Vocational School of Justice
HEALTHY EATING IS KEY TO SUCCESS
As the new academic year is about to begin, the experts point out that healthy and balanced diet would have positive effect on the school success of students in addition to their physical and mental developments. They say that nutrition plays significant role in lessening learning difficulties in a challenging and tiring education period.
Prof. Dr. Nazan Turhan, Head of IUE Department of Food Engineering, mentioned that students’ perception and attention span in class decreased based on their inadequate and imbalanced dietary habits. "Scientific studies have proven that when students observe poor diet they experience learning difficulties. It is very important to initially train the parents, then the teachers and students about the basics of healthy eating. The knowledge learned should be turned into practice. It is essential for children to consume 2-3 glasses of milk or yoghurt, a matchbox size portion of cheese every day for healthy bone and teeth development. Also, in order to strengthen their immune systems, they need to consume 5 servings of fresh vegetables and fruits”, said Turhan.
'A Hearty Breakfast Menu'
The most important meal of the day for students is breakfast, pointed Prof. Dr. Turhan and she said that the body needed the energy to start up a day after a night long of fasting. She said that skipping breakfast caused attention deficit and decrease in mental performance. "It is of utmost importance to start the day with an adequate and balanced breakfast in terms of increasing performance at school. Children should be taught about having breakfast regularly. A hearty breakfast should include milk, boiled egg, honey, walnuts, and fresh fruits”, suggested Prof. Dr. Turhan.