If I could have a dollar every time someone said, “I grew up eating highly processed junk food, and I turned out just fine” then I would surely be rich. And another one I’ve been hearing an awful lot lately is, “Easter only happens once a year so my kids will be getting candy.” Before I dive into the dozens of facts that prove we are truly (and unfortunately) not “just fine” I must first get this holiday thing off my chest.
Yes, Easter Is Once a Year, but So Is…
- Christmas and Halloween and several other candy-filled holidays
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- Every kid’s birthday in the class
- The junky packaged snacks given to kids after soccer practice and church service
- Candy-filled party favor bags
- The “100th Day of School” celebration
- Visits from the ice cream truck
- The Box Top “cupcake party” at school
- The candy “reward” from the treasure box
- The sucker from the bank
- The frozen yogurt fundraiser for the elementary school (sorry but contrary to popular believe frozen yogurt is not “real food”)
- The piece of candy after dance class
- The visits from the in-laws bearing edible “gifts”
- The playdate at someone else’s house where Oreos are a standard snack
- The list goes on…and on…and on
My personal philosophy is that if I almost never give my children highly processed junk food they’ll somehow manage to still get plenty of it (from outside sources), and guess what…that’s been ringing true for quite some time now. I personally think one special treat a week is plenty and that’s what seems to work for us. It is a rare enough treat for it to actually feel, well, special. Seriously, if your kid eats a piece of candy after almost every meal how can it even be considered a special “treat” anymore? As I’ve said time and time again the problem is not necessarily the sweet treats themselves, but it’s the quantity in which they are consumed!
Sugar Consumption Is Out of Control
Did you know that according to a recent 60 Minutes story that “Americans are now consuming nearly 130 pounds of added sugars per person, per year?” Yikes! That’s more than a third a pound per person per day (approximately 3/4 cup a day!), and I would venture to say that most people don’t even realize they are consuming this much “added sugar” because it lurks in unexpected places like beverages, salad dressings, dried fruit, condiments, yogurt, crackers and even bread. “Sugar” comes in many different forms, which means it’s listed under many different names like brown rice syrup, honey, cane juice, agave, Sucanat, corn syrup, etc. making ingredient labels tricky.
Some Scary Statistics…All Related to the Food We Eat
So how is it that we are “just fine” when:
- “Our children have the destiny of a shorter life span than their own parents…your child will live a life 10 years younger than you because of the landscape of food that we’ve built around them.” (Source: Jamie Oliver)
- “We spend our lives being paranoid about death, murder, homicide, you name it…it’s on the front page of every paper. Any doctor any specialist will tell you … diet related disease is the biggest killer in the United States right now here today.” (Source: Jamie Oliver)
- Coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer – four of the top ten chronic diseases that kill most of us – “can be traced directly to the industrialization of our food.” (Source: Michael Pollan)
- “Two-thirds [of America] is statistically overweight or obese.” (Source: Jamie Oliver)
- “[To reduce heart disease] a government commission in the 1970s mandated that we lower our fat consumption. ‘When you take the fat out of food, it tastes like cardboard,’ says Dr. Robert Lustig. ‘And the food industry knew that, so they replaced it with sugar…and guess what? Heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and death are skyrocketing.’” (Source: 60 Minutes / CBSNews.com)
- “Americans enjoy the cheapest food supply in the world, spending the smallest share of their income on groceries of any country.” (Source: Chicago Tribune Reporter)
- “No other nation on the planet spends as much as we do on medical care.” (Source: Robyn O’Brien)
- “People are fed by the Food Industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the Health Industry, which pays no attention to food.” (Source: Wendell Berry)
- “Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.” (Source: Dr. Dwight Lundell, Heart Surgeon)
- “I freely admit to being wrong. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact. …The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.” (Source: Dr. Dwight Lundell, Heart Surgeon)
If you aren’t personally overweight or don’t experience any major health problems I can understand how you might think your health and eating habits are “just fine,” but how do you expect to feel, let’s say, 10 years from now? Plus I would venture to say that today there’s not a single person reading this that doesn’t know someone with a food-related health problem like heart disease, certain types of cancer, hyperactivity (in children), asthma, diabetes, obesity, irritable bowel syndrome, high cholesterol, autoimmune disorders, and/or constipation. And the amazing thing about all of this is…as soon as you change your diet the majority of these food-related health problems are completely reversible.
