Three Steps to Keep Your Child’s Homocysteine Optimal

While homocysteine is a critical measure of a child’s ‘methyl ability’ and correlates well with levels of B vitamins, especially folate and B12, as it does in adults, levels tend to be lower in children and an optimal level is yet to be clearly established.

Generally, in adults, we aim for homocysteine of 7 or less, but in children it might be wise to have a level below 5mcmol/l. In adults, a level above 11mcmol/l, is associated with brain shrinkage.

Why It Matters: 

✔ So, let’s assume you want your child’s level to be below 5mcmol/l and a teenager below 7mcmol/l. If you don’t know your child’s homocysteine level and would like to find out, go to https://foodforthebrain.org/tests/ 

✔ The most powerful and quickest way to restore a normal homocysteine score, certainly below 7 mcmol/l, if you’ve tested your child and found their level is high, is to supplement specific homocysteine-lowering nutrients. These include vitamins B6, B12, folic acid, trimethylglycine (TMG) and zinc, as well as glutathione or n-acetyl cysteine (NAC). The best results in studies giving multivitamins to children include almost all of these nutrients which are found together in homocysteine-lowering formulas. See foodforthebrain.org/supplements.

✔ Combinations of these nutrients are especially effective because nutrients work together in synergy, not in isolation. Studies giving multivitamins high in B vitamins have shown considerably raised IQ scores. 

A study: B Vitamins and Children Diagnosed with ADHD

Professor Julia Rucklidge tested the effects of giving children aged 7 to 12 who had been diagnosed with ADHD a high-strength comprehensive multivitamin and mineral supplement, including plenty of B vitamins (B6 23mg, folate 267mcg, B12 300mcg, magnesium 200mg, zinc 16mg). A total of 47 children were given the supplement and 46 a placebo. At the end of the 10-week trial, almost four times more children (32 per cent versus 9 per cent) had shown a clinically meaningful improvement in their attention. 

Also, based on a clinician’s assessment and parent and teacher reports, those on micro-nutrients showed greater improvements in emotional regulation, aggression and general functioning compared to those on the placebo.

Their homocysteine went down from 5.4 to 3.8mcmol/l, and Serum B12 went up from 457 to 890 and folate went up from 26 to 51 nmol/l, all of which were significant improvements into an optimal range.

What You Need to Know: 

Doing these three things will help to keep your child’s homocysteine level in a healthy range, below 5mcmol/l.

Step 1: Prioritise B Vitamin-Rich Foods – Eggs, fish, leafy greens, and nuts are essential!

Three servings of high-quality meat a week; fish at least three times a week; six eggs a week; some dairy products; like unsweetened, natural yoghurt, provided they’re not intolerant. Fish and eggs are possibly the best food sources so if you’re pescatarian that’s perfect. (If you’re vegan you’ll need to supplement B12. You’ll receive an email about this shortly).

Step 2: Eat greens and beans!

Give your child at least five, ideally seven, servings of fruit or vegetables a day. This means eating one to two pieces of fruit every single day, and three to four servings of non-starchy vegetables. You can ensure half of what’s on their plate for each main meal is vegetables. 

Step 3: Supplement an optimal strength multivitamin every day

Use the guide on foodforthebrain.org/supplements-for-children to choose a multivitamin to give your child. The levels given here are above the ‘RDA’ and thus better than RDA-based multivitamins. The official recommended intake for B12 is only 2.5mcg and 2mg for B6. These have not been calculated to consider children’s mental health or optimising methylation.

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenge: Make one swap today—replace a processed snack with a B vitamin-rich alternative, like nuts, seeds, or an egg.

📌 Next email: B12 – Are they getting Enough?

Further info

Supplement B vitamins today.

This is the sure fire way to keep your homocysteine level low. Check your multivitamin is giving you at least 20mg of B6, 200mcg of folate and 10mcg of B12.

Further info

B12 – Is your child getting enough? 

