So far, we’ve focused on upping your child’s intake of essential brain fats – omega-3, phospholipids and vitamin D. But did you know that their brain can actually run on a type of fuel called ketones that are made from fat?
Why does it matter:
✔ Once a baby is born, 75 per cent of all the energy derived from breastmilk goes to build the brain. Brain development continues at the mind-boggling rate of something like 1 million connections a minute.
✔ Those billions of tightly packed together brain cells need instant fuel. They’ve got no room to burn more cumbersome fuel such as fatty acids, which muscles cells can do.
✔ There are only two fuels a neuron (in the brain) can use: glucose (high octane sugar) or ketones. Ketones are made in the liver from fat. If you fast, for example, and run out of glucose, your liver will breakdown your body fat and make ketones.
✔ Ketones are the brain’s best kept secret. Babies use ketones to power their early brain development. Most animals, from sheep to pigeons, can’t make them or use them. But all the smartest animals can – from dolphins to crows. Babies are born with ‘blubber’, and breastmilk is full of fat, both of which allow the baby’s body to make ketones which is needed to fuel the rapidly forming brain.
Watch the film: How Your Brain Makes Energy [https://vimeo.com/736984708
What You Need to Know:
✔ The goal is NOT to “go keto,” but to reduce sugar and increase healthy fats.
✔ Great brain-friendly fats include: avocados, olive oil, oily fish, nuts and seeds and coconut oil
✔ If you give a neuron those two fuels – glucose or ketones – they prefer to derive energy from ketones. Ketones are made from a type of fat called C8 oil.
✔ Children’s brains can also get a boost by adding a spoonful of C8 oil. Start with one teaspoon twice a day, then gradually increase to a maximum of two dessertspoons. Occasionally a child can get gastrointestinal side-effects. If so, just lower the dose. The body takes a while to get used to this new fuel, from which the liver makes ketones.
✔ Children with epilepsy or neurological conditions have shown remarkable improvements on medically supervised ketogenic diets—but consult a practitioner before making major dietary changes.
How to Implement Change
Today’s Challenge: Try a “fat-fuelled” snack or lunch swap:
• Avocado on wholegrain toast
• Full-fat Greek yogurt with flaxseed and berries
• Salmon salad wrap with olive oil dressing
• Hard-boiled eggs and a handful of nuts
💬 Encouragement for Parents: You don’t need to count carbs or track ketones—just begin experimenting with some energy stabilising, nourishing fats. You’re feeding your child’s focus, calm, and brainpower in every bite!
📌 Next email: Your Child’s Brain Fat domain – How Have They Progressed?
Wishing you and your child the best of health and happiness,
The COGNITION for Smart Kids & Teens Team