I Used to Think We Were “Just Fine” as Well
I admit I thought our family was just “fine” and healthy before we cut out processed food. After all none of us have ever been overweight or had any serious medical problems. I grew up on my fair share of Doritos, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, candy and other sweets, and while still eating highly processed food I successfully completed my first sprint triathlon. Overall I felt like a young and active mommy. And while we didn’t get on this “real food” bandwagon to solve any health issues, the events that took place soon afterward were surprising. My HDL (a.k.a. the “good” cholesterol number that should be high) went up by 50%! My younger daughter’s constipation completely disappeared and her asthma improved 10-fold. I suddenly had more energy (I used to think experiencing “afternoon slumps” was normal, but those days are long over for me). Not to mention it just made sense to know where our food comes from and to not eat from packages with ingredients we couldn’t even pronounce.
Still to this day I honestly didn’t think our eating habits were “that bad” before cutting out processed food. We were never ones to frequent McDonalds, Domino’s Pizza or the prepared frozen food aisle, and sodas only made rare appearances in our house. Apparently all the refined grains and added sugars we were consuming was making a much bigger impact than I thought.
The point is this is our wake up call, and it’s time for some serious change. Smoking cigarettes used to be viewed as harmless and now look what’s happened to that industry. I fully expect the big food companies to follow in those very same footsteps because highly processed foods are clearly causing health problems. And if we, as consumers, “vote with our dollars” then they will surely get the message.
Thanks so much for this article. I also watched the 60 Minutes story on sugar. I just have a question about trying to keep track of how many grams of sugar you and/or your child are eating a day. My struggle comes in when I’m looking at a jug of 100% juice and knowing that there is no sugar added, I see there is still 26g of sugar in an 8 oz. serving. So my question is, when you are consuming natural sugar from fruits, would you count that the same as you would refined sugars? I mean, we can’t really count the amount of sugar we get when we eat an orange or banana, so how do you feel about this type of sugar in your diet? I’m working very hard to watch the amount of sugar they are getting but wondered if this counted the same way. Thanks so much for you blog and inspiration. We are making great strides and are probably at least 80% real food at this point! Never would have gotten this far without you and the other great blogs that are living and eating this way! What did we do before the internet???:) I wouldn’t last one day!
I consider fruit juice to be completely different than whole fruit. Juice is processed and has the fiber removed, so the sugars are absorbed quickly by the body and you don’t get a sense of satiety. The People’s Pharmacy radio program had a sugar expert on a few months ago, I think it was Dr. Lustig, whose description of fruit was something to the effect of “nature packaged the poison together with the antidote”, referring to the beneficial nutrients in fruit balancing out the negative effects of sugar. He did not have a favorable opinion of juice.
You’ll probably see fruit juice concentrates popping up more often in “natural” snacks, as manufacturers are replacing cane sugar or corn syrup with white grape, pear, or apple juice concentrate. These are nutritionally similar to cane or corn sugar; they just sound healthier. I do not keep track of grams of dietary sugar, but I eat fruit every day and consider juice or products containing juice concentrates to be refined sugar. Of course, some juices (like purple grape) do have beneficial nutrients, but it’s probably better to stick with the whole fruit when you have a choice.
Michelle – I am so glad to hear that the blog has been helpful and that you are making some good changes! The 60 Minutes story on sugar really focused on “added sugar” which is not what you find in fruit. I will say though that juice should be consumed in moderation because the “sugar” from the fruit is very concentrated and you don’t get all the other good stuff if you were just eating an apple. After watching that episode I added up how many grams of “added sugar” I eat a day (including the honey in our granola, the maple syrup in my mocha, my square of extra dark chocolate after dinner, etc.), and I was honestly closer to recommended amount than I was expecting (whew!). I don’t count regularly though I think that one mental calculation was enough to confirm we are on the right track. I hope that helps!
Awesome post! I just shared it on my blog. Thanks for the frank information!
I whole heartedly agree with this post, as an educator it is painful for me to have a conversation with a concerned parent who is worried about their child’s academic progress but can’t see the link with the lunch of Sunny D, a Slim Jim and bag of Doritos (yes this is actually a typical lunch for more than one kid.)
I know that the research is hard to wade through but I would love to see links to more actual studies and sources of statistics if possible. I am finding that some skeptics just write off people like Jamie Oliver as fringe crazies who aren’t to be trusted. Information from primary sources is easier to pass on as at least less biased. Thank you so much for all of your hard work!
