<div class="block">Jonathan Wolfson, Brainiac Foods founder, joined Cheddar News to talk about the best snack options for children as they gear up to return to school. </div>

Wake Up With Cheddar

Back to School Brain-Boosting Snacks

So, you know how important a healthy diet is. But a lot of people in the US, they're not eating the right nutrients to fuel their brains. And with kids going back to school now is the perfect time to reconsider what these kids are bringing in their lunch boxes. Jonathan Wolfson is the founder of brainiac foods and he's here to help us. Welcome Jonathan. It's great to be here. Thanks. So I see all your products right here. How does our diet impact our brains? Just broadly, well broadly speaking, I think the simplest thing we all learned maybe as kids is that you are what you eat. And I don't think that could be more true than with your brain. Um And we can talk about a couple of the key nutrients that our brains are made of, but our brains are principally water and after water, a fat called DH A which is an omega three. Our brains are also electrical systems. They're computers and they're powered by neurotransmitters. A key one of those is called the Cey Cole, which requires us to eat Coline. So, uh it's a lot like thinking about uh calcium for your bones. If you don't eat the right things that your brain is made of your brain isn't going to work the right way. So this is personal for you. How did your son's experience with formula help inspire you to create brainiac foods? Yeah. So, well, my son had a, a funny um he, he had AAA problem when he was quite young. They called it failure to thrive. We couldn't figure out exactly what it was. And we went, uh we went to our pediatrician, we went to some of the experts. I had been fortunate to have spent part of my career in food technology and nutrition, completely unrelated area, of course. But when we went to these experts, they said, well, look, uh the formula will end up being a ok. It turns out that the form the things you really care about for your young kids are, are, are brain and eye development. But the good news is that the formula already has a lot of the key things. But hey, what about your older kids? And what about you? And that was the question I was unprepared for. And that was the question that really turned uh uh me and my co-founder to uh begin brain. So with these foods, I see a lot of these products, what makes them special? What kind, what do they have? I look at, you know, this one over here which is brain building nutrients, apple, pumpkin cinnamon this little pack. What does it do? That's special. Well, it, it's, it's more what it has in it and what your brain has in it and just going back to what I said earlier, two of the key uh three of the key things in that uh pal rate. There are uh Omega three DH A which is up to 15% of the child's brain. Uh Cole which is the key ingredient in acetylcholine, the neurotransmitter and something called lutin, which is critical for eyesight and the visual processing parts of the brain and that pouch is rich in those things that our kids' brains are made of critical for brain development, but also for brain performance, uh things like memory, focus mood. Um and these are many of the key points I think if I add one other thing here, it's that one of the big learnings for us was that there's this big brain nutrition gap even though our, our brains are made of these key things, even though our kids' brains require them in their diets. Uh Most Americans are only getting about, most American Children are only getting about 20% of what they need. What are the warning signs that if I see my Children and they're not doing something that I should be changing their food, changing their diet? Well, you know, we, we try to focus on the on the positive side of this and, and uh you know, fear based marketing, I think is uh uh a tool I I that, that we decided we would push out of the way long, long ago. But what I would say is that when we're not getting enough of these key brain nutrients, when our kids are not getting enough of these key brain nutrients, the things like focus uh attention. Um For us, you can experience it with brain fog and you know, that, that what you eat can really impact the way you feel. And so I think it's, it's more about trying to get the right things in than to be on the lookout. For, for, for uh for signals, you recommend eating a lot more salmon, broccoli eggs. Why are those in particular? So this is really a case of kind of uh better uh better best, you know, there's good, better, best. And for us, the best thing you can do is to get these key nutrients that your brain is made of into your kids by feeding them the whole foods they're in, in nature and those are salmon is a phenomenal source. Also, things like tuna gotta be a little careful in mercury with tuna. But um also things like uh broccoli critical, um but not just broccoli, uh all kinds of colored vegetables. And we know that and I think um those are the best ways to get it in. But as two dads, you know, we knew that we can't always get our kids to eat that way. Or when I say, can I always mostly can't get our kids to eat that way. So this is a solution that really helps you fill the gap. And in fact, one pouch has as, as much DH A as a kid size salmon filet and as much Coline as two cups of broccoli. So we're really trying to get there excited to try it. I saw this brain butter, which looks interesting. I'm gonna see if my kids like it. Thank you so much, Jonathan Wolfson, founder of Brainiac Foods.