Today’s episode is all about nutrition — specifically, the connection between our child’s nutrition and their brain, mood, behavior, and overall health. I really love my guest’s, nutritionist Jess Sherman, perspective on this topic. I know the topic of nutrition can be overwhelming for many families, but thankfully Jess specifically designed her work to support parents in bringing more nourishment in their children’s lives, including, or maybe especially those with food sensitivities, picky or aggressive behavior.
On the home page of her website, Jess writes: If you have a different vision for your family’s health than what you’re experiencing now, you’re in the right place. I know that that describes me, and my hunch is that I’m not alone in this. So in this episode, Jess shares with us her ideas around how we can build better physical and mental resilience in our kids by teaching us how to use food as our ally. Jess shares why this resilience means better growth, learning, and mental wellness, as well as reduced symptoms from neurodifferences like ADHD, autism, anxiety, and more.
A mom of three and a former teacher, Jess is passionate about the intersection of her work in education, health and personal development, and has created many resources to help parents raise their resilient health. And the best part is, she shares her knowledge in way that feels doable, no matter what the current state of your family’s nutritional health is. I hope you get a lot out of this episode!
About Jess: Jess Sherman is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Family Health Expert specializing in brain health & resilience for kids. It was as a teacher that she started learning about the profound impact of food on the brain, mood and behaviour, and it was shortly after, when she became a mother, that she came face to face with the challenges of feeding a family. She decided to make a career shift and for over 10 years now has worked alongside Medical and Naturopathic Doctors, Family Counsellors & Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, teachers and parents to integrate practical nutrition strategies into management plans to help kids feel and function their best.
Her book, Raising Resilience, and her online resources have helped families all over the world improve the lives of their children with learning differences, anxiety, ADHD, autism and mood disorders, by helping them use food to help kids calm down, learn better, have better sleep, have better poops, enjoy more stable moods and get over their picky eating.
THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:
- How body and nutritional health is related to brain health
- The important work of improving our children’s stress tolerance
- What Jess says is the most compelling research connecting nutrition to behavior
- What stress tolerance is and how it’s connected to nutrition
- What many parents aren’t getting right when it comes to their children’s nutrition
- Why Jess says we want to focus on nourishment
- Jess’s suggestions for steps parents can start making today
- Simple ideas for adding more nourishment into our children’s diets
- Suggestions for getting both parents in alignment about nutritional changes
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
- Nutritional Medicine as Mainstream in Psychiatry (article in The Lancet)
- Parenting the New Teen with John Duffy (podcast episode)
- Jennifer Scribner Talks About Ending the “Picky Eater” Battles with Differently Wired Kids (podcast episode)
- Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld
THANKS SO MUCH FOR LISTENING!
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