Product Description

Sugar Is Not Love

Do you have a smart, creative, loving child who is also cranky, inattentive, and sometimes downright obnoxious? If you’ve written off this negative behavior as “typical” for your child’s age—whether toddler or teen—stop and think: Does your child have a taste for soda, sugary breakfast cereals, and treats like candy and cookies? Does she eat regularly scheduled meals or skip them? What, exactly, does he drink and snack on throughout the day?

Your child’s behavior may be linked to diet—specifically to the sugar in obvious sources like sweets and soda and to hidden sugars that lurk in many foods, fruit-based drinks, and “healthy” snacks like granola bars. And if your son or daughter is sugar sensitive, misbehavior and moodiness can be aggravated by missed or late meals and junk foods.

Now, bestselling author Kathleen DesMaisons offers you a workable solution for getting back your child by changing his diet—without creating a sense of deprivation, without setting unrealistic goals, and without turning sugar into “forbidden fruit.” This book offers:

• A step-by-step program, backed by years of research, for gradually improving the food your child eats—you and your whole family will benefit!
• Tips for navigating the sugar-laden world of birthday parties, holidays, and school cafeterias
• Ways to incorporate healthy snacking and regular mealtimes into your child’s day, including suggestions for meals and snacks, plus recipes

Little Sugar Addicts isn’t about strange foods, dramatic lifestyle changes, or complicated menus—just support, guidance, and real-life suggestions from other parents that work. It will help you make the connection between the addictive qualities of sugar and negative behavior and offer a healthy solution you and your whole family can live with.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #36869 in Books
• Published on: 2004-07-27
• Released on: 2004-07-27
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781400051649
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Addiction expert DesMaisons, who addressed adult "sugar sensitivity" in Potatoes Not Prozac, now turns her attention to the younger generation. Sugar sensitivity can be linked to behavior, health and emotions, she says. In kids who are especially vulnerable to sugar, imbalances in brain and body chemistry are the cause of low serotonin, low beta-endorphin and volatile blood sugar. Consequently, kids react to sugar as if it were a drug, embarking on a craving and crashing cycle. DesMaisons advocates modifying children's biochemistry by changing their diets, and suggests parents explain to kids that sugar has a connection to their mood and feelings, and then get them to help keep a food journal. She also suggests parents alter their own use of sugar before they start on their child. Although DesMaisons advocates cutting out sugar, she isn't a purist; hot dogs and chips are occasionally allowed, along with healthy snacks and whole wheat bread. Though some parents may balk at the monumental nature of the task, DesMaison's sugar-free plan is practical and gradual, and she includes kid-tested recipes as well.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author
KATHLEEN DESMAISONS, Ph.D., revolutionized the field of chemical dependency treatment with her pioneering work in addictive nutrition. In her bestselling book Potatoes Not Prozac she coined the term “sugar sensitivity.” She currently serves as president and CEO of Radiant Recovery, manages a private consulting practice, and maintains a huge and thriving online community through her website www.radiantrecovery.com. She lives in New Mexico.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Is Your Child Sugar Sensitive?


If you are reading this book, you may intuitively feel that you have a sugar sensitive child. But how can you know for sure? We have no blood test yet that will tell you. What we do have, however, is a solid list of clues that has been developed over a long time and with a lot of input from parents just like you. Sugar sensitivity affects behavior, health, and emotions. Let's go through each one and see how your child fits the profile. Whether he is a toddler or she is a teen, most of these questions will apply.

Let's look first at your child's behavior:
--Does your child ask for sweet foods all the time?
--Does your child have unexpected meltdowns that turn into tantrums or tears?
--Is your child impulsive?
--Does your child have a very short fuse?
--Is your child wildly dramatic and goofy?
--Is your child restless and in motion all the time?
--Is your child known as a motormouth?
--Does your child have a hard time paying attention?
--Does your child lock into a task for a long time and forget to do anything else?

And check your child's health:
--Does your child have lots of allergies?
--Does your child still wet the bed?
--Does your child have persistent ear infections?
--Is your child overweight?
--Does your child come home from school exhausted?
--Has your child been diagnosed with diabetes?
--Has your child been diagnosed with ADD or ODD?

Finally, and perhaps most important, are the emotional clues:
--Does your child cry at the drop of a hat?
--Does your child go from being absolutely charming to pouting and being moody?
--Does your child have low self-esteem even though he or she is smart, skilled, and capable?
--Does your child feel alone, isolated, not a part of the in-crowd at school or in the playground?

If you checked three or more boxes from all the lists combined, you are reading the right book. Your child will benefit from a change in diet. If you checked many boxes, do not be alarmed--the more you checked, the more dramatic will be the results you get by changing what and when your child eats. You may have simply assumed that you have a moody child, or a little goofball who bounces around with a motormouth turned on. You may have figured these things were just a part of your child's personality or personal style and never considered that they have a biochemical basis and are connected. The truth is, all of these symptoms can be rooted in your child's biochemistry. The degree to which your child displays them is very connected to what and when she eats. You may be stunned at the positive changes in your child's behavior as you change the food.

