Of the 68 percent of American diseases that are diet related, most originate in early childhood, according to the U.S. surgeon general.

Now poor nutrition also is being linked to mental disease, poor behavior and learning disabilities. Studies point to additives, preservatives, dyes and refined sugar as suspected culprits. Good reasons to eat foods as close as possible to their natural state.

Supporting studies have shown that children with higher intakes of B vitamins and other brain-active micronutrients do better in school and that refined sugars may affect mood, attention and hyperactivity in youth. Yale University School of children had adrenaline levels 10 times higher than before. They were anxious, cranky and had a hard time concentrating in and out of school.

As early as the 1980s, when the New York City Board of Education banned artificial food colorings, flavorings, and preservatives, and limited the sucrose content of meals in more than 800 schools, they saw dramatic improvement in students’ academic performance. Another early series of studies at California State University of more than 8,000 institutionalized juvenile delinquents showed that antisocial behavior was minimized. In Virginia, when chemical additives and excess sugar was cut from the diet of hardened adolescents, theft at the facility dropped 77 percent, insubordination was down 55 percent, and hyperactivity slowed 65 percent. In a similar program in a Los Angeles County probation detention hall, administrators saw a 44 percent decrease in problem behavior and suicide attempts.

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