The two charities have joined forces to explore the impact of diet on mood and behaviour, and launch a campaign called Feeding Minds.
The research, due to be published on 16 January, reveals that food can have an immediate and lasting effect on a child's mental health because of the way it affects the structure and function of the brain.
For example, children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are often deficient in iron and the essential fatty acid omega-3. Their behaviour improves when they consume higher levels of these minerals.
However, research has found that people are consuming less nutritious food than in previous generations. People in the UK now eat 59 per cent less fish - an important source of omega-3 - than they did 60 years ago. Over the same period there has been a 34 per cent decline in fruit and vegetable consumption.
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