For healing asthma, check out GAPS diet
This is your blog and your opinion, and you clearly have tons of followers who agree with you. However, you have lost me with this post. The moment you start to be SO judgemental that you alienate people who you feel have not yet been “enlightened” to the real food way of life, you are no longer doing what you set out to do. (Which is, I think, share with people the changes you have made to assist them in taking on better eating habits). This is a great post to read for people who already agree with you. This is something that would be great spoken in private company with those you knew were already real-foodies. However, I wish you would leave out some of the meaner comments targeting people in a somewhat passive-aggressive manner. For instance: And another one I’ve been hearing an awful lot lately is, “Easter only happens once a year so my kids will be getting candy.†This is probably something you have heard from somebody who knows you and has access to your blog. This is not going to change their thinking. It is only going to make them angry with you. The same can probably be said for my post, but I wanted to share my input. I have been following this blog for a long time and watched it grow, but it has grown into something that I no longer see as helpful.
I’m new around here (this is the first post of hers that I read), but I’m fairly sure she’s more concerned about her child’s health than stepping on someone’s toes because of a comment that was made. Judging from the other comments, it takes a lot of toe-stepping to stand up for health. It’s gotten to the point where a more direct approach is needed, and I applaud her for sticking herself out there at the risk of offending a few non-“enlightened” people as you call them.
See Joni and Brittany N.’s comments below. I think they were able to say what I meant in a more constructive way than I did. It is not that I don’t agree that they way some people eat is hurting them. It’s just that of you scare someone or make them feel judged, I don’t see that as the best approac to helping them change their behavior. It is better to have a positive and motivating tone to educate people about healthier eating. It may be that you are new here so you did not witness the change of tone to the blog that has happened recently.
Natalie – Thank you so much for that…your comment pretty much sums up what I just wrote back. I know this is a tough topic for some to swallow, but I am willing to take a few risks in order to get this message out there because I think it is extremely important. Thank you again – Lisa
Abby – As I shared in another reply on this post it truly saddens me that a handful of readers are perceiving a layer of negativity behind my words…because it is not there. I am extremely passionate about the message I am trying to spread and that’s honestly all there is to it. On a side note I do realize the truth can hurt sometimes (and in turn could offend a few people), but I suppose I am willing to take that risk to hopefully make an impact. I appreciate you following and supporting my blog thus far and hope you continue to be a reader. Thanks for sharing your input. – Lisa
My family is slowly but surely eliminating processed foods from our diets. My concern now is my youngest child’s daycare snacks. I plan to address this soon. Does anyone have suggestions of what I can send with him? I know the obvious things like fruit and such (which he loves), but he is 23 months old, and I know he will pitch a fit if he sees his classmates eating snack-type foods.
Try lisa’s cheese crackers, make homemade granola bars, and these graham crackers are good http://deliciouslyorganic.net/whole-wheat-graham-crackers/ Use small cookie cutters if you want so there are fun shapes…
Also, you can make muffins (or mini muffins) and send them with him. We love lisa’s pumpkin muffins, and this banana bread: http://deliciouslyorganic.net/whole-wheat-banana-bread-recipe/ (in which I only use half a cup of sugar and really ripe bananas – it is plenty sweet)
Dried fruit is always good too. Some veggies with dips (homemade ranch)
Make good things look like snacks (with the cookie cutters- cheese, crackers, fruit…) and don’t be afraid to use recipes with small amounts of real sugar/honey on occasion.
Sabrina – Here’s a 2-page nut-free snack list with lots of ideas! https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/08/22/an-elementary-school-snack-list-%E2%80%93-nut-free/
I’ve been thinking about this lately, after having something of an epiphany. I was looking for a recipe and flipping through a binder my mom gave me as a wedding gift, in which she included some of the recipes she uses often. I’ve been trying to make an effort to change our eating habits lately and cut out processed foods (although we’re not all the way there yet…) and was shocked when I realized almost every recipe included things like instant white rice, condensed soup/soup mixes and cheez wiz (in a veggie dish nonetheless!). See, here’s the thing. I thought I ate pretty well growing up because my mom always made what I believed were balance meals every night- usually a meat, a starch and a veggie or 2. But suddenly I realized that these dishes were full of processed ingredients and very few nutrient rich items. I don’t think my mom did this on purpose by any means- she’s been focused on eating healthier in the past several years, too. But I realized that when she grew up watching her mom cook (in the 50’s and 60’s) all of these uber-convenient foods were the newest thing, and they probably thought it was so great to have all these cheap and easy options. No wonder that’s what she kept buying for us! Now that I’m married and pretty much make all the food in our house, I’m trying to pay attention to everything we buy and start over with better habits. Maybe even more importantly, I’m trying to get my husband and I into better habits now so that when we have kids we won’t be tempted to give them processed, sugary foods just because it’s often easier. But this post reminds me that there will be many times when my [future] kids will be given food by others and I won’t have control! I just hope I can educate them enough while they’re young so that they won’t be too tempted by the treats they get away from home.
