Last week I chose not to send my daughter to play school. No, she was not sick, nor did we have to travel, nor did we have any other commitments. I just kept her at home where I felt it was safer for her considering it would be the third birthday party celebration that week in school, which she would be exposed to.
That’s 3 days of chips and cake. Even though she’s not supposed to eat any of that and she’s doesn't’t, I am pretty tired of the fact that I have to lie and fill up a form in her school which states that she cannot eat anything with sugar or anything that’s processed to protect her.
She’s been managing quite well with her home packed lunch which she enjoys while the celebration goes on. But, she’s growing up now, she’s asking for junk and chocolates, and I expect it, and it’s difficult for a child to be exposed to so many birthday parties and junk food in a week and not feel that way. I am all for moderation, but how do we control moderation with so many celebrations that happen in and out of schools and amongst families every week and sometimes everyday.
The problem is not just sugar and junk anymore. Sugar and processed foods have always existed. We grew up eating white bread, using white sugar in tea, our mums baked for us using white flour and white sugar and we were fine. The problem today is the ‘ total consumption’ of sugar and junk. With so many parties and celebrations, the ‘ total consumption’ of the child increases and that’s where all the problems begin. A slice of cake, a little bit of sugar, pizza or some outside food once in a way really wont create a problem to a child’s health. Over consumption is the problem. And over consumption happens because of the lifestyle we choose to live for our kids and us.
Sugar is a killer. It disrupts the growth of your child, physically and mentally. It weakens immunity, it weakens brain cells, every time you mindlessly let your children eat sugar you are feeding a possible disease, you are the cause of promoting possible disease and suffering for your child, you are compromising your child’s immunity and are probably responsible for a disease or suffering they may have to endure in the future.
I no longer look at sugar in a way that it just makes people and kids put on weight. It’s far worse than that. Too much sugar compromises the immune system, making children and adults susceptible to almost any disease including cancer.
A normal size can of soda, diet or not reduces the efficiency of the immune system to almost 50%, for 4-8 hours, anything can happen in that time frame, From contracting a virus, germ or bacteria to the possible mutation of a cell.
It’s ironic. Parents put their children in the best of schools and feed them the worst of foods. It’s like buying a luxury car and putting sub standard fuel in it and expecting it to run efficiently.
We strive to do and get the best for our children, but the best is not good enough or useful if we fail to feed them food and a lifestyle that will promote good health.
We are handling and facing enough of disease today and we fail to try and plug the gap from where it all begins. And where it begins is where we live and the kind of food we feed our kids and the kind of lifestyle we adopt for them, we are responsible. Our children will form the next generation, it can be a healthy one for them or one filled with more problems and suffering. Each of us plays a role in making that happen.
Who do we blame? I’ve had enough of parents complain about schools and how the government should have healthy options available etc. yes maybe BUT
We need to blame ourselves. Parents are to blame. Period. When I speak to school owners and principles, its very clear that they are all for health for children, but it’s certain ‘ influential and powerful ‘ parents who throw their’ weight’ around with school boards, interfering with decisions which involve health and food rules in schools.
There are so many parents I know who strive to pack healthy lunches for their kids every single day, and they have the same complain. Most of the other kids come with junk in their lunch boxes and it becomes so difficult to address that problem when their child wants to know why they cant eat what others are eating which is usually and mostly junk.
Why i say parents are to blame is because the solution is so simple. If every parent in every group decided together to send healthy food with their kids to school, guess what, the problem disappears. It’s as simple as a decision.
Then your kids see other kids eating healthy and the complains stop and its a fact with children, it will get better, they will understand and learn to enjoy this new way of eating.
You have to come to terms to believing the fact that children throw tantrums for more sugary foods and drinks, not because they are badly behaved, but its because they are addicted and they want and need it. It’s the addiction driving them to behave that way for processed and junk foods. As adults most of us cannot control sugar cravings and the want for more and more sugar. We struggle to give it up, because we are addicted. Yes, us adults struggle with that even though we have all our motor and sensory skills developed, now imagine a kid, in the process of growth, in the process of having those skills developed, they struggle with the addiction from the time they consume sugar and it only gets worse with the more they consume.
