Comments on: Sugar Highs and Lows

By: Mary Russell

Mary Russell — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:01:20 +0000

I knew I’d get a few condescending replies to my post- “you only have one child, wait until you have 10″, etc, but really- strictness with diet is something I grew up with and, consequently, I never really had a problem with my weight. We Americans eat far more sugar than we ought, and I doubt I will sway from my principles with the arrival of more children. Ryan makes several excellent points about the need for rules and strictness in several areas of child-rearing, not just avoidance of processed foods and sugar. And btw, the canard that children will get sugar from other sources if not from you is true of many other areas- television watching, video-game playing, drug and alcohol use. Does the fact that our kid could get to watch violent movies at neighbor x’s house mean that we should be providing them opportunities to do the same in ours? No. Nor does it mean that they’ll be addicted to violent entertainment later on in life if they aren’t exposed to it early on in our homes.
Junk food, low-brow movies and other entertainment, video games are all OK in limited quantities, but the carrot-cake-for-breakfast thing and cookies every day of the week is not for me.

By: Tina D

Tina D — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:04:54 +0000

Carrot cake, cookies, whatever… the Bean family looks pretty healthy to me!

By: Joan

Joan — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:05:45 +0000

Oh my Mary! You sound like me when I had my first child. By the time number 3 came I was much more lenient, but sugar was never out of control. My kids always complained that they were the only ones not allowed to eat fruit snacks. Gee, none of them had cavities, and none of them have weight problems. They all know how to eat healthy. The key here is not to be so strict that they rebel.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 21:53:57 +0000

Gina — your response is a reasonable one, given the mixed messages we’ve been given about diet and nutrition over the past few decades. I’ll just say that it’s a good thing that researchers and the public health authorities have done a better job with the (less complex) issue of tobacco; otherwise, most of us would still believe (as the public once did) that smoking is a pretty harmless pleasure.

The fact remains that we have abnormally high rates of some serious diet-related health conditions in this country. Something’s causing this, despite the fact that most of us feel that we eat “moderate” diets.

By: Gina

Gina — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:12:41 +0000

By the way, it get harder to control every aspect of your child’s life as they get older. Someone else will probably give them sugar even if you don’t. There are some things I had to just give up on as my kids aged, and since sugar isn’t immoral, this is one thing that I decided to not worry about so much. There are PLENTY of other things in the world to worry about and I don’t want to restrict my kids from doing everything. Blessings!

By: Gina

Gina — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 20:00:31 +0000

I don’t think sugar is “bad”. Food is food. Everything in moderation is not harmful. Our family eats sugar in moderation and all of my six kids are of a healthy weight and are detached from food. In fact, my daughter can look at her Easter candy for months before she starts eating it. They don’t have any hang ups with food.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 19:06:00 +0000

Easy there, Mary R. — it’s not any of our business to know or comment on how much sugar the Beans eat. Sheesh.

Sarah L. — I actually haven’t read Michael Pollan (not yet, anyway), but I know a little about his books. I found Gary Taubes’ recent book on diet and health really interesting, as he traces the history of the science involved, going back more than a century.

MotherofMany — I would agree that sugar doesn’t need to be forbidden, but being strict about something doesn’t guarantee that your kids are going to rebel when they leave the house. There are a lot of things that we have to be “strict” about as parents; hopefully the kids will grow to understand our reasons. Communication helps, of course.

The real issue is, just how harmful is sugar? I think it’s pretty bad stuff, but reasonable people can disagree on this. As for fat, I’ve already mentioned that I don’t believe it’s harmful.

By: MotherofMany

MotherofMany — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 18:09:14 +0000

Mary, sweetie … You are making me smile. You have one kid. He’s one year old. We all do the Sugar-Nazi thing with our first babies. By the time you get to baby number 4, 5, 6 …, you realize the value of making some concessions and living a little. “Cookies on an ordinary weeknight” can be a special treat that isn’t going to mess up anyone’s diet for life. What can mess up someone’s diet for life is treating sugar and/or fat as a forbidden fruit — I knew a girl in high school whose mother was super-strict with her family’s diet and she used to binge eat when she went babysitting or visited friends’ houses. Not exactly healthy behavior.

By: Mary Russell

Mary Russell — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:18:14 +0000

I am sorry to say something a bit critical about this blog, but it strikes me how much sugary eating the Bean family does- carrot cake for breakfast, making cookies on an ordinary weekday night, etc.
I am trying to make sugar a special treat with my kid (a 1 year old), rather than a daily occurrence. He has never had juice, eats sugar-free yogurt with gusto, and rarely has cookies. I follow a clean diet as well, something I started about 5 years ago, immediately losing 2 dress sizes. Snacking between meals is, I think, key. We were not meant to go 6-7 hours between meals.

By: Mom 2 eight

Mom 2 eight — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:26:51 +0000

Hi Danielle,
I too changed the way I ate within the last few years and have noticed a huge difference. I am 34 and expecting our 8th baby. My doctor introduced me to protein shakes and what a difference it makes in the morning when all is hectic and I need to eat something healthy. I learned to have the same thing for breakfast each morning and I am actually quite satisfied for about 4 hours. I invested in a magic bullet mixer and I purchase my protein from Nutrition Express(Lindberg’s natural whey,they have vanilla and chocolate) I throw in almonds,skim milk,frozen berries(love blueberries) and apple pectin(makes you feel full)…I also take my prenatals,fish oil(one with high epa and dha’s extra b’s, folic acid,and vitamin e(for my varicose veins)I have LOTS of steady energy and require only about 6 hours of sleep and nap daily (15-20 minutes works wonders) I still exercise about 4-5 times per week and strength train never lifting more than 3 lbs but do hundreds of reps while walking….
hope this helps….