Healthy Nutrition for Kids: Avoid These Additives

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There are at least three ingredients in processed foods that we should avoid. I will cover one this month and the other two next month. The key words “processed foods” should nudge you to investigate the ingredients panel before purchasing. The additives you should try to avoid are:

1. High Fructose Corn Syrup
2. Hydrogenated Oil
3. Food coloring, especially Red 40

Thinking of “additives” as the equivalent of “chemicals” might help you get back to eating whole foods. Think of whole foods as plant and animal foods in their original form that God gave us, and not what food manufacturers are telling us is healthy, or packaging attractively to entice children to beg, nag and cry to get mom to buy for them what they see. If you can avoid purchasing foods with these 3 ingredients, you are making healthier choices already. Allow me to share what these additives are, starting this month with High Fructose Corn Syrup, and provide both common sense and scientific reasons to avoid them:

1) High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)-If you take whole grain corn and turn it into sugar, you will have corn syrup. Corn syrup, just like sugar from sugar cane, should be consumed in moderation. If no added sugar is best, then a little is OK. Corn is abundant in the US so it is cost efficient for food manufacturers to use in their products. The corn syrup enzymes are chemically changed to intensify the sweetness of it, so manufacturers can sweeten their “food product” more cheaply and pass the chemical savings on to you. There is really no scientific proof of any dangers of consuming HFCS except for its association with weight gain and diabetes. That is pretty dangerous. How is it associated with weight gain and diabetes?

HFCS is in so many processed foods that our children are eating, even in snack crackers, and the list goes on. These refined/processed foods, even those not including HFCS, wreak havoc on blood sugar and insulin secretion to level out blood sugar spikes, and we are hurting our bodies. Eating these types of foods is not satisfying so we tend to crave more and eat more of them. When a person eats naturally sweetened foods like an apple, they are very likely to be satisfied after eating it and will crave healthier foods as a result. When a person chooses apple pie with a lot of added fat and sugar, that person might think about going back for more pie later on. Think about that. Many of us can think of several instances where we have eaten healthy and craved healthier foods, or have chosen processed foods and craved more of those. Is that science or common sense? This is both.

This may help you get a handle on how much sugar our children may be consuming:

One 12 ounce soda has 10-12 teaspoons of sugar (HFCS) in it. Your child’s favorite junk cereal has about 3 teaspoons of sugar in only ¾ cup (HFCS). One fruit roll up has about 2 teaspoons of sugar (HFCS). It adds up fast.

Remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
CHOOSE INSTEAD:

One medium sized apple that provides your child with 8 mg Vitamin C, about 73 IU Vitamin A, and 4 g of fiber and a little calcium, phosphorus, potassium and iron. All of this from nature to you.

Taking care of our bodies is exactly what we are supposed to do. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit that we are to nourish, care for and listen to.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the holy spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

That means physically, emotionally and spiritually. If you are tired then rest, if you are hungry then eat healthy foods and stop before you are full, and when you are experiencing a flood of emotions then take time alone to calm those emotions.

Some food manufacturers switching back to real sugar from HFCS. Although choosing foods sweetened with real fruit juice, brown rice syrup or cane sugar are better choices than the chemically developed HFCS, don’t forget that these products are still sugar. Try and get your sweets from real fruit! Think of foods in terms of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, dairy/milk and meats and beans, and get your oils from the right kinds of foods such as those found in salmon, nuts, and avocados. If you are eating these real foods most of the time, then it is OK to enjoy some of your favorites sometimes.

Here is to you and your family’s health!