When Sugar Becomes Love

By Julia Moravcsik, PhD, author of Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food

Every parent knows that sugar isn't good for kids.  And yet many parents give their children desserts, candy, and soda.  Why do they do this?

One reason is obvious to any adult who has ever given an ice cream cone to a kid.  Sugary treats make kids happy.  A sad or angry kid is immediately turned into a calm, euphoric child, focused only on the taste of the ice cream.  Even a kid who is already in a good mood acquires a look of bliss when she eats a candy bar.

Because sweets make kids so happy, parents may feel mean if they don't give their children sweets.  Why deprive your child of something that makes them happy, just because it isn't healthy?  Why not let them have some fun?  Don't you LOVE your kid?

The Euphoria That Children Get From Sugar is Creepy!

Because sweets are so prevalent in modern cultures, people rarely stop and think about the euphoria that comes from eating sugar.  Isn't it strange that a substance can so suddenly stop your child's bad mood in its tracks? Isn't that look of bliss a little unnatural?  What's really going on?

The reason children love sugar so much is that it acts like a drug.  Like illegal drugs, sugar stimulates both the dopamine system (also triggered by drugs like cocaine) and the opiate system (also triggered by drugs like heroin).

Children who eat sweets repeatedly may actually change the neural workings of their brains.  Scientists aren't sure what the consequences of this are, but it may lead to increased susceptibility to drug addiction, or less of an ability to experience pleasure from other things.

A hundred years ago, parents used to put a splash of whiskey in their babies' bottles.  We shudder at the ignorance of these parents.  And yet, many parents are doing something very similar every day!

Sugar May Make Your Child Unhappy in the Long Term

There is a common pattern with mood-altering drugs.  In the short term, they cause pleasure or happiness.  But the sudden, unnatural surge of neurochemicals causes the brain to react by lessening the ability for those neurochemicals to affect the brain.  In some cases, neurons die from overstimulation (excitotoxic death).  In others, receptors change their sensitivity to the neurochemical (downregulate or upregulate).

What this means is that if your child eats desserts (or takes drugs) she may be less able to feel pleasure or joy with everyday experiences.

So you are trading that one moment when you see your child in bliss for a much longer time when she doesn't enjoy herself -- when play seems boring, regular food seems tasteless, and your hugs don't feel cuddly.

Can I NEVER Give My Child Sweets?

It's not realistic, in today's culture, to never give your child sweets.  Restricting sweets completely may even make your child want them more.

But don't give sweets to your child on a regular basis.  It's probably easiest if you let your child eat the occasional cookie at Grandma's house, or free sample of cake at the supermarket, but avoid sweets at your home.  That way your child won't be thinking about sweets when she's at home.

Would you like a simple, easy-to-follow program that will teach your child to love healthy food? See my new book Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food on amazon.com.

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Carbonated, Sweetened Soda Linked to Violence

By Julia Moravcsik, PhD, author of Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food

A recent study found a link between the amount of soda that teenagers drink and how violent these teenagers were.

Teenagers who drank soda almost every day were more likely to carry a weapon and to have been violent towards family or peers.

In studies like these, there is always a question of what caused what.  Does drinking soda cause teenagers to be more violent?  Or do violent teenagers drink more soda?  Or is there some other factor that is causing both soda drinking and violence, perhaps neglectful parenting?

Some possible explanations are:

• Parents who are less responsible will buy their children soda and will be more likely to have violent children
• Depressed teenagers will try to self-medicate with caffeine and sugar.  Sugar causes a temporary lift in mood (although in the long term it may cause mood problems).
• Teenagers who don't care about consequences will eat foods that are unhealthy and will use violence.

The list could go on and on.

However...

One Possible Reason for These Results is that Sugar May Cause Violence

Scientists wait for all the studies to come in before coming to conclusions.

Parents shouldn't wait!!

The excessively sweet food that we eat today has a strong effect on brain neurochemicals.  It is possible that soda may, due to its sugar and/or caffeine content, make children more violent.

There are Many Reasons Not to Buy Your Child Soda

Soda pop drinks are a completely empty source of calories.  They don't teach children to satisfy their thirst with healthy drinks like water, herb teas, or milk.  Giving your child soda in his formative years may make him a lifelong soda drinker.

What To Do

It's easy to stop your child from drinking soda.  Simply don't buy it at the supermarket.  Your child may complain for a while, but his thirst will lead him to healthier drinks.  Eventually he will forget about the taste of soda.  If you or your spouse drink soft drinks, now is a perfect time for you to kick the habit as well.

Would you like a simple, easy-to-follow program that will teach your child to love healthy food? See my new book Teach Your Child to Love Healthy Food on amazon.com.

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When Sugar Becomes Love