hydrated helps the body work properly and supports healthy digestion. Offering healthy foods and drinks throughout the day can help children stay energized and ready for their  daily activities.

Water is the best choice for staying hydrated because it doesn’t contain added sugar. Sugary drinks, like soda, fruit drinks, sports drinks, and sweet tea, can make it harder for the healthy bacteria in the gut to thrive when consumed too often.

Tip!

To make water more fun, try serving it in a colorful cup or adding slices of fruit like lemon, oranges, or cucumbers for natural flavor.

Simple Ways to Build Healthy Eating Habits

Parents and caregivers have a big influence on children’s eating habits and what goes into their guts. Small changes can make a big difference over time.

You can also help by:

Start the day with a balanced breakfast.
Limit fast food and sugary drinks.
Include a colorful range of fresh fruits and vegetables for meals and snacks.
Bake, grill, roast, or steam foods instead of frying them.
Offer healthy protein foods like eggs, beans, fish, nuts, and lean meats.
Choose fiber-rich whole-grain breads, cereals, and pasta when possible.
Avoid packaged or processed foods.
Offer water and milk throughout the day.
Include probiotic-rich foods, like plain yogurt without added sugars.
Eat meals together when you can.
Adding fermented foods, like kefir (unsweetened), sauerkraut, or kimchi can be helpful to maintain a healthy gut.

Family enjoying healthy meal together, smiling

Be a Healthy Role Model

Children learn by watching the adults around them. When they see you enjoying healthy foods and drinking water, they are more likely to do the same.

Healthy eating doesn’t have to be perfect. Small steps add up over time. Every time you offer nutritious foods, create positive mealtimes, and be a good role model, you help your child build healthy habits for life.

Remember!

REFERENCES:

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. (2024, August 26). Power Them Up with Nutrient-Dense Foods.
https://www.eatright.org/fitness/sports-and-athletic-performance/beginner-and-intermediate/eat-right-to-play-hard

American Society for Nutrition. (2018, October 1). Food and Mood: What is Nutritional Psychiatry?
https://nutrition.org/food-and-mood-what-is-nutritional-psychiatry/

Harvard Medical School. (2018, December 7). Gut feelings: How food affects your mood.
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gut-feelings-how-food-affects-your-mood-2018120715548

Author: Amanda Hojnacki

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