By Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.

Children’s Sugar Intake is Excessive

Unfortunately many little girls and little boys, too, are made of sugar; the sugar they eat. The average person eats 153 pounds of sugar a year, which is equivalent to over half a cup a day. The average teenage boy eats twice as much sugar than any other age or sex group. That puts him at over a cup of sugar a day.

From the time we come into this world to the time we leave, sweeteners are present in most of our diets. The first non-milk food that a baby is likely to receive in North American hospitals is a 5-percent glucose-and-water solution (IV). Some baby milk formulas still contain sugar. Children are rewarded with sugar. “Eat your dinner and you will get your dessert.” Some behavior modification classes reward children with candy when they have finished an assignment or have not disturbed the class. Children even sell sugary products, such as Girl Scout cookies and sweet morsels at church bake sales. The list goes on.

Does Sugar Cause Hyperactivity?

Dr. William Crook feels that he has an understanding of the role that sugar plays in the hyperactivity of children. He found that gastrointestinal growth and invasion of candida albicans, a yeast, was approximately 200 times greater in mice who received dextrose in their feedings than in a control group of mice who received no dextrose. When a person has candida, there is more gut permeability. This means that food in the gut can get from the intestines into the blood stream undigested or partially digested, when candida is present. This undigested food does not belong in the blood stream, and can cause hyperactivity.

There is plenty of information on sugar and children. The problem is that it is controversial. Some research shows that it does cause hyperactivity and aggressiveness in children. Other research shows that it does not seem to cause any abnormal behavior. The research of Alexander Schauss, author of Diet, Crime and Delinquency, shows that when sugar is removed from a child’s diet, school grades go up.

Dietary Changes Help Academic Performances

Three university behavioral researchers evaluated the diet changes instituted during 1980, 81 and 83 by Dr. Elizabeth Cagan, of the New York Public School System. The researchers found that the four years which showed gains in national ranking were the same four years in which there were major dietary policy revisions involving sucrose, fats, and food additives. After the policy changes, the schools showed a significant rise in national percentile ranking that correlated to the percentage of children eating school food.

Before the diet changes, the 804 schools averaged in the 41 percentile nationally (1976-79) based on achievement tests scores. During the four years in which the diet changes occurred, the mean national academic performances ranking rose to the 51 percentile. New York City schools moved from 11% below the national


average to 5% above the national mean.

Removing Sugar from the Diet

So where do I stand? It is simple, so simple. If your child has any of the following problems, I suggest that you take sugar completely out of his/her diet for at least ten days.

· difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

· difficulty concentrating

· low grades in school

· allergies

· frequent headaches

· hyperactive or listless

· overweight

· many dental fillings

· cannot go for more than four hours without eating

· colds or bacterial infections more than once a year

You have nothing to loose. In fact, you will probably save much money not buying ice cream, cakes, candy, and the like. You might even alleviate some symptoms your child is having and help his health. Early childhood symptoms can mean adult degenerative diseases.

I have seen many children who have had one or more of the above problems. Sugar is removed from the child’s diet and miraculous things happen. If some of your child’s symptoms do go away, but some are still there, I recommend that you remove all wheat and dairy for another ten days. The reason for the elimination of milk products and wheat products is that many people have become allergic to these products because they have been eating them with so much sugar. Wheat is made into donuts, cakes, pies, and cookies. Milk products are made into ice cream, cheese cake, and puddings. By eating these sugary products we have made ourselves allergic to wheat and milk. We can make ourselves allergic to any food we continually eat with sugar.

Obesity in children now is a problem worldwide. Significant factors influencing fat and weight gain include increased TV watching, fast food dining, and poor physical education programs at school. Only 36 percent of our children are in a daily athletic program at school. Children should learn lifelong habits at home to reduce the problems of obesity and the health related problems that go with it. Unfortunately it is the overweight moms and dads that have been teaching their children eating, exercise and TV habits. If you have an obese child, remove all sugar, wheat and dairy products and the problem might solve itself.

I love working with children because they have not abused their bodies for forty years like many of us. Their bodies regain health easily when substances are removed that have been upsetting their body chemistry. It takes just a few days to see a difference. Don’t forget the psychological aspect of health. Children can have psychological problems just like adults and this causes stress on the body that can upset the body chemistry.

Remember one thing. Respecting your child is more important than nagging him not to eat sugar. He can change his diet when he reaches 21 years old, but if the respect has not been in his childhood, it is very difficult to change his psychological makeup at age 21.

My children were about 7 and 11 when I understood what sugar was doing to my family. I just removed the sugar from our home, all of it. I knew that they ate it when they went out, and I said very little about this. I set the example. They saw me have more energy and less symptoms. I did not yell at them because I felt better. So love and respect your children. That is the most important thing.

The process of removing sugar is evolutionary, not revolutionary. Take small steps (just like a child does) in changing the eating habits of your whole family. If you do, you will help you child during his or her childhood but also you will help to eliminate the degenerative diseases later.

Nancy Appleton, Ph.D. is a nutritionist, researcher, lecturer, and author of the new edition of LICK THE SUGAR HABIT, HEALTHY BONES, and THE SECRETS OF NATURAL HEALING WITH FOOD. Nancy did her undergraduate work at U.C.L.A. in Food and Nutrition. She received her Ph.D. from Walden University in Health Services. Visit her website at http://www.nancyappleton.com

Sources:

Goldman, J., et al. Behavioral Effects of Sucrose on Preschool Children, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 14, 4 (1986): 565-577

Behar D, Rapoport J, Adams, Berg C, and Cornblat, M Sugar Challenge Testing with Children Considered Behaviorally Sugar Reactive, Nutritional Behavior 1 (1984): 277-288