Perhaps you have already made the connection between sugar and hyperactivity, but the idea of creating a sugar-free household is simply beyond your imagination. And if you are sugar sensitive yourself, you may have your own issues to resolve. You may feel like an inadequate parent because your children are so moody or mouthy. Sometimes you may join your children in evening treats to help contain the pain and complexity of your feelings. Little Sugar Addicts will show you the way out. You will recover both your own joy in parenting and your child's happiness. You will learn the skills to transform your family in a kind and practical way. The mood swings and meltdowns will disappear. Self-esteem will skyrocket, and the entire family will start having fun.

My kids and I enjoy each other more. We have more fun and want to spend time together. They don't fight with each other, they are better at problem solving, and don't expect me to do everything for them. I always "knew" what wonderful, creative, intelligent, and caring kids I have. Now I "see" those traits every day.

Vicki

Let's go on to learn about what sugar sensitivity is and what you can do about it. Sugar sensitivity is the term I coined in my doctoral thesis to describe a physical condition that includes three key imbalances: a volatile blood sugar response to sugar and simple carbohydrates, low serotonin, and low beta-endorphin. If you have an alcoholic, depressed, or overweight parent or grandparent, you may have inherited this biochemistry. If you are sugar sensitive, what and when you eat makes a huge difference in how you feel and act. A diet of erratic meals, high sugar, and lots of refined carbohydrates will create havoc. It will foster the behaviors that are in the diagnostic profile I just gave you.

The Biology of Sugar Sensitivity

Let's talk about the biochemistry of sugar sensitivity and how all the pieces fit together. Imagine a stool with three legs, each with its own name: blood sugar, serotonin, and beta-endorphin.

Blood Sugar

Let's look at the first leg: blood sugar. This leg is critical for sugar sensitive children, so listen carefully to the story. Normally, when you eat foods made up of carbohydrates (sugars and starches), your blood sugar rises and your body releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin helps your cells draw sugar from your bloodstream to use as fuel. This is a very well-regulated system, and normally the size of the rise in your blood sugar and amount of insulin released are in proportion to the foods you eat. If you are sugar sensitive, you can be highly sensitive to carbohydrates and your system will overreact. When you eat carbohydrates, your blood sugar rises more quickly and goes higher than normal. In response, a greater amount of insulin is released, and your cells quickly absorb the sugar in your blood. This causes your blood sugar level to plunge. These blood sugar changes make you feel really good, even high, at first, and then tired, overwhelmed, and spacey as the level drops.

So when a sugar sensitive child eats carbohydrates (especially without protein to slow down the effect), he experiences a blood sugar spike. Instead of a gentle rise and fall, he gets a spike that causes a problem. This condition is not the same as hypoglycemia. In hypoglycemia, the blood sugar drops below normal. In sugar sensitivity, the blood sugar rises and falls quickly but does not necessarily fall below normal. Your sugar sensitive child will run out of fuel more quickly than other children. If he has sugary cereal for breakfast at 7 a.m., he will be zooming around full of energy at 8 and crashing by 9:30. By 10, he will be both frantic and bouncing off the wall or will be a zombie, unable to pay attention in class. His body has already used up the sugary cereal, and he's running on empty. To his teacher, he will look like a child with ADD or he may seem depressed. It is tricky to diagnose because the same syndrome can cause different symptoms.

When he is at home and his blood sugar plunges, he will come cruising into the kitchen for a snack--a sweet snack NOW! He will drink a soda and grab a Pop-Tart or a sugar-laden energy bar or grab some candy and dash out the door. After he eats his snack, his blood sugar will spike and crash again. This pattern of spiking and crashing may happen three or four times a day. Each time it does, it creates stress in your child's body. Each time the blood sugar spikes, the body thinks it is in danger and releases adrenaline. This repeated stress depletes his system more and more. Over time this pattern takes its toll with something called adrenaline fatigue. He crashes on the weekend and sleeps till 9 or 10. During the week, he can't get up on time for school. If you even look at him the wrong way in the morning, he falls apart. He has no resilience. You may attribute his behavior to a growth spurt, or a family issue like a divorce, a move, or the arrival of a new baby. And you wouldn't think to make the connection between this behavior and the sugary cereal he had for breakfast.

Serotonin

Serotonin is a chemical that quiets the brain. It takes the edge off. It makes your child feel like the world is an okay place to be. It also enables her to put the brakes on emotions and behavior. Think of it as the brakes in her brain. If she has a sufficient level of serotonin in her brain, she stays out of trouble. If she doesn't, she can be impulsive, act without thinking, and talk without stopping. A child with low serotonin has a short fuse and talks back. She gets in your face, acts out, and can't control herself. She can get fixed on one subject, one issue, or one desire, and can't get off it. Or she can be depressed, overwhelmed, and unable to cope with stress.

