By RALPH JOHN MIJARES
ROXAS City — Your mother was right when she told you not to miss your breakfast.
Having breakfast late in the day — or worse, not having it at all — affect the brain’s development, Councilor Cesar Yap Jr. said.
And it is not about putting just any kind of food on your plate, said Yap, a physician by profession.
During a recent gift-giving activity in an elementary school here, the councilor has observed that some pupils were “staring blankly at the blackboard.”
It turned out that, according to a teacher, that those pupils have not had breakfast yet, said Yap.
Breakfast and the type of food taken are important for children, especially during their first five years, the “most crucial years of brain growth, Yap said in a privilege speech during a recent City Council session.
Some parents give their children the wrong type of food after permanently breastfeeding them, according to Yap.
They give either am (rice water) or lugaw (rice porridge) instead of, say, fish, for fear of making children vulnerable to worms, he said.
Yap debunked this belief. Fish meat is rich in Omega 3, the vitamin that helps protect the heart and joints and supports brain growth.
It also contains protein and can be an alternative source of iodine, another mineral that helps brain growth, other than iodized salt, he said.
Yap also recommended “insumix,” a mixture of mongo seeds (which contain proteins), sesame seeds (rich in vitamins and micronutrients), and rice.
The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist produces it.
Children with poor brain development have low intelligence quotients, thereby affecting their judgment, memory, and behavior, Yap said, citing studies.
The worst thing that can happen, according to the councilor, is that some of them might become “sociopaths” and “criminals” later in their adult years./PN
