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Sugary Sweet Or Just Plain Evil?
Monday, August 15, 2011 by Jeannie Fleming-Gifford
I love sugar. I really, really do. It's no wonder that when someone recently gave my daughter her own little bag of Oreo cookies, she devoured four. I wondered if we were in for trouble that night.
Does eating sugary foods cause kids to have bad behavior?
My education and expertise is in child development, not nutrition.
I do know that I hate reading the labels on foods, such as the above mentioned. Seriously, what is half this stuff?
When I bake cookies, the ingredients are so simple: flour, sugar, salt, eggs, etc. Why do I need (and what is?!) "soy lecithin" in my cookies?!
I do know families who swear their children's behavior is influenced by what they eat. There are gluten-free, dye-free foods, all natural, etc. foods marketed to the masses. Yes, some of this is due to the immense number of allergies.
When "googling" about the wicked effects of junk food, I found the following of interest:
Of specific note are the following facts and figures:
"Aggressive behavior may increase with the regular consumption of junk food in place of a healthy diet. Deficiencies in the B vitamins, zinc, iron, and proteins have been associated with the incidence of aggressive behavior. Children who have these nutritional deficiencies have a 41% increase in aggressive behavior at the age of 8 years. At age 17 years, 51% of these kids exhibited violent and antisocial behavior."
"Eating junk food can also stimulate an addictive behavior in children." (I can definitely confirm that this is true in adults!)
"A number of things are attributed to the development of a learning disability, such as genetic influences, brain development and certain environmental factors. However, it is believed that poor nutrition in a child's early life can contribute to the development of learning disabilities when he reaches school age."
Is sugar intake related to a kid having the crazies?! "Evidence shows that eating less sugar-containing junk food will stabilize blood sugar levels, and prevent sudden bursts of energy."
Nutirion is one of the things we can control when it comes to our developing child.
Do you control your child's intake of sugar?
Does it make a difference in their behavior?
I'm off to see the outcomes of overdosing on Oreos. 
