We try so hard to feed our kids a healthy diet. We’re constantly checking labels, noting ingredients, and offering fruits and vegetables. But convenience foods really are convenient, so we might occasionally throw some crackers or a granola bar into the bag for a quick snack. Or maybe we buy single servings of fruity yogurt. Yogurt is a healthy snack, right? Well, that depends.
So, what is the toxic food you feed your children every day? Sugar. Refined, raw, or in it’s many forms, added sugar is not just extra calories. The new research on sugar is showing some startling results. Dr. Robert H. Lustig has made it his mission in life to share the research with the general public. His research has found that added sugars cause medical issues like obesity and diabetes, which is not so surprising. But he’s also found a connection between added sugars and heart disease stroke, and even CANCER. Now that surprised me.
Here’s the You Tube video Dr. Lustig posted in 2009 about the danger of added sugars in our diet. This contains detailed information about why sugar is toxic.
And a video from CBS’s “60 Minutes” called “Is Sugar Toxic?”.
So you’re thinking, “I don’t feed my kids very much candy or soda, so they’re safe from these effects, right?” Wrong. There is added sugar in virtually every food that you don’t prepare yourself. Here’s a list of 50 different names that might appear on food labels that actually mean sugar.
There is usually a LOT of added sugar in yogurts. All yogurt must contain some sugar because that’s what the probiotics use as food, however, I’ve seen single serving yogurts with more than 30 grams of sugar. And that’s way too much sugar for a little liver to handle on a regular basis. As an alternative, I buy a plain yogurt and mash a banana into it to sweeten it up.
There’s also sugar in other foods you might not think about. Bread contains sugar. So do crackers. And almost all commercially produced peanut butter has added sugar. I’ve been able to find some at Whole Foods that doesn’t, and there are some grocery stores where you can grind your own peanut butter, so you can be absolutely sure there’s nothing added.
So now you’re thinking, “Wow, I need to start checking labels more carefully. And we can’t ever eat anything sweet again without risking a heart attack, yikes!”
Luckily, there are some wonderfully sweet foods that won’t increase your risk of heart attack, stroke, or cancer. Fruits and vegetables do contain fructose, but they also contain fiber and other nutrients that balance out the sugars and allow the body to metabolize them differently. All fruits and vegetables are healthy food choices for you and your kids.
And have you tasted a beet or a sweet potato lately? They’re incredibly sweet, especially if you bake them. Apples, bananas, oranges, blueberries, raspberries, mangoes, pineapples, blackberries, pears, peaches, plums, yum! There are so many wonderful fruit and vegetable choices that are sweet and delicious and are also healthy food for your child’s growing body.
So this week, take a look through your pantry and check out the added sugars in items you’d never expect to find it. Then, add some more fresh fruits and vegetables into your child’s diet and reduce any candy or sweetened drinks they might currently consume.
Do also watch out for fruit juices. While they seem like they might be healthy choices, they lack the fiber that helps our bodies metabolize the sugars. So the current recommendation from pediatricians is to stay away from fruit juice AND soda. Both contain sugar without fiber and both are difficult for your body to assimilate.
So, now that you know how dangerous added sugars can be, you can begin to make choices that will support your family’s health and wellbeing even more. And the amazing thing is that once you’ve taken all of that extra sugar out of your diet, you probably won’t even miss it! Most of the people I’ve talked to say that sugar from fruits and vegetables is enough sweetness an they feel so much better they’d never go back to eating added sugars.
Image courtesy of nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
This post was written by
Shelly Birger Phillips is passionate about being absolutely the best mom she can be and supporting other parents to do the same. With an extensive knowledge of child development and parenting theory as well as tons of hands-on experience as a preschool teacher, nanny and now as a mother herself, she offers Skype video parent coaching to parents all over the world using a connection-based conscious parenting approach. Shelly also has a free weekly blog about conscious parenting at Awake Parent and she loves Pinterest (maybe a little bit too much).
thanks for sharing this!!!
You’re so welcome Stephanie! Glad you liked it
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
Totally agree!
Tania Belkin recently posted..Hidden Dangers in your kitchen and how can it affect your health and make you fat
Thanks Tania!
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
Shelly, it’s so true!
I started getting “clued in” to hidden sugar while I was following a low-carb approach to eating. It’s insidious! Anybody ever look at what’s in ketchup? We might as well just put jelly on our burgers!