Sugar sensitive children have lower levels of serotonin than other children. Sugar sensitive children who experience trauma or violence (even the violence of movies or video games) will have even lower serotonin and be more vulnerable to the symptoms I have described.

We can't measure exact serotonin levels in the brain, but once you understand the effects of low serotonin, you will begin to see patterns in your child's behavior. If she often manifests the behavior I have described, isn't it a whole lot more comforting to know it is because of imbalanced brain chemistry rather than her just being a bad girl? Or your being a bad parent? Isn't it a relief to know there is a solution that doesn't require expensive medication, psychotherapy, or boot camp? The plan in Little Sugar Addicts is designed to raise your child's serotonin levels by making changes in her diet.

Beta-Endorphin

The second brain chemical involved in sugar sensitivity is beta-endorphin. Beta-endorphin is the brain's own painkiller. It is there to protect us from big pain. When our ancestors had to run from a saber-toothed tiger, their brains flooded with beta-endorphin, which enabled them to keep running despite the pain in their lungs so they could get to safety. In modern times, most people experience that flood of beta-endorphin as a rush called runner's high.

Children who are not sugar sensitive have normal levels of beta-endorphin. They have tolerance for pa...

Customer Reviews

This book will answer so many questions parent have!
Kathleen DesMaisons first book, Potatoes Not Prozac, changed my life. I went from a completely depressed person well on my way to taking anti-depressants, to a happy, confident person who loves life--all because I changed the way I ate! Since healing my own body and mind I have changed my children's diets with miraculous results.

Before Kathleen's program my kids would whine, scream, hit, be totally out of control, throw tantrums and in general, I didn't like them very much a lot of the time. I couldn't understand what I was doing wrong?!? How could I feel this way about my kids and what could I do about it? No amount of parenting advice or classes could change what was going on with them. Well, after getting myself steady on Kathleen's program I started to look at my kids diet. It took a little time and adjustment, but now by feeding them differently and at consistant times they are mostly fun, loving, compassionate, focused, easy to talk to and the joys I always knew they were. Food was the answer, pure and simple!

Get this book if you've ever had those feelings of helplessness with your kids. It will change your life and your families life!

one of the best books ever for families
My experience is much like the previous reviewer's, only I was a bit older when I found Dr. DesMaison's
work, and started following her food program. Her books explained my whole life....depression, mood
swings, meltdowns, temper tantrums, low self-esteem etc. "Doing the food" changed all of this. I've just
finished reading "Little Sugar Addicts", and I think how wonderful that families today have this
available to them, and what a difference it would have made in my family's lives. What is so different
about this is it is not the parent/s *telling* the children what to do, but inviting the whole family to
participate in what and how changes will be made. Lots of quotes from real people that are doing this plan.
It works. I recommend this book to all parents, grandparents, aunt, uncles, friends with children.
What a difference it will make.

The program in this book can lighten up the whole household!
This book is an excellent collection and celebration of years of experience helping families clean up their food and being delighted by the rewards: a cheerful, funny, smart, affectionate and connected family.

I am the 'Connie' quoted in the book who says you get your easy kids back. I've been 'doing the food' myself for about 3 years and as the mom, I cook and shop per this program. I have a 17 yo daughter still at home (3d of 3) who has come along this food journey with mom; as a teen she still chooses sugary junk food sometimes, but by gum she is completely knowledgable about its effects!

DD much prefers her cheerful, calm mom. She remembers the old days of moodiness, gloom, cranky. Our house is a place of affection, laughs, and consideration where before it was too often drama, crisis, silence and slammed doors. (Turns out that mom's 'pizza coma' kind of scared her but she never said so at the time!)

It's quite unbelievable until you experience it, how big an effect regular, sugar-and-whites free meals can have. Little by little, step by step, recipe by recipe we have moved to fresh whole foods and family meals.

The reviewer of the book sounds kinda spooked herself at changes like this, LOL. But EVERY change we have made, we made because we like the new way BETTER and feel better. None of this grim stuff for us. Really, it is fun and funny to see what we are ready to change and what we aren't, sometimes.

And I say, never, never, never underestimate what kids will 'get.' My DD has not read one word of any of DesMaisons' books, and thinks the full 'no whites' deal is just for middle-aged me who obviously screwed up earlier (I am dealing with overweight)... but even so, here is what she has spontaneously shared with me:

- she thinks her clear skin and luscious figure is from good food available at home
- she always has breakfast and lunch; no starve/binge
- she notices her high school friends - no breakfast, no lunch, and then kaboom, regrettable choices
- she knows about low serotonin and its relation to diet (they studied it in health!)
- she knows about beta-endorphin and its role in craving / addiction
- she knows it is inherited and biochemical
- one time reading a book for English class about an addicted teen, she said, Mom, she was sugar sensitive before she ever started 'using'
- she knows buying junk is out of her own allowance

You can totally arm your kids with understanding & information. they will LIKE it and their feeling of control!

How I wish I had this when my kids were little!