A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake (1, 2, 3). Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake, and intake of trans-fats less than 1% of total energy intake, with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats (4, 5, 6).
Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 7) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (7).
Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2 g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (8).
WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% by 2025; they have also agreed to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (9, 10).

How can I improve my mental health?
There are many different things you can do to improve your mental health, including:

Staying positive. It's important to try to have a positive outlook; some ways to do that include:
Finding balance between positive and negative emotions. Staying positive doesn't mean that you never feel negative emotions, such as sadness or anger. You need to feel them so that you can move through difficult situations. They can help you to respond to a problem. But you don't want those emotions to take over. For example, it's not helpful to keep thinking about bad things that happened in the past or worry too much about the future.
Trying to hold on to the positive emotions when you have them
Taking a break from negative information. Know when to stop watching or reading the news. Use social media to reach out for support and feel connected to others but be careful. Don't fall for rumors, get into arguments, or negatively compare your life to others.
Practicing gratitude, which means being thankful for the good things in your life. It's helpful to do this every day, either by thinking about what you are grateful for or writing it down in a journal. These can be big things, such as the support you have from loved ones, or little things, such as enjoying a nice meal. It's important to allow yourself a moment to enjoy that you had the positive experience. Practicing gratitude can help you to see your life differently. For example, when you are stressed, you may not notice that there are also moments when you have some positive emotions. Gratitude can help you to recognize them.
Taking care of your physical health, since your physical and mental health are connected. Some ways to take care of your physical health include:
Being physically active. Exercise can reduce feelings of stress and depression and improve your mood.
Getting enough sleep. Sleep affects your mood. If you don't get a good sleep, you may become more easily annoyed and angry. Over the long term, a lack of quality sleep can make you more likely to become depressed. So it's important to make sure that you have a regular sleep schedule and get enough quality sleep every night.
Healthy eating. Good nutrition will help you feel better physically but could also improve your mood and decrease anxiety and stress. Also, not having enough of certain nutrients may contribute to some mental illnesses. For example, there may be a link between low levels of vitamin B12 and depression. Eating a well-balanced diet can help you to get enough of the nutrients you need.
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Stress management offers a range of ways to help you better deal with stress and difficulty, also called adversity, in your life. Managing stress can help you lead a more balanced, healthier life.

Stress is an automatic physical, mental and emotional response to a difficult event. It's a common part of everyone's life. When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action and change. But negative, long-term stress can lessen your quality of life.

Stress management approaches include:

Learning skills such as problem-solving, focusing on important tasks first and managing your time.
Improving your ability to cope with difficult events that happen in life. For example, you may learn how to improve your emotional awareness and reactions. You also may learn how to increase your sense of control. And you may find greater meaning and purpose in life and have more gratitude and optimism.
Practicing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, yoga, meditation, tai chi, exercise and prayer.
Improving your personal relationships.

Water soluble

B-1: ham, soymilk, watermelon, acorn squash

B-2: milk, yogurt, cheese, whole and enriched grains and cereals

B-3: meat, poultry, fish, fortified and whole grains, mushrooms, potatoes

B-5: chicken, whole grains, broccoli, avocados, mushrooms

B-6: meat, fish, poultry, legumes, tofu and other soy products, bananas

B-7: Whole grains, eggs, soybeans, fish

B-9: Fortified grains and cereals, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, legumes (black-eyed peas and chickpeas), orange juice

B-12: Meat, poultry, fish, milk, cheese, fortified soymilk and cereals

Vitamin C: Citrus fruit, potatoes, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, Brussels sprouts

Fat soluble

Vitamin A: beef, liver, eggs, shrimp, fish, fortified milk, sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkins, spinach, mangoes

Vitamin D: Fortified milk and cereals, fatty fish

Vitamin E: vegetables oils, leafy green vegetables, whole grains, nuts

Vitamin K: Cabbage, eggs, milk, spinach, broccoli, kale

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The requirements and qualifications for IDEA are more stringent than those of Section 504. IDEA provides funds to state education agencies for the purpose of providing special education and related services to children evaluated in accordance with IDEA and found to have at least one of the 13 specific categories of disabilities, and who thus need special education and related services. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may be considered under the specific category of "Other Health Impairment" (OHI), if the disability results in limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment and that is due to chronic or acute health problems.

Have tangible reminders:
- A big clock in the bedroom;
- Charts for chores;
- Assignment pad to record homework and a specific folder to put work in upon completion; and
- Gain the child's attention before speaking to him or her. Have the child repeat back directions for things that are really important.
Avoid the following:
- Repeating patterns of inappropriate behavior followed by ineffective punishment;
- Administering consequences without prior warning or without the child understanding why he or she is receiving them; and
- Responding inconsistently to inappropriate behaviors.

Students with ADHD: Tips for Home

Students also can take some of the responsibility for their educational and behavioral adaptations. Blazer (1999) reported that students as young as 5 years old can communicate ways to make their school experience more pleasurable and learning easier. Student input also helps to promote a sense of ownership and responsibility for the new strategies and adaptations.
Here are some suggestions for practices that may be helpful for teachers working with a child with ADHD.

Children’s brains develop rapidly from ages birth through three. Brain development affects all areas of a child’s growth.

There are four main areas of development: motor (physical), language and communication, social and emotional, and cognitive. Brain development is part of cognitive development. Cognitive development describes how a child’s intellect grows, and includes thinking, learning and problem-solving skills. These skills affect all other areas of development.

The first three years of a child’s life are critical for learning and development. Many parents ask how they can help their child’s brain develop. The best way is to actively engage your child through everyday activities like playing, reading and being there when he/she feels stress.

Here are ideas to encourage brain development:

Self-Correction Opportunities
Students use calculators or a key provided by the teacher to check their answers.

Learning Games
Students play board games that reinforce skills such as sight vocabulary, phonics, grammar rules, and basic math facts.

For example, Bingo can be used to review basic facts and concepts. Students who require more immediate feedback and recognition of their efforts might begin with a Bingo board that has only
three cells across and three cells down. The number of cells can be gradually increased to four across, four down, then five, and so forth.

Many students with ADHD have significant difficulties with organization.

They are more likely to respond positively when teachers establish class routines and set procedures and maintain a well-organized learning environment.

Clear rules and advanced planning are keys to success for teachers of students with ADHD.


The following organizational supports are particularly useful. Students should be taught to use these tools through teacher modeling and guided practice with feedback before being expected to use them more independently.

It sounds counterintuitive, but many people find success losing weight—especially initially—by eating more fat, not less. Called a ketogenic or Keto diet, this method requires shifting the main source of calories over to fatty foods—between 75% and 90% of what you eat, with only 10-20% of your calories coming from protein and a mere 5% from carbohydrates. The theory is that by eating so many healthy fats and restricting carbohydrates, you enter an altered metabolic state in which you force your body to begin relying on fat for energy, burning away your fat stores instead of sugar for fuel.

Research does show that keto is an effective way to jump-start weight loss and improve blood-sugar levels. However, it is hard to maintain, and to date we are lacking long-term studies that show it to be a sustainable eating pattern for keeping weight off.