Well said!!!
Good for you for making a stand. It is easy to make excuses. I’m behind you 100%
Starts at birth! I love treats but we don’t do the extra treats at school etc so we when do treats it is truly a treat.
Here, here! I agree. We just had our first candy-free Easter. http://www.oursmallhours.com/2012/04/easter-without-candy.html It was a blast and the kids didn’t even mention candy.
Thank you for this post!
This is a great post and so well said!!!
Thank you so much for your wonderful blog! You mentioned that your daughter’s asthma improved when you cut out processed foods. I have a dear friend whose daughter is only in kindergarten and has asthma. I would love to show her some hard evidence of how their diet can help the asthma. Do you have any studies, articles from yourself or others, etc that you would recommend to share with her? No big deal if not, but I thought I’d check with you before I start doing some of my own research. Thanks!
There have been some studies that show a link between diet and asthma…here is an article about one of them: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/AsthmaNews/kids-eat-tied-asthma-risk-study-finds/story?id=10820041
Also, I’ve had quite a few readers tell me they’ve stopped (or cut back on) inhalers and breathing treatments since cutting out processed food. I’ve heard this from both parents (about their kids) and adults who struggle with asthma themselves. Good luck!
I just hate that “special treat” = garbage in most cases. What is so special about food that is bad for you? But *I* used that same language when my kids were little – and now I work very hard to reverse/correct my words!
I could not agree more, there are so many “special treat” days in our children’s lives, I feel no need to keep junk at home for a “special treat”.
Llama Momma, thanks for the encouragement. I am currently Pitching a Fit at my daughter’s preschool. They serve all kinds of processed food for lunch, “Steak nuggets, chicken nuggets, corn dogs, etc.. blech! All I can think of is pink slime and other non-food fillers that she is eating. The amount of paperwork and difficulty that I have had to be allowed to pack my daughters lunch for her to bring to school is unbelievable. I had to have a note signed by her pediatrician saying that I, her mother, could pack a nutritious lunch for my own child! They say the state requires all of the paperwork. The school administrator actually tried to discourage me from bringing my daughter’s lunch. I know I can always look to this blog for encouragement, thank you Lisa and everyone else for the support.
Very curious as to what state you live in! I’m in Mississippi and both my kids take their own lunch almost every day. This is their choice because school lunches are “gross”! I have never been questioned about what I pack. This used to be one more thing added to my to do list that I dreaded but as I’m taking baby steps and educating myself on real food I find fulfillment fixing their lunches.
We are in North Carolina…Charlotte area.
I would venture to guess the processed food of today does not carry the same ingredients as the processed food when I grew up. Food companies come up with cheaper shortcuts all the time that do not benefit the consumer.
By the way, health and beauty products are the same way. I cringe when I look at the ingredients on most of the bottles.
Just today I was discussing with people at work trying to keep my kids eating healthy. Most of the people I was talking to agreed with me because they are fairly healthy eaters, but one person actually said “you should let kids be kids”. I couldn’t believe this. Especially since I openly admitted that I am still working on this and my kids get their fair share of treats.
Food scares m! It scares me that I need to feed my toddlers, and that I try very hard to limit treats/sweets during their day and each day seems like another struggle to get through. Grandparents send junk “non-food” through the mail to the kids…I wish this would stop! The Easter Bunny did not bring sweets/food, the bunny brought toys and craft items and summer wear. Some of the grandparents and the kid’s friends gave them junk food treats. Going out to eat is always a nightmare. We pick places that have more real food than not, but I still cringe when I notice milk isn’t organic or my child wants chips instead of fruit. We try to bring our own food to the zoo, parks, etc…and have picnics. This is not what most other families do. My kids notice what other kids are eating, even though they are only toddlers. My kids rebel against against healthy foods/snacks and it’s hard for me to tell if it is just because of their age, maybe they aren’t that hungry, or is it because they have been exposed to junky food and they want that over the healthy choices I give them.