If you had to pick one nutrient that has the biggest impact on future risk of cognitive decline, it’s probably vitamin B12. It is also one of the most commonly deficient vitamins. Children, however, need it too. In the UK and US, the reference range for a standard serum B12 test is badly out of date and wrong – set at only 180pg/ml. At Food For The Brain, we now know that, in adults, brain size is shrinking with B12 levels below 500 pg/ml, hence other countries have adopted this level as adequate.

So, on the one hand, we need to have a conversation about the food you give your child and whether it is likely to provide sufficient B12, and, on the other hand, we have to explore why some children don’t absorb enough, and what can be done about this.

The food front is the easy part. As the last email showed you, only animal produce provides B12 (in meat, fish, eggs and milk). The easy ‘safety guard’ is to supplement 5 to 10mcg a day depending on the age of your child in an ‘optimum nutrition’ style multivitamin. (The RDA in most multivitamins only give 2.5mcg which may not be enough). Vegan children simply must either supplement or eat foods that are fortified with supplemental B12. 

If you or your child is vegan do read the Report Vitamin B12 – Why Vegans Need it in your Library.

Why It Matters: 

✔ B12 is vital for keeping your child’s cognition sharp

B12 deficiency, probably more to do with limited absorption than diet, and some children are born with a difficulty in this area which may be genetic. If one of their parents has ‘pernicious anaemia’ which is a chronic B12 deficiency as a result of malabsorption, then the chances of a child having this problem is much higher.

✔ Testing your child’s B12 status

Vitamin B12 status is rarely properly checked for in adults, let alone children. About a quarter of those with pernicious anaemia wait a decade before being diagnosed. The tell-tale symptoms are feeling very tired or weak, experiencing nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea, not feeling as hungry as usual, weight loss, having a sore mouth or tongue and having yellowish skin.

If your doctor does test your child’s B12 status they’ll probably use a serum B12 test. It used to be that anything above 180 pmol/l was considered adequate which is still the ‘normal’ range in the UK and US, but in Japan and the EU they treat a level below 500pmol/l as too low. 

✔ B12 and chronic fatigue

Another common sign of B12 deficiency, known as pernicious anaemia, is chronic fatigue. If your child has a few of these symptoms listed above, make sure you get tested first due to the strong genetic link. There’s some very good information on the Pernicious Anaemia Society website www.pernicious-anaemia-society.org. 

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenge: Include a B12-rich food in your child’s next meal—try eggs, cheese, or a portion of fish!

💬 Encouragement for Parents: B12 is essential for a sharp, focused brain. You’re taking great steps to ensure your child gets the nutrients they need!

📌 Next email: Best Foods for Folate – Is Your Child Eating Them?

Further info

Best Foods for Folate – Is your child eating them?

Folate is a B vitamin that comes primarily from fresh fruit and vegetables with greens and beans being particularly high. Think ‘foliage’. It’s quite unstable in food. Most supplements give a stable form called folic acid, but there are some people who, due to a genetic variation, are less efficient at converting this into the ‘active’ form in the body called Methyl-Folate. Some supplements designed to lower homocysteine use this form because it lowers homocysteine more effectively.

Folate is a vitamin that we should aim for our children to get the bulk of by eating lots of vegetables and fruit, as well as beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Take a look at the list below for the best sources:

Good Foods for Folate (in mcg):

Lentils, cooked (1/2 cup)	179
Millet flakes (1 cup)	170
Sunflower seeds (1/2 cup)	164
Chickpeas, cooked (1/2 cup)	141
Kidney beans (1/2 cup)	115
Peanuts, (1/2 cup)	106
Spinach (1/2 cup)	102
Globe artichoke (1 medium)	94
Miso soup (1 cup)	91
Oats (1 cup)	87
Asparagus (1/2 cup)	80
Hazelnuts (1/2 cup)	76
Romaine lettuce (1/2 cup)	68
Broccoli /tender-stem (1/2 cup)	65
Avocados (half)	62
Brussels sprouts (1/2 cup)	60
Beetroot (1/2 cup)	63
Papaya (half)	58
Parsnips (1/2 cup)	45
Oranges (one)	40
Melon (half small)	38
Leeks (1/2 cup)	32
Peas, frozen (1/2 cup)	30