Carol Gyzander recently posted..Comment on Check This Out: new photo box punches in My Digital Studio! by Carol
I know Carol, isn’t it funny that we think of Ketchup as savory when it’s actually quite sweet? And have you notice that the less sugar you consume, the more you notice the natural sweetness in foods? I can’t even drink soda anymore, it’s WAY too sweet. And thank goodness, because that stuff is really bad for our bodies. Have a great day!
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
That’s absolutely true – the less sugar I eat, the sweeter the real food tastes. I also ditched the artificial sweeteners wherever possible. And everything actually tastes… better!
Carol Gyzander recently posted..Comment on Check This Out: new photo box punches in My Digital Studio! by Carol
Yeah, artificial sweeteners kinda freak me out. I mean, they must be full of chemical weirdness, right? I’m glad food tastes better! Hugs to you
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
This was great information. I just checked the Stoneyfield yotoddler yogart I give to my little ones and it has 13 g of sugar. I am going to take your advice and buy plain yogart and put in my own fruit. Thank you!
The Dumpling Mama recently posted..Favorite Moments from Chinese New Year
I’m so glad it was helpful! Have a lovely day.
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
We love using sweet potatoes and roasted beets to get a sweet taste at dinner.
Becky recently posted..An Organic Valentine’s Day
Me too! Yum.
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..I Trust You
No need to go without yogurt, though. It’s really easy to make it at home, where you have control over all the ingredients!
I agree! I buy plain yogurt and add a mashed up banana, but I have heard that making your own yogurt is actually quite easy. Thanks for your comment!
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..50 Ways to Share Your Love on Valentine’s Day and Every Day
What about stevia?
Bert A recently posted..#ValentinesDay : A little eye candy and shout out.
I’m not sure about stevia. I’d have to do some more research. It looks like it might be a good alternative sweetener, but there hasn’t been enough conclusive research yet on its potential side effects. I think diabetics can use it which makes me think it doesn’t cause huge spikes in blood sugar, but apparently there’s some conflicting research out there. Do you like it?
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..50 Ways to Share Your Love on Valentine’s Day and Every Day
It is so hard when added sugars are in SO many things! We started out removing HFCS (and I am so blessed to have a day care provider that agreed to do the same) but now I think we need to move on to removing other sugars as well.
Amanda recently posted..Simply Sweet Valentine’s Day Thanks to #GreatValue
Yes Amanda, it is tough to get sugars out of our diet, but I think it’s worth the effort! I’ve resorted to making a lot of my food from scratch, and sticking to fruits and vegetables for the most part. At least I know that if nature made it, then it’s free of added sugars! Good luck!
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..50 Ways to Share Your Love on Valentine’s Day and Every Day
Wow! That’s crazy. We also use plain yogurt and add fruit. Much healthier!
Motherhood on the Rocks recently posted..Healthy & Easy Chicken Pot Pie Recipe
Yes! Thanks for your comment
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..50 Ways to Share Your Love on Valentine’s Day and Every Day
Wow – it is so crazy what we put into ours and our children’s bodies without really researching. When I was pregnant, I learned more about foods than I ever had and couldn’t believe that I ingested all the bad things that I did before getting pregnant – what an eye opener! My daughter is just starting solids and we’ve fed her apples, avocado, carrots and peas. We have become so much more aware of added ingredients that we won’t even feed her canned baby food -only food we make for her. It is sad that there are so many toxins in our foods now. If only we could go back to the days with no preservatives…
Ashley recently posted..Don’t Forget Review & Giveaway: An App for Moms by Moms 2/28
Awesome Ashley! I made a lot of my own baby food too. It challenged me to cook some things I’d never prepared before. My daughter’s favorite was mashed banana and avocado. She also really liked butternut squash with spinach. I’m with you. I wish we could get back to a toxin free environment too. Have a lovely weekend!
Shelly Birger Phillips recently posted..50 Ways to Share Your Love on Valentine’s Day and Every Day
Totally agree! We don’t intake all the necessary nutrients we need, and that is the leading cause of sickness! I was introduced to this nutrition company Vemma, their multivitamin is absolutely amazing! and they have one for kids, called Next Generation. I highly recommend Next instead of giving out kids these flinstone vitamins that aren’t as nutritious. If you have any question, give me a call, my info is on my website:
neilelaile.vemma.com
We’re big on vitamins too – and we opt for higher grade products, never Flintstone. Thanks for visiting.