| September
2005
We all know that sugar is bad for us, yet it is
so pervasive in our culture that we don’t seem
to take its health risks seriously. Children love sugar-rich
treats and we hate to deny them. Most food products
marketed to children have more sugar in them than any
other ingredients. It's easy to say, "I know sugar
is bad, but..."
Below I offer a few lines from nutritionist Nancy
Appleton’s "124 Ways Sugar Ruins Your Health" that
specifically address how sugar affects the health and
mental alertness of children. Perhaps these facts will
motivate you to act on what you know!
| 13
Ways Sugar Affects the Health of Children |
 |
 For
so many people it takes a serious health
challenge to cut down on sugar intake or
any other necessary dietary change. What
if we made the changes first and were able
to avoid the health challenge completely?
I find reading materials such as this from
Nancy Appleton inspiring and supportive in
making such changes.
1. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety,
difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in
children.
2. Sugar can weaken eyesight and cause
nearsightedness.
3. Sugar can cause rapid rise
of adrenaline levels in children.
4. Sugar can
lead to alcoholism.
5. Sugar contributes to
obesity.
6. Sugar can cause asthma.
7. Sugar can decrease
growth hormone.
8. Sugar can cause drowsiness
and decreased activity in children.
9. Sugar
can cause headaches, including migraine.
10.
Sugar can adversely affect schoolchildren’s
grades and cause learning disorders.
11. A highly
refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity.
12.
Decrease in sugar can increase emotional stability.
13.
Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with
attention deficit hyperactivity disordered
(ADHD).
124 Ways Sugar Ruins Your Health by Nancy
Appleton
|
| Steps
to Decrease Sugar Consumption |
|
|  Inspired
to make some changes? Here are a few steps
you can take.
• Teach your children to drink lots
of pure water instead of relying on fruit
juices or sodas to quench thirst (see my
Q & A on sodas).
• Send your children to school with
an apple and a small bag of nuts such as
almonds for snacking.
• If cereal is eaten for breakfast,
make sure that it is a whole grain cereal
without any added sugar. You can add some
fresh or dried fruit (unsweetened) to enhance
the cereal’s flavor if necessary.
• Dessert after a meal is an unnecessary
habit and diminishes the nutrition you
receive from your meal. Instead, consider
an herbal tea such as chamomile, peppermint,
or The Art of Health's Soothing Comfort
Tea (naturally sweet from whole Stevia
leaf) after dinner. These will help settle
the stomach and prepare your children for
a good night’s sleep.
You will be surprised how quickly the
taste for sugar diminishes once it has
been removed from the diet. The first few
days are hard, but then the desire for
it leaves quite quickly for most. Taste
buds will be enhanced; foods that previously
tasted like cardboard without sugar will
be delicious. Give it a try. Your children's
health is more than worth it.
More
on Stevia and Soothing Comfort Tea
|
| Frustrated
with School Lunches? |
|
During
the school year, many children eat more food
provided at school than at home. The quality
of school lunches is far from nutritious, and
is a significant factor in America's growing
chilhood obesity epidemic. Follow the link
below for an informative article on school
lunches and vending machines, and some steps
you can take to improve the quality of what
your child eats when away from home.
School lunches: working to provide healthful
alternatives
|
| Free
Health Seminars in September |
|
Dr.
Laura Washington will give two presentations
in the month of September. Both will take place
on Wednesday evenings from 6:30 PM to 8:00
PM at Yoga in the Pearl, 925 NW Davis in Portland.
September 14: PMS, Painful Menstruation,
Hot Flashes, and Hormonal Imbalance.
September 28: Mental Clarity at Every
Age
There is no charge for either presentation.
Please RSVP at the front desk of Yoga in
the Pearl in person or by calling 503-525
YOGA (9642).
|
|
It
is September--the “Back to School” month.
Those of you with children may be thinking
about how you can make this new year of school
a positive and enriching experience for them,
academically, emotionally, and socially.
If you want your child to have more clear
and focused energy during their day, and
be able to enjoy their school work and peers,
take a hard look at how much sugar is in
their diet.
In this month's Art of Health Bulletin I
share with you some of the ways that sugar
affects the health of children, and a few
tips for decreasing the amount of sugar your
children consume.
For those of us beyond school age, September
is still thought of as a time of new beginnings.
While it is not yet the New Year, it is a
new “school year”. September
can be a time for a fresh start. Think about
cutting out the sugar in your own diet, too! |
|
Yours in Health,
Laura Washington, ND
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