[wildboyz2]

Can I pick your brain?? Through observation, I am really beginning to believe that some my kids' behavior is due to sugar intake. I am wanting to cut the sugar intake and the last time I went to the grocery, I read all the labels and bought items with lower sugar content. I bought flavored waters instead of Juice and did a few switches such as this to lower the sugar content. (They VERY rarely have soda so that wasn't anything to cut out.) Is there anything else I can/should do in order to help this? Is there anything else that I should watch for that might also be causing behaviors spikes (food wise)?

Also I've been hearing about corn sryup being bad, is it that bad and could it also cause behavior issues?

[guatparents2be]

this is NOT medical advice.

ok, now that that is out of the way.

it is very common for foods to trigger behavioral issues. the most common culprits in my experience are sugar and artificial colorings and flavorings. there are many others and it is very individual but this is a great place to start!

the catch with decreasing sugar is that you want to make sure you don't replace it with artificial sweeteners and other processed foods. go with plain water for drinking. no kid needs juice. a slice or two of fresh apple in the water will give it a little flavor if your kids are not used to plain water.

now from there, my first rule of thumb is try to eat only things that are food from the get go and aren't processed. that means avoiding refined sugars and grains, artificial colors and flavors, and you are right, corn syrup! corn syrup is sugar in disguise, but maybe worse because it is so processed.

once you start reading labels more carefully you'll be shocked. why on earth would they put corn syrup in soup? in bread? in yogurt? try shopping at the health food store and if that isn't possible, try trader joes. read all of the labels of anything that you eat or you feed your kids.

the high sugar and corn syrup isn't good for so many reasons...not just behavior.

good luck, and i hope this opens up a new world of foods for you and your family!

[oscarsmom]

Hi Melody-

Samantha did such a great job with her post! I just wanted to add what a believer I am in a sugar-free, preservative-free diet. I actually subscribe to the Feingold program. I hope I won't get in trouble for posting this. The Feingold Diet Program Home Page. But above and beyond that program, we just eat lots of raw, whole foods. At every meal we have AT LEAST one vegetable that has not been cooked or processed in any way.

It gets a little scary when you start to look at labels but don't get discouraged. In fact, while it is overwhelming, it will really motivate you when you see how much bad stuff is in processed foods. I was going to post on the "poop" thread a while back. Those neon green poops many times come from all the dyes in the "fruit" snacks and other treats that are marketed so heavily to kids.

I am fortunate because my kids have had whole, natural foods from the beginning so they are incredible eaters...very healthy (thank you, Lord)!! In fact, my son would rather have a bowl of broccoli than a bowl of ice cream. He is 6. I swear....its freaky but its great! And, like Samantha said, all the kids need is water, water, water.

I feel so strongly about this. We have an opportunity while our beautiful children are young to teach them about nourishing their bodies with good choices that help them grown strong and healthy. And the good habits will truly stay with them forever!

I think you will marvel at the changes with a processed sugar-free diet. Best of luck!!

Maureen

[jemmawag]

My brother was allergic to everything growing up, my mother always said keep the food natural, preservative free. I was much better with my first child but with number 3 it isn't so easy because he came home older and was exposed to everything already plus my oldest brings stuff home and birthday parties, playdates, etc. My cousin is a dr. of natural medicine and is not a fan of sugar, dairy, or store bought meats. It's a lot more work now and I really need to get more diligent. Good luck.

[Stormster]

I know in the UK diet is the number 1 treatment for ADHD (they aren't as big on medicating kids as we are)...many studies were done and even the wax paper kids cereal comes in isn't good for kids esp. with diet sensitive ADHD.

We are kind of middle of the road but E's snacks are baked PLAIN goldfish, the plain cheerios and he only get organic fruit juice (not from concentrate, no added sugar and NOT corn syrup -- makes ME hyper!) Otherwise his only sugar source is fruit (not canned obviously) and the small bits that are in organic snacks. I'm sure he's still getting too much. And yeah in a perfect world I do try to give him only whole grains.

If you can get to a whole foods, just walking around and looking at all the products can be a real eye opener. It's not perfect but it's interesting to see what they don't carry that say your local supermarket has. It helps you learn what kind of things you can buy!

I don't think I would ever give my child Cola. Caffeinated cola is dehydrating, and I think the sugar and caffeine is a huge mood changer. I also think it affect their sleep and of course contributes to obesity.

