WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Fifty Shades of Sugar Part 3

"Sugar is not love."  

             --Kathleen DesMaisons, Ph.D., from Little Sugar Addicts

I write a lot about sugar in my work to create solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic in America.  Whenever I give a talk to children or adults, I like to bring a teaching tool such as a bottle of soda or juice to illustrate the lessons. 

Pop Tarts contain 4 OR MORE different sugars, including High Fructose Corn Syrup

Last weekend I had the pleasure of speaking at Healthy Start Coalition of Indian River County’s 2^nd Annual “You are Worth More than Gold” seminar.  I asked for 2 volunteers and got a 10 year old and a 12 year old to help me. I asked the girls to pick one of the items I had on the table and they went straight to the box of Pop Tarts.  What followed were powerful lessons for the adults and the children, as I asked questions of the girls and empowered their voices by giving them the microphone.  “Why did you pick the Pop Tarts?”  I asked.  The 10 year old answered, “Because that’s what all the kids eat.”  “Look at the Nutrition Facts label and tell everyone what a serving size is,” I asked.  She looked at the label and replied, “1 pastry.” I asked her to take a shiny silver package out of the box and open it, which she did.  I put the microphone in front of her and asked her to tell the audience how many pastries were inside the package.  “Two,” she said.  “When you or your friends have a Pop Tart, do you eat just one pastry out the package or two?” I asked her.  She replied, “Two, of course!”  The girls and I then proceeded with the math lesson, multiplying everything on the label by 2, since the label applied to just one pastry. 

Here is what they found in one package (2 pastries) of Pop Tarts:

• 400 calories, not 200
• 340 grams of sodium, not 170
• 76 grams of carbohydrates, not 38 grams
• 4 different sugars
• 2 different food dyes

As I have previously written in 50 Shades of Sugar, when food manufacturers use different kinds of sugar in a product, the sugar can be hidden within the ingredients.  The fact is that if all sugars were combined and listed as just “sugar”, then sugar would be the first ingredient on many processed foods marketed to kids.  Heck, who are we kidding – adults are sucked into the Pop Tart scam as well. Ingredients are listed by quantity, so what you see listed first is the ingredient there is the most of. 

REAL FOOD LESSON #1:  Look on the ingredients of processed foods AND drinks (think “box”, “can”, or “bottle”) for HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP.  This highly processed sugar is highly addictive and harmful to children.  Stop buying any food or drink that contains high fructose corn syrup. 

Become a nutrition detective.  This simple change can help you (and the kids) stay, or get to, a healthy weight.  It can also help you (and the kids) enjoy good moods because eating too much processed sugar is a major contributor to bad moods due to extreme fluctuations in your blood sugar. 

For more facts about why eating less sugar is a very good thing to do, please listen to my recent "Pop Up Health" with Nancy Heinrich interview on WAXE 107.9FM/1370 AM with Chef Michael Glatz from La Patissiere in Vero Beach, Florida, then click here.

With love and gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids Project

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: 3 Tips for Mindful Health

"When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced.  Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice."  --White Elk

For the past month, I have been providing support and education to a group of women who have made the decision to get to a healthier weight.  All of these women are mothers and one just became a grandmother for the first time.  The new grandmother is extremely motivated because she doesn't want her life shortened by obesity.  

Kids at a Growing Healthy Kids program using vegetables grown within a ten mile radius of where they live.

I take my role as a parent very seriously because not only am I a role model for my son, Edward, but also for all of his friends.  Choosing to be healthy is exactly that:  a choice.  We choose whether to eat a cereal loaded with lots of different sugars (see Fifty Shades of Sugar articles, February 18 and 25, 2015 at www.growinghealthykids.blogspot.com) ONCE WE HAVE BECOME LITERATE.  Just like learning about all the added sugars (and salt and fats) in processed food is a big part of health literacy, so is the concept of mindful health. 

What is mindful health?  It is the concept of awareness of the balance we all need and crave for our body, mind and spirit, of listening to ourselves, of recognizing that we are all different so there is no “one size fits all” when it comes to the “right” thing to do.  Let's face it:  we all have inherited predispositions from our parents and grandparents. As we become parents and grandparents, we inherit a responsibility to become mindful of our own health so we can lead by example.  