Can you think of three foods your child ate yesterday that would tick the ‘folate’ box? It’s ok if the answer is low, here are some helpful suggestions you could try one at a time:

• Breakfast Power Porridge: cooked oats, topped with orange segments, berries and sprinkled with chia seeds
• Raw carrots, cucumber and broccoli dipped in hummus
• Mini Pasta Salad: cooked wholemeal pasta with peas, stir through olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice and diced beetroot
• A fruit salad with papaya, kiwi fruit, orange and berries, plus a handful of unsalted peanuts

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenge: Add a folate-rich food to your child’s meal today—try blending spinach into Bolognese sauce (before you add the meat), salad, sneak cooked lentils into a shepherd’s pie, or get the kids smashing avocado and spreading on wholegrain toast.

💬 Encouragement for Parents: Folate is a simple yet powerful nutrient for supporting your child’s learning and emotional balance. Keep introducing nutrient-rich foods—they’ll thank you for it!

📌 Next email: Beans & Lentils – Why They’re a Brain Food Superpower

Wishing you and your child the best of health and happiness,

The COGNITION for Smart Kids & Teens Team

Further info

Beans & Lentils – Why They’re a Brain Food Superpower

There’s a very simple rule in nutrition – if you plant it in the ground and it grows it’s full of nutrients. That’s why, all beans, lentils, nuts and seeds will give your child folate.

Beans and lentils are especially good for you. There is, however, a downside. Not everyone can digest them very well. Hence their reputation for flatulence! This can occur because of a fibre they contain that is rather hard to digest. We all make an enzyme to do this, but not everybody makes enough. If you or your child bloat after beans or lentils this may be why. There are digestive enzymes that contain alpha-galactosidase that generally sorts this out. Another trick is to soak the beans or lentils before you cook them. 

What you need to know:

• The biggest problem, however, is we are not used to eating beans and lentils and don’t know what to do with them. In the Upgrade Your Brain cookapp there’s a lot of lovely recipes that include beans and lentils. You can gain access to the Upgrade Your Brain Cookapp here! 

• Soya is a bean, so tofu is a form of prepped bean, high in both protein and folate. Generally, tofu has quite a bland taste but absorbs flavours. Many people haven’t tried tofu so we suggest starting with marinated tofu such as Taifun or Clearspring Organic Tofu.

Here are a few ‘quick wins’ to get you into the bean mindset to feed your child this fantastic food group:

1. Start with Familiar Favourites

• Add beans to meals your child already likes — mash into pasta sauce, stir into quesadillas, blend into soups.
• Try black beans in tacos, kidney beans in chili, or white beans in mac and cheese!

2. Mash & Hide (Sneaky Beans!)

• Mash chickpeas or white beans into mashed potatoes or spreads.
• Blend lentils or beans into tomato sauce or smoothies — they’ll never know!

3. Use Beans in Baking

• Black bean brownies or chickpea blondies are surprisingly delicious and nutritious.

4. DIY Burrito or Taco Bar

• Let them build their own with black beans, pinto beans, rice, cheese, salsa, guac, etc.

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenge: Add beans or lentils to your child’s meal today—try a bean salad, lentil soup, or hummus as a dip.

💬 Encouragement for Parents: Beans and lentils are affordable, nutritious, and easy to include in meals. Keep exploring different ways to serve them!

📌 Next email: Beans & Lentils – Why They’re a Brain Food Superpower

Further info

Lowering and re-testing your child’s Homocysteine level [WILD CARD]

Only emailed if Hcy is over 7.5µmol/l Steff to programme in

Since your child’s homocysteine is over 7.5µmol/l this needs your attention.

