Hi there! I’m Christina, a mom of three littles, a licensed mental health therapist, and a children’s book author! Thanks for checking out my site. Look around! I’m sure there’s something here for you! This guest post by Melissa Dowbiggin is about living low sugar for the whole family.
Living Low Sugar for the Whole Family
We all want our kids to be healthy. So we cook for them, we cut up the apples, and we slice the cucumbers. We try to do all the things but sugar still sneaks into the diet – and often more than we would like.
Our society consumes more sugar than ever – a whopping average of 17 tsp of added sugar a day for kids and adults alike. That’s far above the recommendation of less than 6 tsp of added sugar for kids anywhere from 2 years – 18 years old. It’s hidden everywhere and we end up consuming it without even knowing. An added 6 tsp of sugar a day is even pushing the limits of what our bodies can handle. So how do we cut the sugar without going out of our minds?
The high sugar consumption is doing a number on both our physical and mental health – Both kids and adults feel the effects. One of the reasons for this is the effect that sugar and refined carbohydrates have on our blood sugar regulation.
Here’s what happens when you consume sugar or refined carbohydrates:
Quick breakdown: Refined carbs are rapidly broken down into glucose, which enters your bloodstream, causing a spike in blood sugar.
Insulin spike: Your body releases a lot of insulin to quickly manage the sudden rise in blood sugar.
Energy crash: The insulin works fast, lowering your blood sugar just as quickly. This can lead to an energy crash, leaving you feeling tired and sluggish.
Cravings kick in: After the crash, your body craves more carbs or sugar to bring energy back up, creating a cycle of highs and lows.
This causes energy crashes in both kids and adults. But more than that, it affects other processes in the body and some bothersome symptoms might very well be caused or made worse by the blood sugar roller coaster that I just mentioned.
Here are some other symptoms that are tied to blood sugar imbalances:
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Difficulty concentrating
- Mood swings
- Headaches
- Dizziness
- Inflammation
Have you ever felt “hangry’? That’s your blood sugar levels dropping too low leaving you and your kids in that dreaded hungry, angry state.
And on top of those symptoms that happen immediately, sugar consumption can lead to a host of long term health issues:
- Insulin Resistance & Type 2 Diabetes
- Metabolic Syndrome
- PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome)
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
- Heart Disease
- Chronic Inflammation
Sugar and Mood
Those sugar highs and lows inevitably lead to irritability, fatigue, and mood swings. In adults, that might look like a short temper, irritability, or an inability to concentrate. For kids, that might look like temper tantrums, an inability to concentrate, and “acting out”. Either way, dealing with the sugar highs and lows from eating refined carbohydrates can make life a little harder than it needs to be. Kids might have a more difficult time concentrating at school and parents might have a difficult time focusing on work – and the cause could very well be imbalanced blood sugar levels from eating a sugary breakfast!
Reducing Sugar Intake
Reducing sugar intake can help keep everyone’s mood stable throughout the day – good for both parents and kids alike. We all need a little help in that department, don’t we?!
Here are some simple ways to reduce your family’s sugar intake:
– Start the day with a wholesome breakfast that contains protein (like eggs & a side of fruit)
– Choose whole fruit instead of fruit juice
– Ditch the juice and go for water, milk, or herbal teas
– Read labels carefully (there are over 300 names for sugar!)
– Choose whole grains (refined flours and grains spike blood sugar levels just like sugar) – Eat most of your food at mealtimes (sugar hides in so many snack foods!) – Choose whole food snacks over ultra processed snacks
Food Pairing for A Balanced Mood
Pairing sugar with a protein will also help slow the absorption of the glucose into the bloodstream helping to keep blood sugar levels balanced throughout the day. With each meal and snack, have a source of protein alongside the meal.
Here are some ideas for healthy snacks that contain protein:
- Fruit and cheese
- Fruit and some nut butter
- Plain yogurt with cooked fruit
- Veggies and hummus
- Cheese and smoked meat
- Cheese and a whole grain cracker
- Cottage cheese and fruit
- Fruit and nuts
- Homemade date bars
Sugar Quality
Some sugars are much better than others. Natural sugars contain nutrients, have beneficial properties, or contain some amount of fibre. For instance, honey is naturally antibacterial making it a healthy alternative to the refined sugars found in processed foods. Natural sugars and sweeteners include:
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Coconut sugar
- Rapadura
- Dates
- Molasses
- Green stevia leaf
We should include natural sweeteners whenever possible and avoid the refined sugars and refined carbohydrates that we find in ultra processed foods. But that doesn’t mean we have a free for all with the natural sugars, either! Natural sugars will spike blood sugar levels just like processed sugars. To help the body with stable energy levels throughout the day and avoid those sugar crashes, limit the total amount of sugar consumed and pair your sugar with a protein.
That might look like this:
- Having a naturally sweetened homemade dessert a couple times a week as a family (and away from bedtime – like having some homemade hot chocolate with a cookie mid-day)
- Choosing fruit for natural sweetness most of the time
- Drizzling some honey on plain yogurt for breakfast a couple times a week
- Leaving room for flexibility when life calls for something sweet
It doesn’t look like this:
- Eating sugary cereals for breakfast everyday
- Drinking juice instead of water
- Snacking on sugary foods throughout the day
- Eating a diet too high in ultra processed foods
- Sitting down with treats each evening
Remember, sugar is still sugar, even if it’s homemade!
Making Small Changes
If you find yourself in a position where your family is not where you want them to be, don’t stress. You can make small changes over time. That will allow less stress for everyone as each family member adjusts to the change. For instance, you might swap sugary snack bars for fruit and cheese or nuts at snack time. Kids might be reluctant at first – that’s just par for the course. After all, it can feel like a big change to them! But persist through the challenges and you’ll find that your kids end up enjoying the new snacks and before you know it, you’ll have formed a new family habit!
Fostering A Healthy Relationship With Food
Forming those habits will encourage children to create that healthy relationship with food that we all desire for them. No, that doesn’t have to mean being strict and rigid. It can just mean making the wholesome foods available to them and the sugary foods less available. They’ll be able to see for themselves how healthy food makes them feel – and how too much candy makes them feel too (hello, halloween sugar overload hangover!).
Model Healthy Eating
The best way that we can help our family eat and live healthy is by doing it ourselves. Our kids love us – they want to be just like us. By modeling healthy eating, you won’t just feel better yourself, but you’ll be positively impacting your children for years to come. When you’re eating real, nourishing foods alongside the rest of the family, everyone will feel the benefits, making those good times just that much more enjoyable and the tough times, a little easier to handle.
So stock up on healthy groceries, leave the ultra processed, sugary foods on the shelf, and get cooking.
Melissa Dowbiggin, The Sugar-Free Coach, is on a mission to empower women to break free from sugar cravings, reclaim their energy, and live vibrant, healthy lives. After years of battling her own sugar addiction and feeling trapped in a cycle of fatigue, frustration, and yo-yo dieting, Melissa transformed her life with nutrient dense foods and a sugar-free lifestyle. Her deep passion for health and wellness led her to study at the Institute of Holistic Nutrition and become a Certified Nutritional Practitioner. Now, she dedicates herself to guiding others on the same life-changing journey. Through her Sugar-Free Coaching Community, where she offers programs like the 12-Week Sugar Cravings Solution and 7-Day Sugar Free Challenge, Melissa inspires and supports women to take control of their health and create lasting, positive change.