I applaud you for looking to diet on this. As our grandparents and their grandparents said "you are what you eat."

[TheFoxx]

Corn syrup isn't bad - it's high fructose corn syrup that you have to watch for. Also, our doctor told us to avoid red food dye as that also causes behavior issues.

We try to avoid snacks that have sugar added all together. DH and I have weight issues so we don't need it in the house. We also avoid artificial sweeteners as well (bad for brain development).

Fresh fruit is our son's #1 favorite snack. Once in a while he'll get candy but we are very selective (he loves peppermint patties - No HFC, good ingredient list) and small (we get the minis).

[stacytoadopt]

I was told to try to shop on the outside aisles of the grocery store - and to avoid the inner aisles. After a while I found that I rarely need anything in the middle of the store.
An easy fix for me.

[dianneemily]

We are really working on cutting out preservatives in our house, but I have a question for all of you wise ones. What kind of snacks (besides fresh fruit) do you give your kids? We eat alot of fruit, but sometimes it is just not what we want or it is not available. I like to pack snacks when we are out and about and fresh fruit isn't always an option. Give me some ideas of what snacks your kids eat. Thank you.

[TheFoxx]

dry roasted edamame
string cheese
carrots & dip (they come pre-packaged - I get the organic)
veggie and/or smart bootie
Cheerios
goldfish
grapes & blueberries travel well
sliced apples w/a bit of lemon juice to prevent discoloration (you can also buy them prepackaged)

[fochtru]

I agree with the above list and would also add Trader Joe's Whole Grain pretzel sticks (these allow me to shop at Target for as long as I want without any screaming. lol) and the Trader Joe's Snapea Crisps (also great when dinner isn't quite ready and he's starved.) Andrew also likes Triscuits and the TJ cereal bars. (can you tell I buy a lot of things at Trader Joe's? lol)

[cantwait2bmommy]

Wow! What great info! Thanks for asking WB2 and thanks for all the great responses. I also wanted to add on the "snack" front there is a company that makes wonderful, organic dehydrated fruits and vegetables. They have nothing in them except the fruit or veggie. We couldn't survive without their bananas and peas. Just Tomatoes, ETC.! We always have them in our diaper bag and dd absolutely loves them. She also likes the corn, pineapple and blueberries.

HTH!
Chris

[guatparents2be]

lots of great ideas!

i actually have to disagree with one post though, i think that corn syrup is not a good choice. it is very highly processed as a rule. for sweeteners i would recommend brown rice syrup, maple syrup, stevia, or honey for babies who are old enough.

re: snacking, i also would stay away from refined snacks (like goldfish) and stick with whole grain snacks if you are going the route of carbohydrate snacks. also make sure whatever you get has no hydrogenated oils! (ick.)

here is what we snack on (julian has allergies, and gets bleeding rashes on his face from soy, wheat, rice, and corn- god willing he'll grow out of at least some of that soon!):
sliced apples plain or with cashew butter, bananas, avocados. we bring a knife and baggies with us when we're on the go. spelt pretzels, whole grain spelt crackers. sliced turkey. cherry tomatoes. cashews. pecans. steamed carrots with hummus. sliced turkey sausage. whole grain noodles.

if he didn't have the allergies i'd also probably give him: brown rice crackers, pirate booty, organic plain yogurt, organic cheese, tofu pate, and i'm sure other things too.

the earlier you start with these choices the better. the other day julian was licking the spatula that i had used when we made his 'greens mix'. it's a mix of chard, kale, spinach, and green peas in the blender. he loves it because it is sweet. and he thinks it is sweet because he has never had sugar. he will at some point, i am sure, but at 2? no need.

i even will change recipes to that effect. i made banana bread (muffins) yesterday. took the sugar out completely as i figured the bananas would be sweet enough. replaced the recipe's 'half white flour and half whole wheat' with all whole spelt flour. my family loved them and guess what? no sugar!

good luck, and feel free to let me know if you need more ideas!

[dianneemily]

thanks for all the help. I just read the book "In Defense of Food", and he really promotes a natural diet - I found it very interesting and we are working on it. Yesterday we went out and the girls were quite happy to snack on carrot sticks, grapes and trail mix. Granted if cheese puffs had been around they definitely would have wanted them, but they weren't, so they happily gobbled down everything I had packed. Just not sure what I'm going to do in the winter once all the good produce is gone.
Thanks again,