Does Your Family Need a Sugar Plan?
by Dr. Emily Lesnak
If it seems like your house is full of cookie monsters or if it seems like your family is consuming sugary foods on a daily basis, then your house could benefit from creating a sugar plan.
What should your family’s meal plate consist of?
An ideal plate would consist of 75-100% of foods that are protein, fiber, and fats. This includes protein sources, like chicken, eggs, beef, tofu, fiber food like beans, nuts, seeds, non-starchy vegetables and fruits. Fats are often contained in these foods already (like the animal proteins, eggs, nuts, etc…) but could also include cooking oils like avocado or olive oil. Starches like rice, pasta, potatoes should only consist of 0-25% of the plate.
Why limit starches like rice, pasta, potatoes?
I like to say that there are no “bad” foods, but there are “bad” combinations of foods. Consuming only starchy foods can increase someone’s risk for insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is when your muscles, fat, and liver don’t respond well to insulin, which is the hormone that takes sugar or glucose out of the blood stream. If your pancreas can make enough insulin to overcome this, then your blood glucose levels will stay in a healthy range. If this doesn’t happen, then one is at risk to develop prediabetes, diabetes, or metabolic syndrome. Limiting starches can be helpful for both adults and children alike and with childhood obesity becoming more of a problem, it can be important to support healthy habits at a young age.
Surprising sources of sugar and sweet treats:
There are many foods that are marketed as “healthy snacks” that are actually just sweet treats in disguise. This can include the following foods: juice, popsicles, pancakes, waffles, granola bars, fig bars, graham crackers, sweetened cereal, Nutella, and chocolate milk. These are all foods that I would consider being sometimes foods and not always/everyday foods.
Steps to create a family sugar plan:
Limit the amount of sugary treats or starchy foods that comes into the house
Make a list of savory breakfast items rather than pancakes and cereal
Decide on when you allow sugary treats - for some families, treats are allowed on birthdays, holidays, etc… and then specific days of the week, I think reasonably this could be 2-3 days per week.
Make sure everyone in the family is aware of this plan and get ready to hold boundaries. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that after a little push back on the boundaries the family sugar plan just because the norm.
Look at foods in your house to see which ones have added sugar - try to find alternatives or low sugar or sugar free versions of these foods. Less obvious foods with added sugar: ketchup, yogurt, granola bars, cereal. The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Heart Association recommends 25 grams of sugar (or 6 teaspoons) or less per day.
Creating a sugar plan and working to decrease consumption of these foods can benefit all members of the family. You will find that over time there is less desire for sugary sweets and that naturally sweet foods, like fruit, actually taste sweeter as one’s taste buds adjust. This helps to set health habits for the future!
Want additional support or guidance for you or your family? Schedule a visit with me or one of the other providers in our office!
See you in clinic,
Dr. Lesnak