Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) is just that, SAD!

This morning I started my day off with an awesome hour long walk with my baby (in the jogger).  We strolled to our local Starbuck's for Mommy to grab an iced americano.  As we were approaching the front door, a mother and daughter were in front of us.  Clearly, this little girl was on her way to school.  She had in her hand, a paper plate with a piece of pepperoni pizza half eaten, on it.  They were in front of us in line, she was mesmerized by my (insanely cute) kid.  Then, she ordered her "drink", a sugar-laden Frappuccino.  Some newly concocted creation that was the newest flavor.  THIS was how this poor little girl, who seemed to be my twins age, about 9 was starting her day before she has to go so school.  And sadly, I bet she is the norm.

Breakfast should be the healthiest meal of the day.  It sets the tone for how you will not only FEEL but how you will FUNCTION.  Balance is key!  Do not make it carb-full, or even protein-full.  Have it be balanced.  It's so easy to get sucked into the ease of packaged cereal. Granted, we buy only organic varieties, but we too eat them out of convenience amidst the morning madness that ensues.  

Speaking of... did you know there are healthy alternatives to all of the faves I ate as a kid? For example, Lucky Charms and my beloved Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Got you covered with Marshmallow Oaties that are colored with, oh, things like blueberry, pumpkin & carrot. You know what those things are right?  Well, Lucky Charms is colored with things like, Yellow 5 & 6, Blue 1 and Red 40.  Do you know what these are?  I sure as heck don't.  And since I don't, I sure don't want them entering my children's bodies. 

Why to avoid artificial colors (source: Life With Greens)?

• As of July 2010, most foods in the European Union that contain artificial food dyes are labeled with warning labels stating the food “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” The British government also asked that food manufacturers remove most artificial colors from foods back in 2009.
• The three most widely used dyes, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, are contaminated with known carcinogens. Another dye, Red 3, has been acknowledged for years by the Food and Drug Administration to be a carcinogen, yet is still in the food supply.
• Nine of the food dyes currently approved for use in the United States are linked to health issues like cancer and hyperactivity to allergy-like reactions — and these results were from studies conducted by the chemical industry itself.
• One study found that the E-numbered food dyes do as much damage to children’s brains as does lead in gasoline, resulting in a significant reduction in IQ.
• They are mainly added to food for aesthetic purposes and are not necessary.

A few years back I used to sell Juice Plus  (Suzy Schultz is my distributor), and the BEST part of what I did was to open people's eyes about the sugar content in food consumed quite regularly, primarily by children (anyone under age 18).  We would tape sugar packets together into a long chain, representing the number of teaspoons in that particular food item.  Then, we would hang these chains in front of the foods we were trying to discourage people to eat.  For example, 4 grams of sugar on a nutrition label equals 1 teaspoon of sugar (did you know that?).  I got a Venti Iced cup from Starbucks to represent a Venti Frappucino.  Yes the same Frappucino this poor 9 year old girl was slurping in the back seat this morning on her way to school (and probably wanting to slam her head on her desk with tiredness about an hour later).  So, just to open your eyes to what is going on here.  Straight from Starbuck's website, how many grams of sugar are loaded into this monstrosity of a drink (caramel flavor)??  81 GRAMS!  Come on you math whiz's.  How many TEASPOONS of sugar is this girl putting in her body (BEFORE 8:15 am mind you).  20.25 teaspoons to be exact. Therefore, we would tape 20 sugar packets to this Frappucino cup. Now, I don't think this particular Mom would say "hey sweetie, here are 20 packets of sugar.  Open them up, and pour them down your throat & eat them for breakfast before you go to school.  Ok?"  Never in a million years would this happen.  But guess what?  That is EXACTLY what happened.  This little girl's body was inundated with so much sugar at once, it doesn't even know how to handle or process it all- sending all sorts of mixed messages and causing inflammation left and right.  The same inflammation which causes disease.  Who knows what else she will eat for snack, then lunch, then afterschool snack, then dinner then dessert.  All day, everyday, I'm sure she is on sugar overload.  As are most kids these days.  

Some people think I'm annoying by always spreading this kind of information.  But to be honest.  I don't care!  I know too much!  I read a lot on the subject.  I care about the future health of all kids! I recently saw something that stated something insane like 90% of food in the grocery stores today, was NOT around 100 years ago.  Period.  Case closed.  THAT is shocking!  

How much added sugar should we be eating a day to be on the healthy side of the spectrum?  According to LiveStrong, women should eat 6 teaspoons or 24 grams, and men 9 teaspoons or 36 grams.  PER DAY.  On average, Americans eat 34 grams of sugar OR 8.5 teaspoons.  Not too extremely outrageous. 

What about the kids?  They are consuming SEVEN times the recommended allowance.  And we wonder why childhood obesity is on the rise AND Type-2 Diabetes.  This is why.  Children 4-8 years of age, the recommended amount of daily sugar is about 12.5 grams per day, 3.125 teaspoons.  Pre-teen & teenagers, 21-33 grams per day, or 5.25-8.25 teaspoons.  So if a teenager has 1 Venti Frappucino a day, they are consuming 48 more grams than they should, just from that one single solitary drink alone.   

Another product that was part of our presentation- good old Gatorade. The same Gatorade that has sucrose as the 2nd ingredient. Sucrose = white sugar. I  am constantly seeing kids drinking the big 20 oz bottles. These bottles contain 34 grams of sugar or over 8 teaspoons. Last time I checked, wasn't water the best way to stay hydrated? Hmmm. Maybe I'm missing something. Oh and those bright blue bottles of this stuff. Loaded with food coloring, obviously. The same food coloring that is basically a man-made synthetic chemical with a slew of very negative side effects, especially worse for growing minds & bodies. The same growing minds & bodies who are probably Gatorade's target customer. 

Speaking of food coloring (drives me batty). Guess which food, a food we pretty much all know and love has BLUE food coloring. Think s'mores while you camp. Think Rice Krispie treats. Marshmallows. Yup. Marshmallows. Those WHITE puffy treats contain BLUE food coloring. 

Another tid-bit from my Juice Plus days, something that has ALWAYS stuck with me.  Because of the state of thechealth of children living today, this will be the 1st generation EVER that will NOT outlive their parents.  Meaning, their life span will be cut short, primarily due to diet.  Does that seem right? Normal? Ok?? It doesn't to me. And I'm sure it doesn't to you either. 

Sorry, yet another Juice Plus experiment I did way back when also. I went through the McDonald's drive thru (for probably the 1st time ever in my life) and purchased a hamburger & fries. I then left that burger and those fries in the garage, exposed to the air, the bugs to it all!  And guess what happened?  Nothing!  The burger turned into a hockey puck.  The bun just a stale piece of white bread and the french fires looked exactly the same as they did the day I purchased them.  I know many others who have done this, and I looked online quickly to show you a photo of the end result, and you can see it here.  You see, REAL FOOD would decompose, mold, even be eaten by bugs or animals.  Not this so-called "food".  Again, what MILLIONS upon MILLIONS are eating, and their kids are eating.  What is it doing to the insides of their bodies??

Chew on that for a while. Remember the title of this post?  SAD!

*All I want to do is share. I'm not here to judge or say you are wrong and I am right. That is never my intention. Perhaps by learning something new, I have helped you in some way, shape or form.