Parents: The reason sugar makes your kids happy and smile is because it creates a sudden spike in blood sugar levels and ‘ serotonin’ that gives them a sudden feeling of happiness, and then that changes to frustration and cravings when that ‘ temporary ‘ feel comes down, and then they want more, they express this thru tantrums and then the easiest way out of that is to give In to them. A viscous cycle that’s destroying health every time the cycle begins.
It’s exactly the same way drugs and alcohol works on the adult mind and brain. Yes the comparison of sugar to cocaine and heroin you see floating around on social media is true. The brain mapping of a child who over consumes sugar is exactly the same as the brain mapping of a brain consuming cocaine and heroin.
Childhood diabetes is on the rise today.
Young girls are reaching puberty way before time and why is this not a good thing? I’m sure you’ll figure.
Attention spans of children are decreasing and there is more and more hyperactive behaviour.
Children are gaining weight and then they reach an age where ‘ looks’ become important and they slip into depression as their self confidence and feeling of self worth’ decreases as they struggle to lose weight and accept their body’s. Its called ‘ body image’ something that adults go thru and now even children a severe psychological problem.
Children need to be happy and lively but you look around today and kids as young as 13 – 18 are suffering from health, physical and mental problems and its getting worse instead of getting better.
Class after class, activity after activity, yes we want the best for our children, but really, what is the best? Is the ‘ best’ sub consciously based on socio physiological pressure? Is it based on what ‘ other parents’ are doing for their kids, the kind of schools and universities they are putting their kids in,,,really what is the true intention behind every decision you make..
Where and how will a child find time to have a healthy meal and snack when their days are filled up sometimes more than us? Then junk foods become the easiest things and ways to fill the gaps in their already packed day. I will tell you that all their extra curricular classes are useless if they lose their health and burn out. They don’t have enough recovery and rest and by now we all know that a child grows physically and mentally when they sleep and rest and then you have parents wondering why their kids are still short and not growing tall.
I have conducted over 20 ‘ Nutrition Detective’ programs for children across India and in all my sessions when kids have a chance to ‘ open up’ and talk, most of them are tired and fed up of doing so much, and it clearly comes out that its what their parents want and not them. Yes as parents we have more experience to make informed decisions for the kids, but there’s a limit.
Are parties for young children really about the child or is it about the parents, how they out do or beat one and other in terms of ‘ fanciness’, ‘ return gifts ‘ , ‘ ‘foods’ etc.
I don’t mean to ridicule any parent, but i am asking you to think. Who is it about? Really does your child want all of that or does he or she need all of that? I may be old school but the books and journals still all state that the most a child wants is time and joy and meaningful relationships with family and friends. I don’t see how chips and cakes and junk can provide what the above can.
Children need time. They are the happiest then. If we believe that food provides happiness something’s seriously wrong. If we believe that fancier the party the more the child will enjoy, we are so wrong.
I encourage all parents, everyone to start pushing for healthy food as a way of life for your kids. Again am not saying be extreme and cut it all out, remember, over consumption will happen beyond your control with just the happening of life today, so moderation is key.
If every parent for a week agrees to start sending healthy food to school, the ‘ culture’ will change and we get healthier as a society, and eventually a nation.
Celebrate ‘ healthy birthdays’. There are enough of people making and baking really good and healthy cakes and chocolates and snacks etc. Just because you may not like it, doesn't’t mean the kids won’t. Give it a chance and it may just work, but it involves team work, commitment, patience and the good intentions from every parent to make this work.
Remember there is no joy or sense in being rich, smart or successful and accomplished if you don’t have your health. Invest in the right things, that’s health, lay the foundation of good health and then chase your dreams for you and for your children.
