Dear Dr. Debbie,
My ten-year-old daughter has always had a hearty appetite. Since diabetes is in our family on both sides, we are very mindful about everyone’s sugar intake at home. We don’t do much eating out at all.
How heavy-handed should we be over her consumption of sweets during the holidays? She had a Girl Scout meeting this past week at which the leader directed the girls in making a very sweet snack – with extra sprinkles. Had I known what the plan was I would have eagerly volunteered to cook something much more nutritious with the troop.
More holiday get togethers are coming up.
Possibly Staying Home
—
Dear PSH,
Food habits, including limiting sweets, are learned early in life and are difficult to change. You are wise to establish and stick to standards that are known to prevent health problems. Perhaps some medical science can be used to influence the menu of your upcoming hosts. Or you might plan to do the hosting, or at least some of the food preparations, yourself.
Type 2 Diabetes
There has been a dramatic increase in the type of diabetes that in years past was more commonly seen in adults. The condition develops over time as the pancreas is less and less able to produce enough insulin to lower blood sugar levels after sugar is consumed. Several possible causes include the overconsumption of sugar. If your family has a genetic tendency toward diabetes that’s even more reason to pay close attention to a child’s diet.
Childhood Obesity
The relationship between sugar consumption and obesity is well-established. According to Boston Children’s Hospital, “Obesity can increase a child’s risk for serious and chronic medical problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, orthopedic problems, and liver disease.”
A discussion of the worldwide increase in childhood obesity in a research paper published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) proclaims, “Pediatric obesity is one of the greatest health challenges of the twenty-first century.” A recent NIH study concurs that “children and adolescents need to develop healthy nutrition habits to maintain healthy body weight and prevent obesity development in adolescence and beyond.” The research project, conducted on 1,165 children and adolescents in Greece, points to sugar as the primary culprit. Researchers found that “Sweets and processed/refined grains and cereals were the main sources of added sugars”. For the 12-18 year-olds in the study, sugar-sweetened beverages were a big contributor.
Eating Disorders
Animal studies involving sugar bingeing were reported on by the NIH to study the relationship between excessive sugar intake and addictive behavior. Sugar stimulates the release of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine, which produces feelings of pleasure, satisfaction, and motivation, is associated with addictions. The report states, “The evidence supports the hypothesis that under certain circumstances rats can become sugar dependent. This may translate to some human conditions as suggested by the literature on eating disorders and obesity.” Eating disorders include anorexia nervosa (denying oneself food), and bulimia nervosa (bingeing on large amounts of food – often sugary foods – then forcing oneself to vomit). These behavioral health disorders, with potentially deadly outcomes, commonly begin in adolescence.
Sugar not only tastes good, it makes you feel good. But when you become overweight, you may not feel so good about yourself.
Unlimited sugar intake in childhood is a potentially dangerous setup for self-damaging behavior patterns that blur the physical need for food with emotional needs.
Angel Food
The care and feeding of holiday angels needs to follow the same guidelines we should be adhering to throughout the calendar. Good nutrition supports good behavior.
The younger your children are when you set your nutrition standards, the more likely they are to adhere to healthful choices when options are given.
Readers looking for holiday yummies that don’t need any sugar added can try:
Sweet potatoes – without marshmallows on top. Nature already put the sweetness in them.
Warm up some apple juice, watered down a bit, perhaps with some cinnamon or nutmeg sprinkled in, to take the chill off after spending time outside.
Stir a little molasses into a cup of warm milk, instead of hot cocoa, to warm your family’s hearts.
Use holiday cookie cutter shapes to make whole grain, seed-speckled crackers.
Recipe for Whole Grain Crackers
Ingredients:
1/2 Cup whole wheat pastry flour (oatmeal or other whole grain flours can be substituted or combined)
1/8 tsp. garlic (or other spices, herbs, grated hard cheese)
2 Tbl. sesame or flax seeds (optional)
3 Tbl. cold margarine or oil (sunflower, safflower)
Directions:
Mix flour, garlic, and seeds. Cut in the margarine with 2 butter knives.
Sprinkle 2 Tbl. ice cold water (or use carrot juice for extra flavor.)
Mix by hand to form a ball.
Flour the table and a rolling pin. (Use a drinking glass or a jar if you don’t have a rolling pin.)
Roll the dough very flat.
Cut the dough into rectangles (or cut with a cooking cutter) and place them on a baking sheet.
Poke each cracker with a fork – like packaged graham crackers.
Bake at 350o F for 15 minutes.
Fun in the kitchen is a wonderful holiday tradition. What goes into the children can keep them wonderful, too.
Dr. Debbie
Deborah Wood, Ph.D. is a child development specialist and founding director of Chesapeake Children’s Museum.
The museum is open daily from 10 am to 4 pm. Online reservations are available or call: 410-990-1993. Each Thursday there is a guided nature walk at 10:30 am. Art and Story Times with Mrs. Spears are on Monday mornings at 10:30 am.
Read more of Dr. Wood’s Good Parenting columns by clicking here.
