Why Kids Should Not Be Eating Sugar
There is one thing that children with ADHD, Autism, behavioral problems and cognitive delays share, and that is food allergies. Food allergies can affect different areas of the body such as the gastrointestinal system and even the brain. Symptoms of brain allergies can be displayed as ADHD, Autism, cognitive delays, and brain fog. One of the top offending foods is Sugar. ADHD kids literally have brain allergies to sugar. Typically when we think of sugar we think of brown and white sugar. Brown sugar is considered to be healthier than white but is often GMO and just white sugar sprayed with brown color. These Sugars are added to the majority of processed foods, and they can literally turn a calm child into a hyperactive child within an hour. The consumption of sugar results in what's called a blood sugar high. During a blood sugar high glucose floods the blood stream. During this time children can become hyper, inattentive, fidgety, and completely unteachable. After the blood sugar high comes the crash, blood sugar low. During this phase children may seem lethargic, irritable, depressed, or sleepy. This blood sugar roller coaster can result in hyperactivity, irritibality, depression, learning difficulties, Autism symptoms, and childhood diabetes.
It is estimated that the average American eats 1/2 pound of sugar daily. How is this possible? Sugar is a common ingredient in breakfast cereals, bagels, breads, waffles, cookies, literally everything. Sugar in the amounts that people consume it today is a toxin. Sugar depresses the immune system and literally feeds parasites, bad bacteria, and yeast (candida). It literally robs the body of essential minerals needed for brain function. The sugar we are eating is literally making our society very sick. Sugar also reduces body pH which leads to Cancer.
Often refined sugar is replaced with high fructose corn syrup in processed foods. High fructose corn syrup can be labeled as fructose or fruit sugars which is terribly misleading to the consumer. High fructose corn syrup is made from GMO corn and is very liver toxic. Artificial sweeteners are neuro-toxic and should not be used for children at all.
Dr. Abram Hoffer, author of Healing Children's Attention and Behavior Disorders, succcessfully treated thousands of ADHD children with vitamins and diet. Often his patients were addicted to sugar & junk food and refused to give it up. Its hard to convince a 8 year old to give up his/her favorite snacks. So he cut a deal with his tough patients. For 6 days they had to go on a sugar free diet. On the 7th day (usually a Sunday) they were allowed to eat all their favorite snacks. Often his patients would feel ill on Sundays evenings after eating their snacks and Mondays in school were terrible. Within a few weeks, the majority of the children decided to give up junk on their own. They enjoyed the positive feedback from parents, teachers, and classmates on their sugar free days and overall they felt better physically.
Good alternatives to sugar include organic raw honey, organic maple syrup, or coconut sugar. Good alternatives to sugar include organic raw honey, organic maple syrup, or coconut sugar.