As part of the ' Get Healthy India ' drive ( #gethealthyindia) I am volunteering an hour or two of my time twice a month to any school or learning unit across the country to educate and teach parents and teachers on the subject of nutrition, health and lifestyle and answer any questions they may have. This will be free, although transport will have to be arranged. Feel free to get in touch. ( subject to my travel and availability in India)
That’s 3 days of chips and cake. Even though she’s not supposed to eat any of that and she’s doesn't’t, I am pretty tired of the fact that I have to lie and fill up a form in her school which states that she cannot eat anything with sugar or anything that’s processed to protect her.
She’s been managing quite well with her home packed lunch which she enjoys while the celebration goes on. But, she’s growing up now, she’s asking for junk and chocolates, and I expect it, and it’s difficult for a child to be exposed to so many birthday parties and junk food in a week and not feel that way. I am all for moderation, but how do we control moderation with so many celebrations that happen in and out of schools and amongst families every week and sometimes everyday.
The problem is not just sugar and junk anymore. Sugar and processed foods have always existed. We grew up eating white bread, using white sugar in tea, our mums baked for us using white flour and white sugar and we were fine. The problem today is the ‘ total consumption’ of sugar and junk. With so many parties and celebrations, the ‘ total consumption’ of the child increases and that’s where all the problems begin. A slice of cake, a little bit of sugar, pizza or some outside food once in a way really wont create a problem to a child’s health. Over consumption is the problem. And over consumption happens because of the lifestyle we choose to live for our kids and us.
Sugar is a killer. It disrupts the growth of your child, physically and mentally. It weakens immunity, it weakens brain cells, every time you mindlessly let your children eat sugar you are feeding a possible disease, you are the cause of promoting possible disease and suffering for your child, you are compromising your child’s immunity and are probably responsible for a disease or suffering they may have to endure in the future.
I no longer look at sugar in a way that it just makes people and kids put on weight. It’s far worse than that. Too much sugar compromises the immune system, making children and adults susceptible to almost any disease including cancer.
A normal size can of soda, diet or not reduces the efficiency of the immune system to almost 50%, for 4-8 hours, anything can happen in that time frame, From contracting a virus, germ or bacteria to the possible mutation of a cell.
It’s ironic. Parents put their children in the best of schools and feed them the worst of foods. It’s like buying a luxury car and putting sub standard fuel in it and expecting it to run efficiently.
We strive to do and get the best for our children, but the best is not good enough or useful if we fail to feed them food and a lifestyle that will promote good health.
We are handling and facing enough of disease today and we fail to try and plug the gap from where it all begins. And where it begins is where we live and the kind of food we feed our kids and the kind of lifestyle we adopt for them, we are responsible. Our children will form the next generation, it can be a healthy one for them or one filled with more problems and suffering. Each of us plays a role in making that happen.
Who do we blame? I’ve had enough of parents complain about schools and how the government should have healthy options available etc. yes maybe BUT
We need to blame ourselves. Parents are to blame. Period. When I speak to school owners and principles, its very clear that they are all for health for children, but it’s certain ‘ influential and powerful ‘ parents who throw their’ weight’ around with school boards, interfering with decisions which involve health and food rules in schools.
There are so many parents I know who strive to pack healthy lunches for their kids every single day, and they have the same complain. Most of the other kids come with junk in their lunch boxes and it becomes so difficult to address that problem when their child wants to know why they cant eat what others are eating which is usually and mostly junk.
Why i say parents are to blame is because the solution is so simple. If every parent in every group decided together to send healthy food with their kids to school, guess what, the problem disappears. It’s as simple as a decision.
Then your kids see other kids eating healthy and the complains stop and its a fact with children, it will get better, they will understand and learn to enjoy this new way of eating.
You have to come to terms to believing the fact that children throw tantrums for more sugary foods and drinks, not because they are badly behaved, but its because they are addicted and they want and need it. It’s the addiction driving them to behave that way for processed and junk foods. As adults most of us cannot control sugar cravings and the want for more and more sugar. We struggle to give it up, because we are addicted. Yes, us adults struggle with that even though we have all our motor and sensory skills developed, now imagine a kid, in the process of growth, in the process of having those skills developed, they struggle with the addiction from the time they consume sugar and it only gets worse with the more they consume.