Optimal levels haven’t been established for children. However, based on the evidence there is, we recommend for under 11 year-olds that an optimal homocysteine is not more than 5, and for teenagers, not more than 7.5µmol/l. 

Homocysteine is a naturally occurring amino acid produced as part of the body’s methylation process. The level of homocysteine rises when methylation is sub-standard. Homocysteine in the blood plasma is increasingly being recognised as a risk factor for disease and is most widely known as a predictor of potential health problems such as cardiovascular disease and Alzheimer’s but is, in fact, a biomarker for over 100 diseases, including many mental and neurological conditions that occur in children.

This is not surprising since methylation is an essential process happening in the brain. It is vital for neurotransmitter signalling, protecting DNA and controlling gene expression. Faulty methylation is indicated by a raised homocysteine level. Healthy methylation requires nutrients – specifically vitamin B6, folate, B12.

The research of Professors David Smith, Helga Refsum and others, clearly establishes that a homocysteine level above 10µmol/L are both associated with increased rate of brain shrinkage and with cognitive decline and thus requires homocysteine-lowering treatment with these B vitamins. (reviewed in Smith & Refsum 2021)

Their recommendation is to supplement 400mcg of folic acid (or ideally methylfolate), plus 500mcg of B12 and 20 mg B6 daily. There are other nutrients involved in methylation, such as zinc and TMG (trimethyl glycine) which convert homocysteine in the liver into SAMe, Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and B3 (niacin) are co-factors in methylation enzymes. Some homocysteine-lowering supplements may include these additional nutrients.

There is insufficient evidence at this time to confirm whether and to what extent these additional nutrients further help to lower homocysteine and reduce associated risks.

The good news is that homocysteine levels can be tested and high homocysteine levels can, in many cases, be normalised through diet and vitamin supplementation. The most important nutrients that help lower homocysteine levels are the B vitamins B6, folate and B12.

Supplementation to normalise homocysteine levels

Your homocysteine level is a very good indicator of the amount of certain B vitamins, and other nutrients, you need. The chart below shows you the approximate level that is worth supplementing on a daily basis for adults, especially later in life, if your homocysteine is below or above 10µmol/L. For children we consider the scale could be different such that the levels recommended for ‘low risk’ may be more appropriate for lowering a child’s homocysteine that is above 5mcmol/l and below 7.5mcmol/l.

Nutrient	Very low risk	Low risk	At risk	High risk*
	Below 7.5	7.5–9	10-15	Above 15
Folic Acid or Methylfolate	200mcg	400mcg	400mcg	800mcg
B12 of methylB12	10mcg	250mcg	500mcg	750mcg
B6	10mg	20mg	20mg	40mg
B2	5mg	10mg	15mg	20mg
Zinc	5mg	10mg	15mg	20mg
TMG	500mg	750mg	1500mg	1500mg
NAC or Glutathione*	250mg	500mg	750mg	750mg

*N-Acetyl Cysteine or glutathione has been shown in studies to help lower homocysteine and improve memory in people with cognitive impairment, given in addition to B12, folic acid and B6.

If their level is above 5 but below 7.5 it is still advisable to take a high potency multivitamin and mineral supplement, providing the levels of nutrients shown in the table above for the purposes of maintaining a healthy low level.

If their level is above 7.5 but below 9 it is wise for them to take a supplement containing larger amounts of these nutrients, perhaps in a high potency multivitamin and mineral or a specific homocysteine lowering formula. The research suggests that above 8 could be associated with risks regarding miscarriage, pregnancy outcomes and infant development. Genetic damage has been shown to occur above 7.3µmol/L. For this reason, we would certainly recommend that children, who tend to have a lower homocysteine level, are best maintained below 7µmol/L. Since most of these are water-soluble you are best to divide the dose and take a supplement two or three times a day.

*If their level is above 10 it is important to supplement, at least, 20mg B6, 400mcg of folate and 500mcg of B12. The research is clear that a level above 11µmol/L is associated with increased rate of brain shrinkage however, to be on the safe side it is wise to supplement if your level is above 10 and, in children, about 7.5µmol/l and monitor with a repeat test 3 months later. 