Thank you for this! My husband and I have had some arguments about this very topic recently. I HATE that both my boys’ baseball teams have mandatory snack schedules and although parents are supposed to bring “healthy” snacks, 100% juice and granola bars still have tonnes of sugar; these are things they hardly ever get at home. My husband thinks it won’t hurt them, but they’ll be getting this junk three or four extra times per week during the season! It also completely baffles me that some parents seem to think that cookies and chips are healthy. My kids get enough crap from other sources and don’t need more during an activity that is supposed to be contributing to their health! I read recently that studies are showing cancer cells actually feed on sugar – a great reason to limit sugar intake!I will definitely be getting my husband to read this article!
The drawback to “voting with our dollars” is that big industry has been buying legislators and then when whole foods take a portion of their industrial food market share they can steal our money, via the Great Chicken Bailout of 2011. Why are corporations profits guaranteed in a “free market” and not mine as a citizen and taxpayer? Government FOR the People.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/17/chicken-prices_n_929132.html
I also just read what Carol said and have to agree with her point of being balanced and helping the kids learn limits for themselves. I think it is ingrained because of a friend in Junior High. Her mother was this tiny, highly energetic woman that was ultra-healthy and didn’t allow sweets in the home. As such, her daughter (my friend) would use her lunch money to buy a king size snickers bar and a bag of chips (usually cool ranch) and a drink. And that was her lunch. Frankly, I don’t think I would say it was just the lack of sweets that led to this behavior. It is something, however, I think of often as I have made changes to our diet and try to make things be truly “once in a while”. I think another person who commented had it right with baby steps.
Today, my boys at brussel sprouts with pancetta and shallots with me for lunch- and even asked for seconds! I am excited by that progress- though I know we have a ways to go yet.
Thanks for the honest post. Much appreciated.
All very well said! Have you read mindless eating? It’s a fascinating book and basically helped me project “one time” things over the period of 1, 2 or 5 years and what that can add to your weight (example: it’s been a couple of years but I think he said an M&M a day is equal to 10 lbs by the end of the year, or something similar to that). So it might be just for christmas, but really, there is a holiday to celebrate in every month. So right there that is x12. It is interesting to actually do the math and see what it adds up to calorie wise.
Anyways, I am fairly new to your blog and enjoying it. Thanks for sharing your journey!
Andrea – I have not read that book so thanks for sharing!
I would agree that this is the norm for most who say it’s just a special occasion treat. But for some, it’s true. I do give candy ( and yes, it’s sugar, but no artificial colors or additives) to my kids at Easter, Christmas and something small around Halloween. But that’s it. Oh, once in awhile they will buy their own chocolate bar. But no, my kids don’t eat it at school (we homeschool) or get it anywhere else because our friends know better. And while what I give still contains sugar, don’t you think they need to indulge once in awhile. I’m afraid, based on my own reading, observations and experiences, that if I don’t allow them those small special treats on special occasions, they’ll go out on their own one day and really OVERindulge when they are not taught limits. I think you are talking about the general public though and it’s true. Most people don’t realize or really look at how much processed ‘foods’ and sweets their kids really are eating and that’s a shame.
Carol – I agree with you, which is why I stated in the article that my kids get one special treat a week…if it’s truly “occasional” then it’s okay!
I would seriously pitch a major fit if our public school gave my kids junk. In this day and age, with food allergies and childhood obesity/diabetes on the rise, you can make a strong case to remove all food rewards/treats from the classroom environment.
I know I’ve chimed in before, but I just want to encourage other parents to PITCH A FIT about this. It’s time schools cleaned up their act and made school safe and healthy for ALL!!!
Great article. Our journey to real food has been similar. We all feel so much better! Sugar has probably been the toughest hurdle to overcome. It’s everywhere and to keep my kids on board we’ve been moving in baby steps. After all the other changes we’ve made I know it will be worth the work!
Great post! You inspired me to post a write-up of our own “whys”:
EatLocal365: why we do what we do
Great article. I posted a link to it on my blog’s FB page and tweeted a link also.
Why would you settle for you or your children being “just fine”? Excellent article based on research and facts. As such it can’t touch on my biggest concern but consider this. Nutrition plays a vital role in brain development and you can not know if you or your children could have gained 10 points on an IQ scale with a healthier diet! You could have had greater balance, a better memory, heightened organizational skills. The “10 points smarter” you would not want to be “just fine”.
Wonderful. I have grown to loathe the words “special treat” because it always comes in response to my concerns about school junk. And if it comes up every couple of weeks, it isn’t a special thing at all anymore. We recently took a day trip to the zoo, and all you have to do is walk around with your eyes open to see we are NOT ok. Every other child was obese, and drinking soda, or a slurpee. the little five year olds who are already 80 pounds, what will their quality of life be?
