WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Drowning in Sugar

“Woman is the light of God.”  

                                                                              --Rumi

It happened again. While on the way to give a talk called "Good Foods for Growing Healthy Kids," I stopped at a convenience mart across from where I was speaking.  I asked the clerk one question: “What is your most popular drink that kids buy?”

There was no hesitation from the clerk: “Far right cooler door, top shelf.  Short bottles.”  I walked to where he was pointing and opened the cooler door.  There were three different colored drinks: blue, red, and pink.  Something called Tum-E Yummies.  Never heard of them before.  I settled on a blue drink, walked back to the front of the store and paid for it.  The clerk said, “One dollar even.”

I handed over my dollar, then walked out to the car and drove to the Fellsmere City Hall in Fellsmere, Florida.  At the “Women and Girls Summit,” I looked over my prepared notes and looked at the people in attendance. Faces of all colors and ethnicities, mostly women and girls with some high school age boys as well.  I waited as the police detective, the speaker before me on the agenda, finished talking about domestic violence.  

When I was introduced as the next speaker, I held up the blue bottle of Tum-E Yummies and announced that I had decided to change my presentation to “Why Kids Fidget.”

I handed the bottle of Tum-E Yummies to a girl sitting near the front.  She counted 14 ingredients, including:

• High fructose corn syrup
• Food dyes
• Preservatives
• 2 different sugars
• Zero fruit juice

What kids drink and eat can have a big effect on their physical and mental health, including their ability to learn and focus.  To improve our children’s results in school, it is my hope that parents become aware of the food and drink choices kids make.  All the sugar, food dyes and preservatives found in Tum-E Yummies and thousands of other processed foods and drinks contribute to poor health outcomes.  

Tum-E Yummies and other drinks like it are just sugar water and food dyes, which are known to contribute to obesity, certain cancers and attention deficit hyperactivity.  

Thank you to all the mothers and grandmothers who attended the “Women and Girls Summit.” Kids need food that makes them healthy and strong, not sick and unfocused. Together, we can guide children to make healthier choices.  

Off for a glass of water!

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Become a Sugar Detective

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away." 

                                                                                                              --Anonymous

One constant in the educational work we do in Growing Healthy Kids is teaching parents and kids about sugar.  All parents need to know about the difference between added sugars and natural sugars.  All kids need to learn that natural sugar is what our bodies were designed to process, but only in small quantities. Excessive sugar intake is linked to belly fat, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and poor cancer survival rates. The average American consumes about 41 teaspoons of sugar a day, while the guidelines from American Heart Association call for limiting sugar intake to 6-9 teaspoons a day.  NOTE:  One teaspoon of sugar contains 4 grams of carbohydrates.

Sugars that are added to foods during processing are the ones we don't need.  Read a nutrition facts panel on a cereal box or a box of Pop Tarts and see how many different added sugars you can find.  Here's a clue: any ingredient that ends in “-ose” is a sugar.  Always check food labels for what I call “the evil empire sugar” or high fructose corn syrup.  Added sugars come in many names, more than 50.  To view a list, just go to pages 23-26 of Nourish and Flourish:  Kid-Tested and Approved Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes.*

The sugar you eat should be limited to natural sugars, that found in fruits and some vegetables (like sweet potatoes and corn).  Fruit also contains dietary fiber (the "bones" which give fruits their unique form ) which helps to slow down the absorption of sugar.   

Here are 3 tips parents and kids can use:

1. Read food labels and look for “high fructose corn syrup”.  If the food or drink contains it, don’t buy it.
2. Choose foods and drinks without added sugars.
3. Replace fruit juice with fresh fruit.

In gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder, Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.

*To order a copy of Nourish and Flourish, click on the link in the top right corner of this page.