Here are 3 of my tips for mindful health:

1.  Focus on getting the right amount of sleep every night and the right KIND of sleep

2.  Make water your primary drink.

3.  Include foods from local farmers in your weekly food planning and preparation.

4.  Stop and take 2 minutes for yourself before you eat.  Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and relax.  Enjoy the meal you are about to eat. Your food will be better digested and better absorbed.  

If you live in Florida's Treasure Coast, then join me this Saturday at the Gifford Youth Achievement Center in Vero Beach when I will be speaking at Indian River County Healthy Start Coalition’s “You are Worth More than Gold” symposium for women and teen girls.  The best way to ensure “Growing Healthy Kids” is to begin before a woman becomes pregnant.  I will be sharing tips for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy child. I hope to see you there!  

I am so psyched about having met a very talented chef who creates phenomenal dishes and flavors.  Isn't that what great food is all about?  Listen to my radio interview on WAXE and iheartradio.com about Growing Healthy Kids with Chef Michael Glatz from La Patisierre.  Just click here.

With love and gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids Project

PS - Get WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS delivered straight to your email.  It's easy.  On the right side, go to "follow by email" and subscribe.  America needs Growing Healthy Kids!  

WELLNESS WEDNESDAYS: Fifty Shades of Sugar Part 2 (and Tiny Desk Concerts)

“The purpose of our lives is to be happy.”  

                                              -Dalai Lama

We did it.  We stirred the pot last week with Fifty Shades of Sugar.  People are talking.  Adults are reading food labels.  Children are eating less sugar and are having better moods.  They are happier.

As discussed in my upcoming radio interview* with Chef Michael Glatz of La Patissiere (a fabulous artisian bakery and boutique foodie destination in Vero Beach, Florida), the reason why there are more than fifty names for sugar is so that you, the consumer, will be tricked by food manufacturers into thinking there is only a little bit of sugar  - instead of the gazillion teaspoons  -  in the processed food item about to go into your grocery cart and then home to be consumed by you and your children. 

Curious?  You can find fifty-nine (59) names for sugar in my book, Nourish and Flourish:  Kid-Tested and Approved Tips and Recipes to Prevent Diabetes (available at www.amazon.com or click on the link on the right side of this page).

Engage your children in improving your family’s health literacy.  Ask the kids to look for these 50+ names for sugar when shopping for cereals, snacks, crackers, pies, cakes, cookies, breads and more.  Especially the foods that have been placed at your children's eye level.  Start becoming aware of all the added sugars in your family’s foods.  

3 TIPS FOR GROWING HEALTHY KIDS:

1.  Look for ingredients that end in “–ose”.  These are sugars.   Pure, white, and deadly.**

2.  Read food labels and look for “high fructose corn syrup”.  One of the most highly processed sugars, high fructose corn syrup is used because it is sweet, addictive, and most of all, cheap.  If your kids (or you) drink any beverages with added sugars (think sodas), look for high fructose corn syrup on the ingredients portion of the Nutrition Facts label.  In all our Growing Healthy Kids’ classes, we teach kids and adults to avoid all foods and drinks containing this evil ingredient.

3.  Avoid (or limit) drinks and foods with added sugars, fats, and salt.  

Speaking of love, the original Growing Healthy Kid, my son, Edward, a trombonist and poet-extraordinaire, turned me on to some very cool music recently.  “Tiny Desk Concerts” are performed by really famous musicians (and not-so-famous but really good musicians) in the office of National Public Radio's music department.  To listen to very cool music while you are cooking dinner with your kids and significant other, click here.

Surround yourself with people and ideas that support the best you.  And, of course, support the mission of Growing Healthy Kids to reduce, halt, and prevent childhood obesity and obesity-related diseases.  All children deserve access to healthy food and lots of outdoor playtime.   One of the best ways for growing healthy kids is to be the best YOU!

With love and gratitude,

Nancy Heinrich

Founder of the Growing Healthy Kids Project

*My interview with Chef Michael Glatz airs Tuesday, March 3rd at 3:30 PM on WAXE 107.9 FM/1370 AM and will be rebroadcast on Sunday, March 8^th at 3:30 PM (you can listen to the interview from anywhere in the world by going to www.iheartradio.com, then search for WAXE).

**Pure, White, and Deadly by Dr. John Yudkin, originally published in 1972.