Homocysteine comes down quickly, so testing after 3 or 4 weeks of making changes is viable. Otherwise, it remains reasonably stable such that, if your or your child’s level is good, you could check it every three or so years.

It is best to a) stop supplementing B vitamin supplements for at least 2 days (48 hours) before testing, b) test on an empty stomach, only having drunk water. 

To re-test visit https://foodforthebrain.org/tests/. For homocysteine lowering supplements visit https://foodforthebrain.org/homocysteine-lowering-b-vitamins/. 

 

Further info

Think zinc and magnesium. Two magic minerals

 

Minerals are tiny but essential nutrients that help your child’s body grow, develop, and stay healthy. Unlike vitamins, minerals aren’t made by the body, so we need to get them from food. Minerals help with all sorts of important things—like building strong bones and teeth, keeping the heart and muscles working properly, and helping the brain and nerves do their job. Some well-known ones include calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and potassium. 

You might be surprised to learn that the three most commonly deficient minerals in children are zinc, magnesium and iron.

What you need to know: Zinc

✔ Zinc is needed, along with B vitamins, for methylation. Zinc is essential for all cellular growth and repair, and thus found in all seeds, nuts, beans and lentils, as well as eggs, meat and fish, but nothing beats oysters. Zinc is one of the most essential minerals in pregnancy, along with iron, and babies and children, due to their rapid growth, need more.

✔ Bear in mind that the vegetarian sources of zinc, such as nuts and seeds, also contain phytates, which inhibit zinc’s absorption, so those on an exclusively plant-based diet might need more.

✔ The basic calculation for our zinc needs to support growth is 7.5mg a day. (An oyster gives 5.5mg.) But is that really the minimum? What’s the optimum? Many children fail to achieve 10mg.

✔ Researchers in North Dakota gave 200 schoolchildren in the 7th grade zinc supplements and found that those taking 20mg of zinc a day, as opposed to those taking 10mg (the RDA) or a placebo, had faster and more accurate memories and better attention spans within three months. 1 

✔ Children with ADHD tend to have lower levels of zinc, chromium and magnesium. Some have low levels of copper, according to research in New Zealand.2

What you need to know: Magnesium

✔ Magnesium is richest in green vegetables, and also the green pumpkin seed. Blood is red because of iron. Plants are green because of magnesium.  Our blood carries oxygen as haemoglobin within iron in its core. That’s why red meat is a rich source of iron. Plants capture oxygen in chlorophyll with magnesium at its core. That’s why green foods are rich in magnesium.

✔ Magnesium calms things down including children. Both their muscles and mind are calmed down as muscles need magnesium to relax as does the overactive mind. Sufficient magnesium is therefore associated with promoting good sleep in kids. 

✔ A placebo-controlled trial giving ADHD children magnesium together with vitamin D for eight weeks showed a major reduction in emotional, conduct and peer problems and improved socialization compared with children given a placebo.3 

Andrew’s story: a wonderful example of how effective magnesium can be in supporting restless, hyperactive children:

When he was three years old, Andrew’s sleep-deprived parents brought him to our Brain Bio Centre. He was hyperactive and seemed never to sleep. Not surprisingly, he was grumpy most of the time.

We recommended that his parents give him 65mg of magnesium daily in a pleasant-tasting powder added to a drink before bed. Two weeks later, his mum phoned to say that he was sleeping right through every night and had been transformed into a delightful child during the day too.

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenges: 1. Give a serving of nuts, seeds or beans every day and two servings of greens within three servings of vegetables. 2. Check the multivitamin you give them includes at least 50mg of magnesium, as well as 10mg of zinc. You can give up to 300mg of magnesium if your child has problems sleeping or is hyperactive or suffers from muscle cramps.

💬 Encouragement for Parents: Balancing B vitamins with zinc and magnesium is a winning formula for your child’s brain health. Keep up the fantastic work!