I was also sad to see in a tour of our zoned school the parade of parents coming in with happy meals and sodas for their elementary age kids. During the middle of the day? Any time the parents feel like it? Peanut butter is banned but not soda and candy? Not fast food? Not candy in the classroom? It shouldn’t be so hard to have basic standards, a start somewhere.
We weren’t just fine. . . We began reading labels when our oldest son received a diagnosis with his own label – ADHD. The doctor immediately wanted to write a prescription. We cut out artificial food coloring instead. When we did that and started reading labels, we realized we eat JUNK! We are now a real food only family. And guess what, no ADHD as well as other health problems disappeared for all of us. The schools do make it hard and we are labeled “weird.” But, we are okay with that, we do eat different than most.
Thank you for your blog. I love it!
I’m NOT crazy afterall!!! Now if only everyone posting in agreement could back me up next time I get unsolicited advice or I have to hold back from freaking out when my son is given awful “treats” at family/ DURING???!!/and after school activities!??;)
Awesome awesome post today Lisa and great replies from everyone else. I was just thinking the other day that I grew up on Twinkies, Ho-Ho’s, ice cream almost every night, candy in my lunch every day, etc., and I seem “fine”. I’ve always been a healthy weight and don’t have any health problems, perhaps I am the lucky one. These days I run marathons and race in triathlons on a regular basis. I started following your blog this year and have made a conscious effort to further improve my (our) health and eating habits. Since this change I have noticed an improvement in my workouts and look forward to improved race results this summer. I am slowly getting my wife on board and hope to improve her ailments; poor sleep, high cholesterol, anxieties. Also our son just turned one yesterday and look forward to raising him on whole healthy foods from the beginning. Thanks for all your time and effort on this much needed topic Lisa, it is greatly appreciated.
Mike – You are welcome and happy birthday to your son!
I work full time and used to get take out or go out to dinner with my family. Mainly because of the economy, I am trying to cook dinner in the evening. My family is all very thin and athletic. We don’t eat a lot of sweets but they are in our house.
My warning to other families: I grew up in a house that pushed fruit and vegetables in our face (cookies and candy were bad! bad! Bad!) As a result, all of us kids would pig out on sweets and chips when at our friends houses etc. Let your children make the decision, don’t force the “no sweets” thing on them.
Love your blog. I read it for inspiration.
Great post, I couldn’t agree more with all of what you said. I’m so tired of people telling me “oh, it’s okay to eat that just today….everything in moderation!” Because if you do “this” in moderation, and “that” in moderation, and only eat candy in moderation, etc it all ends up being one big unhealthy diet because of all the compromises. I will continue to strive for the most healthy and “real” diet for my kids and myself!
Great post! It can’t be stressed enough that the industrialization of our food system is the root of so many of America’s health issues. People need to understand!
LOVE this article.
We have made HUGE strides in our household with trying to eat more of a variety of healthy, fresh and homemade foods. I wish I would have made these changes many, many years earlier, though. ):
One thing I did do right when my children were young, as you talk about in this article, is that I very rarely bought them any processed foods or and I never bought them candy ~ because I thought the same way you did, “My personal philosophy is that if I almost never give my children highly processed junk food they’ll somehow manage to still get plenty of it”.
Your post today is almost identical to what I had been wanting to write about it my blog, also. While not a food blog in general, it is something I wanted to write about. May I link yours up to my post today?
Emily – Of course! :)
Thanks for this post. I think it’s great. I confess I let my kids have an occasional piece of candy for “special occasions”, but you’re right. “Special Occasions” come along all the time. I do think it’s okay to give a piece of candy every once in a while, as long as it’s truly once in a while. I’m going to have to do better.
As far as being “just fine”, that is so true! I’m amazed at how many people don’t realize their health problems are related to the junk they eat!
This is long, but I think this is a great thought-provoking article and I’m going to re-evaluate how often a special occasion comes along. Thanks!
I agree special occasions are totally okay for a treat…as long as “special” isn’t every other day! :)
Fantastic article! I am so tired of hearing those same words… “I turned out fine” or “you turned out fine.” Really, then why did I always feel terrible and not have energy? Why did I gain so much weight and have heart palpitations? I don’t want my children to feel that way or have the mental fog I so often walked around in. there are as many opinions as there are people and they aren’t afraid to push them on you but I will stick to my guns and feed my family real food.