renee.t.edge Close your eyes…think to yourself for a moment. What effects of trauma come to your mind?
Think about the list you just came up with…how many of them could also be the effects of malnutrition?
Malnutrition is often intricately linked with trauma. Children whose families are in crisis are not likely to be focused on appropriate nutrition. This could be because a parent’s addiction needs feeding more than the children do. It could be because a parent is unable to bring in the income needed to pay the bills and have money left over to appropriately nourish the child. It could be because the parent does not see the value in appropriately nourishing the child, or is unwilling to appropriately nourish the child. Regardless of the reason, malnutrition is linked to trauma.
Did you know…
1 in 6 American children may not know where their next meal is coming from.
22 million children in America rely on the free or reduced-price lunch they receive at school, but as many as 3 million children still aren’t getting the breakfast they need.
Children who experience food insecurity are at a higher risk of developing asthma, struggling with anxiety or depression, and performing poorly in school or physical activities.
Take a look at the lists below…what areas do you see the overlap?
Effects of Malnutrition
- Cognitive deficits
- More aggressive behavior
- Attentional deficits
- Poor social relationships
- Increased symptoms of depression and anxiety
- Low self esteem
- Introversion
- Apathy
- Self neglect
- Reduced ability to fight infection
- Impaired wound healing
- Growth failure and stunting
- Delayed sexual development
- Reduced muscle mass and strength
- Decreased function of the gastrointestinal system including changes in pancreatic exocrine function, intestinal blood flow, villous architecture and intestinal permeability.
Effects of Trauma
- Difficulty developing a strong healthy attachment to a caregiver.
- More vulnerable to stress
- Difficulty controlling and expressing emotions.
- React violently or inappropriately to situations
- Problems in romantic relationships, in friendships, and with authority figures, such as teachers or police officers
- Immune system and body’s stress response systems may not develop normally
- Chronic or recurrent physical complaints, such as headaches or stomachaches
- Body dysregulation, meaning they over-respond or under-respond to sensory stimuli
- Emotional responses may be unpredictable or explosive
- Vigilant and guarded in their interactions with others and are more likely to perceive situations as stressful or dangerous
- Unable to calm themselves down once they are upset
- Increased likelihood of being fearful all the time and in many situations
- More likely to experience depression
- Struggle with self-regulation (i.e., knowing how to calm down) and may lack impulse control or the ability to think through consequences before acting
- Unable to plan ahead, anticipate the future, and act accordingly
- May show deficits in language development and abstract reasoning skills
- May have have learning difficulties that may require support in the academic environment
- Lives from moment-to-moment without pausing to think about, plan for, or even dream about a future.
Changing the nutrition of the children in your care can have a significant impact upon both their physical and mental functioning. The impacts of trauma can be remediated by changes in nutrition. Transformation is possible!
