How often do you read food labels? Are you looking at the sugar content of the
foods you and your family eat?
Reading food labels is a simple strategy that can raise your awareness about where
the hidden sugars are in the packaged and processed foods you buy. It can also help you reduce the amount of
refined, or processed, sugars your kids are eating.
Eating too much sugar leads to obesity. Obesity leads to heart disease, diabetes,
bone and joint disorders, and sleep apnea.
Our kids don’t deserve these preventable diseases, so why do we continue to
feed them massive amounts of refined sugars?
Start reading labels. Don’t buy foods that have more than 4
or 5 grams of sugar per serving. Choose
foods with less sugar per serving, not more.
Read the ingredients of any food label that contains more 5 ingredients
because sugar is hidden by food manufacturers.
Too much sugar causes inflammation in the body. Inflammation is the fire that starts a chain reaction of disease processes.
Our children deserve better. Serve fresh fruit as part of healthy lunches and snacks, not
pop tarts, sodas, and M&Ms.
To learn more about how refined sugar is toxic to the body, check out the April 1, 2012 interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta
on CBS 60 Minutes: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57407203-10391709/sugar-and-kids-the-toxic-truth/
Nancy L. Heinrich, MPH
Growing Healthy Kids - a movement to improve the health - and lives - of America's children, one child and one garden at a time
