Is Sugar as Bad for Kids as It Is for Adults?
 

From Time Magazine:

Is Sugar as Bad for Kids as It Is for Adults?

https://time.com/5640428/sugar-kids-vs-adults/

I would guess, worse.

And High Fructose Corn Syrup, the kind of sugar that is cheapest for the frankenfood manufacturers to use might just be the worst kind of sugar to let your children consume.

But for many of us, that craving for sugar doesn't diminish with age as the article suggests. It didn't diminish for me, but I quit knowing I was sweetening myself into an early grave like my parents.

I worked as an entertainer on cruise ships for 3 years. We were welcomed at the midnight buffett as long as the line wasn't too long (passengers first) so we would sit and wait for the opening rush to die down. We'd watch adults, even seniors, with a plate piled high with sweet desserts and when they get to the end of the line to get their coffee, ask for a sugar substitute (always a point of amusement).

The flavor is either in the sugar or the fat, and since the sugar industry and their tacit bribes have the government, AHA, and other supposedly unbiased authorities telling us fat is bad, where else are people going to turn for flavor? You guessed it.

The so called experts that call the traditional Inuit diet (high in fat) and the French (high in fat) results of lower obesity and lower incidence of cancer to be exceptions --- I call it evidence that fat is better than sugar.

But I have no degrees in medicine or nutrition, so I am just looking at the world from my point of view.

I have another observational hypothesis. Our ancestors for millions of years cultivated the taste for sweetness because it puts fat on our bodies.

Fruit and starch plants ripen right before the starvation season (winter in temperate climates and the dry season in the tropics). The people who had that sweet tooth could gorge themselves on sweets and starch, gain a lot of body fat, and when the starvation season came around, had enough reserves to get through to the times of plenty again. Those who didn't put on the weight starved and didn't get to pass on those non-sweet eating genes.

And not just humans. When bears come out of hibernation they want protein and fat. Right before hibernation the berries and fruit ripen, they gorge themselves and put on enough fat to feed them while they take their winter nap.

Back on thread

I don't keep sugar or sugary foods in the house, and if I had children at home, I still wouldn't. I wouldn't feed them sugar bomb breakfast cereal either. I would lead by example and tough love.

Bob

When I went to Costa Rica for some surgery, 3 yrs ago, I stayed in a surgery resort where only people having surgery stay...
there were 3 young women there. One was 32, one was 34 and the other one was 38. All of them were having all (yes all) their teeth pulled and having all new teeth put in...
one said it was bad genes, the other two admitted to eating a lot of 7/11 food and lots and lots of soda and slurpees..

I am going to say it's definitely the processed food and sugar that has been popular since the late 70's through the 90's...
lots of fast food, cereal, sodas, slurpees.... yep..

Is sugar as bad for kids? I saw proof.. Imagine having all of your teeth pulled to have new teeth implanted....

Probably worse as developing metabolic disruption is silent and typically without symptoms in children, so the damage is not revealed until they are adults. Certainly, there is an increase in child obesity and T2D today that is very different from when I was a kid. Very different!

Improper hygiene could have also been a contributing factor.

But there is no doubt in my mind that sugar isn't good for either children or adults.

Bob

If we look at it as a drug, which it is, we clearly see the downsides, the health implications, the clear consequences of driving on the wrong fuel all the time.

Well stated. The sad part is that the general awareness of food as fuel for the body is extremely lacking. Beyond that, understanding the types of fuel and the health implications of each type is absent save for a few who embrace food's important role in lifestyle changes for better health and longevity. How do we share this knowledge effectively without an offended group offering a different view? It's a very confusing world in regards to human nutrition.

This is so true, and reminded me of Nathan Pritikin. Fat in all its forms was evil, and avoiding it the key to health. He famously declared that the body only cared that “something” was in the stomach, so people could eat cement dust and lose weight.

I don’t think he demonstrated it, though.

I would say yes and no. Outside of kids who really do better on lower carb--kids with seizures, diabetes, etc.--the fact that their glucose-consuming brains are such a larger part of their metabolism probably does give them a bit of a buffer versus sugar compared to adults. In terms of toxin, that just makes for a higher dose of sugar needed to do damage. But that big glucose consuming brain's liable to also be why they have a higher liking for sugar, which makes them more likely to hit even that higher toxic dose. And going through development, bone growth, puberty etc. at those toxic levels, and with the higher chance of deficiencies in various vitamins and minerals that goes with a higher processed, sugary diet is not a good idea.

I don't consider it a drug, because it's not a drug.

But I would agree with low quality fuel.

I don't know if any scientific studies have been made to determine whether it's as bad for kids as adults, but I would still minimize the use.

If I had kids today, I'd probably feed them more complex carbs and less fewer glycemic foods.

I don't think I'd put my kids on keto, but I would give them healthy fats.

But my kids are grown with kids of their own so I don't have to make that decision.

Bob

The Cement Dust Diet! We'll sell a million copies! :lol:

And start a frankenfood industry too!

It really does stick to your ribs!