📌 Next email: Why B vitamins and Omega-3 work together 

Further info

Why B vitamins and Omega-3 work together 

Did you know that B vitamins and omega-3 fats are a dream team for your child’s brain?
B vitamins play a key role in brain function, but they work even better when paired with omega-3 fats, especially one called DHA, found in oily fish. Together, they support your child’s focus, learning, and emotional balance.

In fact, when you watch this short film, How to Keep Building Brain Cells, you’ll learn how B vitamins help your child’s body “package” omega-3s into brain cells—an important process called methylation.

But that’s not all. Minerals like zinc and magnesium are also vital, helping to turn food into brain-friendly fats like DHA and EPA, and supporting the production of important brain chemicals.

So, when your child gets enough B vitamins, omega-3s, and these key minerals, they’re giving their brain exactly what it needs to stay sharp, calm, and resilient.

Research in adults shows that when both B vitamins and omega-3s are in place, the brain is better protected against decline as we age. While studies in children are still catching up, there’s every reason to believe these same nutrients are just as important for growing brains.

What you need to know:

Your child’s brain needs:

• B vitamins (for healthy methylation and focus)

• Omega-3s (especially DHA, for building and protecting brain cells)

• Phospholipids (found in fish and eggs)

The easiest way to get these nutrients is:

• Eat oily fish (like salmon or mackerel) at least 3 times a week

• Take a daily omega-3 supplement – fish oil or vegan DHA with vegan phospholipids if you’re plant-based

We’ll dive deeper into omega-3s and brain fats in the BRAIN FAT domain, but for now, just know you’re laying powerful foundations for your child’s learning, mood, and mental resilience.

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenges: Add an egg or a walnut to your child’s lunch today or add ground flaxseed to your child’s breakfast smoothie.

📌 Next email: Watch out for the vitamin robbers

Further info

Watch out for the vitamin robbers

While nutrition is all about giving your child what they need to grow and thrive, it’s also important to be aware of – ‘anti-nutrients’. These are things that block your child’s ability to absorb important nutrients, stop those nutrients from working properly, or cause the body to excrete them too quickly.

Here are a few commonly found in food and drinks that are worth knowing about:

✔ Caffeine

Caffeine—often found in fizzy drinks and even some snacks—can increase levels of homocysteine, a substance linked to inflammation and poor brain health. Studies show that even decaf coffee can have this effect, although regular coffee is the worst offender. The takeaway? Try to keep children off caffeinated drinks, especially fizzy ones, which are often also full of sugar or artificial sweeteners.

✔ Phytates in Whole Grains, Nuts & Seeds

It might sound strange, but some of the healthiest foods—like whole grains, nuts, seeds, and beans—contain something called phytates. These can make it harder for the body to absorb minerals like zinc and iron. But there’s good news: soaking or sprouting these foods (like making overnight oats or sourdough bread) can help reduce phytates and boost their nutritional value. It isn’t enough of a reason to not eat them though!

✔ Sugar

Sugar is the ultimate “empty calorie.” It doesn’t just lack nutrients—it uses up your child’s vitamins (especially B vitamins) as the body tries to process it. So, sugar ends up robbing nutrients rather than adding them. The simple rule? Keep sugar low. Your child is sweet enough already!

✔ Chemical Additives in Processed Foods

Some artificial colours and additives—like tartrazine (E102)—can deplete nutrients like zinc and have been linked to hyperactivity in children. Unfortunately, many ultra-processed foods are still packed with these additives for shelf life or colour—not for health. A good rule of thumb? If you don’t recognise an ingredient, it probably doesn’t belong in your child’s body.

✔ Alcohol

While this one’s more about adults, it’s worth noting alcohol is one of the most powerful anti-nutrients. It depletes key vitamins and minerals rapidly—and that’s one of the many reasons to keep it far from your child’s growing system.

By learning about these anti-nutrients, you’re better equipped to protect your child’s nutrition—and every small step helps their body and brain function at their best.

