Healthy Boarding School Catering For Better Learning

 


Mental food or food for the brain has a lot to do with real food. Healthy eating positively affects not only the academic success of the students, but also their attitude towards learning. When you improve boarding school catering, it improves a lot more than just meals on the plate. Good school food helps students develop their body and mind inside and out of the classroom.

 

Why do boarding school students need good nutrition?

Teenagers go through significant physical changes during puberty. For this, they need extra nutrition to fuel these bodily changes, and this entails eating healthy food. The level of physical activity and stage of development of a student determine exactly how much healthy food in the boarding school catering they need. If you notice a student has a bigger appetite, it is their body telling them to eat more.

 

What is healthy food for students in boarding schools?

Healthy food for teenage students comprises a wide variety of fresh foods from the these food groups:

 

Vegetables

Fruit

Grain foods

Protein

Dairy-free alternatives

 

Each of these food group has different nutrients, which the body of the student needs to grow and work properly. It is essential for them to eat a range of foods from across all food groups.

 

Foods from the sea and land were once provided everything for people. In these modern times, a mix of traditional and market food is common for most people, but traditional food remains a vital source of many nutrients.  When indigenous foods were included in the boarding school catering, the benefits are:

 

More Vitamin A - Useful for fighting disease and better for vision

More iron - Better for blood and muscles

More calcium - Better for teeth and bones

More zinc - Better for fighting infection and wound healing

Less saturated fat - Better for the heart

Less calories – Help in weight control

 

Eating well in boarding school improves cognitive skills

Nutritional status of students has a critical role in their mental capacity and maturity. As they grow, a proper balance of protein, complex carbohydrates, fat, and fibre can increase their reasoning and perception skills, resulting in enhanced cognitive skills. A good boarding school catering can accommodate these nutritional requirements.

 

On the other hand, vitamin and mineral deficiencies can reduce the discharge of dopamine, which is a neurotransmitter essential for the learning process. Lack of vitamins B and E, thiamine, iron, zinc, and iodine can inhibit the cognitive abilities and mental concentration of the students.

 

Health experts have found a strong relation between the self-image and self-confidence, as well as healthy eating habits of the students. Healthy students have higher self-esteem, engage more in socializing, and establish better relationships with the community. On the other hand, poor nutrition and unbalanced meals are contributing factors in chronic health problems such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

 

Moving Healthy

Boarding school students are generally active for 60 minutes or more on all days of the week. Like good nutrition in boarding school catering, physical activity can also build muscles and bones of the students. It can also reduce the risk for chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

 

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