A few weeks ago, my brother mentioned that he had started taking a multi-vitamin and that it had helped him with his reading understanding and retention. So I decided to do the same and begin taking a multi-vitamin. I've noticed that recently I've been able to really focus on tasks. I generally try to eat well-balanced meals, but that's not always possible. My wife and I perhaps go out to eat more than we should, and typically restaurant food isn't the best for you. So the multi-vitamin helps.
As I've been thinking about the effects of my taking a multi-vitamin, I am reminded of studies done with problem students in alternative schools, where the typical school diet was replaced by a high-nutrition, high-vitamin diet. Something like 90% of all behavioral problems vanished. If you know the kind of garbage our schools serve our children, you probably wouldn't be surprised that they misbehave -- except that many people probably would be surprised, since the food they feed their children is even less nutritious. My guess is that the vast majority of ADHD cases would be eliminated with a proper diet, since lack of certain vitamins leads to hyperactivity.
Would it be too much to ask that our schools give each child a multi-vitamin every morning? Yes, I know that's not very libertarian of me to suggest, but if we're going to have public schools anyway, the least they could do is make sure children are prepared in as many ways as possible to learn. Besides, it would reduce the use of harmful drugs and keep many children out of trouble -- aside from the fact that they would now be ready and prepared to learn.
2 comments:
Better than a multi-vitamin might be to simply get schools to switch from their junk-food make up to a far healthier menu, much like the school-food alternative shown in the documentary Super Size Me.
There is definite evidence showing that people do better with better food and nutrition. Some disorders even disappear on a proper diet.
If vitamins are part of a school menu, I certainly would not object. Kids are very undernourished these days.
I take multi-vitamins myself, along with Carson's Cod Liver Oil capsules in the winter (for vitamin D, because I live in the north where there's less sun) and regular fish oil in sunny months. I have noticed good results with store-brand vitamins from wal-mart, but I have done even better with the more expensive drink mix vitamin called Ola Loa. I definitely recommend Ola Loa.
Naturally, that would be best of all. We should be teaching children how to eat better by making them eat better. Let me go out on a limb here and suggest that the food should at least be edible too. Hire a nutritionist-chef at each school.
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