📌 Next email: Why B vitamins and Omega-3 work together 

Further info

Safe sun guidance for your child

Sunlight is a double-edged sword. On the one hand too much UV exposure ages and burns the skin, with children having very sensitive skin. This is especially true in the first six months as the skin’s barrier function isn’t fully formed which is why babies should not be exposed to UV from strong sunlight in the first six months. Their vitamin D is designed to come from breast-feeding so, if not breast-feeding vitamin D drops are essential.

On the other hand, sunlight stimulates vitamin D production, as well as serotonin, the brain’s neurotransmitter associated with happiness and connectivity.

Why does it matter:

✔ In order to make Vitamin D ideally children need to get sun exposure without any sun protection for 15 to 20 minutes at least two or three times a week. This could be their arms, legs, trunk or back and most likely not in the heat of the middle of day in the summer. However, if their shadow is longer than body length (from October to late March in the UK for example, even at midday) there is insufficient sun intensity to make vitamin D anyway.

✔ The free app dminder.info works out for you, depending on where you live and the time of year, how much time your child needs outdoor with sun exposure and to prevent sunburn at different times in the year.

Is there a way to get the best of both worlds? The benefit of the sun without the harm? The answer is yes.

What You Need to Know:

✔ A form of vitamin A that is absorbed in the skin, retinyl palmitate, protects against the harmful effects of both UVA and B but without inhibiting vitamin D production – which total sun blocks do. It does this by acting as a local antioxidant absorbing the UV rays in an attempt to protect the skin, which would give the equivalent protection of a SPF20. Too much vitamin A can be irritating but children seem to tolerate it very well. For this reason, retinyl palmitate is used in some skin creams.

✔ There are other sunscreens, such as Environ’s RAD, which doesn’t contain any Vitamin A but does have a great mix of antioxidants, Vitamin C (fat soluble form), vitamin E and beta carotene, the precursor of vitamin A so there is no risk of irritation. (Visit https://environskincare.co.uk/ who offer Friends of Food for the Brain a 10% discount and match it with a donation to our research, by using the coupon code FFB10 at check out.)

✔ RAD sunscreen has the benefit of containing both organic (chemical) as well as inorganic (titanium dioxide) together with a powerful mix of antioxidants. This makes for a great sunscreen for kids (as well as adults). It is safer to use than high chemical SPF’s and is likely to be more effective (due to the mix of different ways of protecting skin) even though it is an SPF 15.

As parents, we naturally want the best sun protection for our children—and many of us have been led to believe that the higher the SPF, the better. But it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Here’s what the science says:

• SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UVB rays

• SPF 30 blocks about 97%

• SPF 50 blocks around 98%

That’s only a 5% difference between SPF 15 and SPF 50—but going higher often means a much higher load of chemicals.

Some of the chemical ingredients used in high-SPF sunscreens—like octocrylene, benzophenone-3, and octylmethoxycinnamate—have been shown to turn into free radicals themselves which isn’t great for health when are aim is to protect our kids in the sun.

How to Implement Change

Today’s Challenge: Plan some safe sun time (when the weather is sunny enough!) Take a short walk or play outdoors during the late morning or early afternoon.
• Let your child enjoy 10–20 minutes of sun before applying sunscreen.
• Combine this with a vitamin D supplement to top up levels year-round.

💬 Encouragement for Parents: Sunshine and smiles go hand in hand! You’re teaching your child how to balance nature’s gifts with smart self-care. Keep guiding them to a healthier, brighter path.

📌 Next email: Exploring Fat-Fuelled Focus and Energy

Wishing you and your child the best of health and happiness,

The COGNITION for Smart Kids & Teens Team

Reference: Hanson KM, Gratton E, Bardeen CJ. Sunscreen enhancement of UV-induced reactive oxygen species in the skin. Free Radic Biol Med. 2006 Oct 15;41(8):1205-12. doi: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2006.06.011

Further info