What to do when sugar is making things worse

Something I hear from many parents in our first session together is that they know sugar makes things worse.

They see their children lash out in anger, refuse to sit still or struggle to listen.

They notice that this happens when their child eats sugar, but don't know what to do. It's HARD to take sugar away from kids. They crave it. Their friends give it to them. And we want them to feel normal.

So how do you find balance between something you can see is making your child worse, with something they really want?

Let's take a look at sugar.

Sugar is the body's favourite source of energy. It's like the petrol that works best in your car. The body has systems ready to process sugar into energy. Sugar is vital for the body.

Sugar is actually a carb. There are two main types of carbohydrate: simple and complex. I find it helps to think of them as lego bricks. Simple carbohydrates are single bricks or just a couple of bricks fitted together. Complex carbohydrates are the lego house that your kid built... complete with a moat and tower. In order to be absorbed into the body, these complex carbs need to be broken down. The body wants individual lego bricks running through it's bloodstream... not a whole house.

As we look at why sugar causes such a reaction in our kids, it's helpful to understand these different sugars. When our child eats a slice of whole grain bread, they are eating sugar. But they are eating complex carbohydrate. As this complicated structure travels through their digestive system, it is slowly broken down into individual pieces. But this takes time, which means that the individual sugars are absorbed more slowly. There is also fibre in that slice of bread, and this slows down the absorption even more. The bloodstream doesn't receive a huge rush of sugar at one time.

When our child eats a bag of gummy worms, they are eating simple sugars. These individual sugars are already broken down. Imagine a bag of tiny individual lego bricks. They don't need to change before they jump right into the bloodstream... hence the spike in blood sugar.

Now fruit actually contains simple sugars, and many parents ask whether they should avoid fruit for their children. If you think back to the slice of bread example, fruit also contains fibre, helping to slow the release of sugar to the blood. Yes, fruit sugars will cause more of a reaction than complex carbohydrates, but that fibre will help. Fruit is also a fantastic source of nutrients, so I would never recommend removing them. Berries, kiwi, melon and oranges are lower in sugar so reach for these first but don't remove any fruit that your child enjoys.

So how do you avoid the sugar that causes your child to turn into a monster? Here are my three steps to figuring our sugar for your child:

1. Remove added sugars

You already know that your child reacts badly to sugar, so let's not pretend that sweets, ice cream or cake are going to do them any good. These foods have sugar added to them.... think about that huge cup of sugar you add to the bowl when you're baking a cake. Unlike naturally occurring sugars in fruit, vegetables and grains, these added sugars are going to be simple sugars with no fibre, ready to cause chaos in the bloodstream.

Added sugar is commonly found in sweet treats such as cake, chocolate bars and sweets. It's also found in drinks such as sodas, energy drinks and fruit drinks. You can find added sugar in many sauces such as pasta sauce, ketchup and stir in sauces, and in foods like yogurt, jam and breakfast cereals.

What about honey, maple syrup and molasses? Aren't they naturally occurring sugar?

Yes they are. But the body sees them as a simple sugar, tiny lego pieces ready for the bloodstream. So we are going to treat them as added sugar for now and avoid them too.

To identify added sugar in your child's food, here are the names for sugar that are used on food labels:

corn sugar, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose glucose syrup, honey, maple syrup, agave syrup, invert sugar, isoglucose, levulose, maltose, molasses, sucrose

Start to shift out these simple sugars by adding in replacements. Rather than thinking about removing, consider what you can add. As your child's taste adjust to these new foods and new treats it will be easier to fully remove the sweets. Try fruit slices with greek yogurt and a sprinkle of cinnamon, almond butter with carrot sticks, guacamole and pita wedges or triangles of wholewheat toast with cream cheese and some raspberries smushed on top.

2. Switch simple to complex

Many of the foods we eat contain simple carbohydrates due to the way they have been processed. A slice of white bread or a white pasta has come far since it was a grain growing in a field. These grains have been milled, a process that removed the bran and germ part of the grain, which also gives them their brown colour.

When grains are milled, their fibre is removed. You know what this means.... the sugar will be absorbed much more quickly for a sugar hit.

Replace processed white grains such as white flour, white bread and white pasta with their wholegrain alternatives. Some easy way to get started is with brown rice, wholemeal bread and porridge.

3. Be aware of total sugar

Thinking back to the different types of sugar, be aware of how much your child is getting in a whole day. If they have two slices of wholemeal toast for breakfast, a bowl of wholemeal pasta for lunch and a pizza for dinner, they have eaten sugar all day. Yes, they are complex carbohydrates, but they may still react due to the amount they have eaten in a day.

Complex carbohydrates are an important part of your child's diet and are important for their health. But kid's meals often rely heavily on carbohydrates, meaning they are eating more than they need. Add in protein and healthy fats to balance their meals. Try soft boiled eggs, avocado slices, cooked beans, nut butters, fish, cheese or meat.

4. Never say never

While a reduction in sugar will have an affect on your child's mood, behaviour and learning, I do not recommend always removing sugar. Allow your child to take part in a birthday party, limiting the treats they access and give your child an ice cream with their friends on a hot day while they run in the park. Be mindful that these foods will cause a reaction in your child. Use your knowledge to limit how they eat them, but allow them to feel equal to their friends and their family at times so that sugar doesn't become what they desire the most.

Have you noticed that your child reacts to sugar? If you're ready for some help, book a call and we'll discuss what's going on for your child and how I can support you both.