Parents: The reason sugar makes your kids happy and smile is because it creates a sudden spike in blood sugar levels and ‘ serotonin’ that gives them a sudden feeling of happiness, and then that changes to frustration and cravings when that ‘ temporary ‘ feel comes down, and then they want more, they express this thru tantrums and then the easiest way out of that is to give In to them. A viscous cycle that’s destroying health every time the cycle begins.
It’s exactly the same way drugs and alcohol works on the adult mind and brain. Yes the comparison of sugar to cocaine and heroin you see floating around on social media is true. The brain mapping of a child who over consumes sugar is exactly the same as the brain mapping of a brain consuming cocaine and heroin.
Childhood diabetes is on the rise today.
Young girls are reaching puberty way before time and why is this not a good thing? I’m sure you’ll figure.
Attention spans of children are decreasing and there is more and more hyperactive behaviour.
Children are gaining weight and then they reach an age where ‘ looks’ become important and they slip into depression as their self confidence and feeling of self worth’ decreases as they struggle to lose weight and accept their body’s. Its called ‘ body image’ something that adults go thru and now even children a severe psychological problem.
Children need to be happy and lively but you look around today and kids as young as 13 – 18 are suffering from health, physical and mental problems and its getting worse instead of getting better.
Class after class, activity after activity, yes we want the best for our children, but really, what is the best? Is the ‘ best’ sub consciously based on socio physiological pressure? Is it based on what ‘ other parents’ are doing for their kids, the kind of schools and universities they are putting their kids in,,,really what is the true intention behind every decision you make..
Where and how will a child find time to have a healthy meal and snack when their days are filled up sometimes more than us? Then junk foods become the easiest things and ways to fill the gaps in their already packed day. I will tell you that all their extra curricular classes are useless if they lose their health and burn out. They don’t have enough recovery and rest and by now we all know that a child grows physically and mentally when they sleep and rest and then you have parents wondering why their kids are still short and not growing tall.
I have conducted over 20 ‘ Nutrition Detective’ programs for children across India and in all my sessions when kids have a chance to ‘ open up’ and talk, most of them are tired and fed up of doing so much, and it clearly comes out that its what their parents want and not them. Yes as parents we have more experience to make informed decisions for the kids, but there’s a limit.
Are parties for young children really about the child or is it about the parents, how they out do or beat one and other in terms of ‘ fanciness’, ‘ return gifts ‘ , ‘ ‘foods’ etc.
I don’t mean to ridicule any parent, but i am asking you to think. Who is it about? Really does your child want all of that or does he or she need all of that? I may be old school but the books and journals still all state that the most a child wants is time and joy and meaningful relationships with family and friends. I don’t see how chips and cakes and junk can provide what the above can.
Children need time. They are the happiest then. If we believe that food provides happiness something’s seriously wrong. If we believe that fancier the party the more the child will enjoy, we are so wrong.
I encourage all parents, everyone to start pushing for healthy food as a way of life for your kids. Again am not saying be extreme and cut it all out, remember, over consumption will happen beyond your control with just the happening of life today, so moderation is key.
If every parent for a week agrees to start sending healthy food to school, the ‘ culture’ will change and we get healthier as a society, and eventually a nation.
Celebrate ‘ healthy birthdays’. There are enough of people making and baking really good and healthy cakes and chocolates and snacks etc. Just because you may not like it, doesn't’t mean the kids won’t. Give it a chance and it may just work, but it involves team work, commitment, patience and the good intentions from every parent to make this work.
Remember there is no joy or sense in being rich, smart or successful and accomplished if you don’t have your health. Invest in the right things, that’s health, lay the foundation of good health and then chase your dreams for you and for your children.
As part of the ' Get Healthy India ' drive ( #gethealthyindia) I am volunteering an hour or two of my time twice a month to any school or learning unit across the country to educate and teach parents and teachers on the subject of nutrition, health and lifestyle and answer any questions they may have. This will be free, although transport will have to be arranged. Feel free to get in touch. ( subject to my travel and availability in India)
