How Much Sugar Is Really In Soda?

Ask a pediatrician why childhood obesity is a problem, and they point one finger directly toward soda. It’s just one cause of many, but soft drinks are public enemy number one as far as legislators are concerned.

The CDC has been debating the efficacy of obesity taxes on them for quite some time. So how much sugar is really IN those soft drinks? Continue reading »

Halloween Candy Rots Your Teeth — More Or Less

Not all candy is created equal.  Duh.  Baby Ruth is way better than Snickers or Milky Way and those little sticks from Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip (forget the sugar powder) are awesome.  But that’s not what dentists care about.  In fact, Dr. Douglas Young, professor of dental practice at the University of the Pacific, Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry rates his candy based on the damage it can do to your teeth.  Now, normally, I wouldn’t pay attention to this sort of thing, but since taking kids to the dentist is about as much fun as going myself, I thought this might be some good advice to keep in mind.
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Froot Loops is Not a “Smart Choice”

The cereal aisle at the grocery store can be a bit overwhelming.  With so many to different cereals to choose from, how is parent to know which one offers the best nutrition for their child?  Cereal makers, assuming parents won’t turn the box over and read the fine print,  have begun putting some nutrition information in large print on the front of the box.  But as the Food and Drug Administration points out, this information can be misleading. Continue reading »

They Say: The Corner Store is Making Kids Fat

People lay blame all kinds of places for childhood obesity – parents, schools, television – but one very simple thing that tends to be overlooked is the corner store.

A study that followed kids in Philadelphia between January and June 2008 found that with just $1.07, they purchased an average 356 calories’ worth of food each day. And those were generally empty calories – chips, candy and sugary drinks.

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Haunted Cereals for Halloween Breakfast

Planning healthy, interesting meals for your family that they’ll actually eat is always a challenge.  More so if you’re planning your meals around a holiday such as the upcoming Halloween.  The Syfy channel’s Sci Fi Wire website has you covered for breakfast, however, with a list of 15 haunted cereals that will scare your kids’ dentist as much as your kids.
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10 Summer Bummers and Babble’s Cure-Alls

If you and the fam find yourselves feeling too sweaty, sticky, bug-bitten, cranky and anxious to truly let loose, you’re not alone. We’ve tackled the ten most common summer bummers so you can frolic before the sun sets on the summer.

 —Emily Frost Continue reading »

Five Reasons Eighties Kids Shouldn’t Have Survived Childhood

There’s a great piece on MSNBC this week about all the horrible things we went through as kids that OUR kids will never have to survive.

It says if you grew up in the fifties, sixties or seventies, you’re pretty darn lucky to have made it out alive. What with chomping on the lead painted bars of your cribs and the family tanning sessions in the backyard, some of us are pretty screwed.

So what was missing from the article? Continue reading »

Sugar: Now a Nutritious Health Food

Of the TV commercials that have been rattling around in my brain since childhood, the one I parrot (and parody) the most with my own kids is from Kool-Aid.

Remember when the punch-maker came up with the great idea of selling little packets containing only the flavor  — no sugar. It was doubtless an effort to say them (and Mom!) money. But they advertised it as a way to empower mothers with a little control over the amount of sugar — bad, bad sugar! — their kids were ingesting after a hot day roller-skating or playing on the lawn.

“And I control the amount of sugar he drinks!” the mom explains to another kid’s mom, who nods approvingly. Anything to fend off sugar!

So it’s funny to see … Continue reading »

Happy Birthday, Let’s Eat Junk

Pick up time at my daughter’s nursery school is always hectic, but nothing like this. I could hear the shrieks from the sidewalk.

Walking into the church hall where her classes are held, the echo factor forced me to scrunch my shoulder up toward my ears. They were all on sugar overload. Oh yeah, and it was all my fault. Continue reading »

Note to Consumers: Crunchberries Are Not Real Fruit

You may indulge your kids in sugary cereals from time to time, but you probably don’t believe you’re feeding them important nutrients.

Well, a California woman was a bit confused by the whole concept of marketing. Continue reading »