Another nutrition myth goes sour

[snopes]

I've written about how the dangers of fever are overrated, how cold medicines don't do much (if anything). Now I am taking on another one: Sugar makes kids hyperactive.

http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=575595

[Esprise Me]

Journalist Michael Pollan has looked at this issue carefully and, in a recent article in the New York Times Magazine, came to a very simple conclusion, with which I agree: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

Works for me.

[Nana M]

My Masters thesis was on this topic. I ran a study where both sugar and caffiene containing foods were manipulated and discovered that sugar had very little effect on kids levels of concentration, but the caffeine in foods did have an effect. The kids worked much faster if they consumed fairly significant amounts of caffeine, but they were much less accurate.

Didn't change the parents mind one little bit. They STILL beleived it was the sugar.

[Pseudo_Croat]

A diet with just protein? Besides being just unpalatable, that diet would have its own health consequences.

I didn't know this. How would eating nothing but protein be bad for you, besides plugging you up from not getting fiber?

- Pseudo_Croat

[llewtrah]

This was on the series "House" yesterday. A patient presented with scurvy. She ate lots of protein. No fruit and veggies = vitamin C deficiency = scurvy.

We evolved to consume a balanced diet, extracting minerals and vitamins from many sources, some of which are carbohydrate-based sources.

Conclusion: eat a balanced diet and eat moderately, exercise moderately, avoid or minimise foods that contain toxins. Unfortunately common sense doesn't sell diet books (though this common sense is the basis of GI and GL diets)

[Pseudo_Croat]

Originally Posted by llewtrah

This was on the series "House" yesterday. A patient presented with scurvy. She ate lots of protein. No fruit and veggies = vitamin C deficiency = scurvy.

If this is true, then how do peoples who eat a lot of meat avoid scurvy?

avoid or minimise foods that contain toxins.

What exactly do you mean by this - don't eat poisonous/improperly prepared foods (pretty obvious), or something entirely different?

- Pseudo_Croat

[Four Kitties]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

If this is true, then how do peoples who eat a lot of meat avoid scurvy?

Pseudo-Croat, please re-read. She didn't just eat a lot of meat, she ate only protein, no fruits or vegetables. Eating a lot of meat doesn't cause scurvy; a deficiency of Vitamin C does. There's no Vitamin C in meat. You can certainly consume a protein-dominant diet without getting scurvy as long as you eat some fruits & veggies or take supplements.

Four Kitties

[lynnejanet]

Eating only meat/protein is also very hard on your kidneys, and can actually damage them.

[Gayle]

I remember reading about a study in the early 80's that came to the conclusion that sugar was not the cause of hyperactivity, but that craving sugar was probably a symptom. You aren't hyper because you eat sugar, but you crave sugar because you are hyper.

But like Nana says, you can prove it all you want with scientific studies; people are going to believe what they want to believe.


Me? I'm gonna go eat some sugar on the next full moon and see how crazy I get.

[inkrose115]

Sugar won't make me hyper, but it will give me a nice boost of energy that when combined with caffiene makes teachers and students alike head for the hills!! Not just pure sugar but forms that will become sugar, like all carb foods.
And vit. C is ssomehting that requires a very small amount to avoid scurvy, which is why it is so rare.


Medline Plus:

1. Vitamin A helps in the formation and maintenance of healthy teeth, bones, soft tissue, mucous membranes, and skin.
   
2. Vitamin B6 is also known as pyridoxine. The more protein a person eats, the more vitamin B6 is needed to help the body use the protein. Vitamin B6 helps form red blood cells and maintain brain function, among other things.
   
3. Vitamin B12, like the other B vitamins, is important for metabolism. It also helps form red blood cells and maintain the central nervous system.
   
4. Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, is an antioxidant that promotes healthy teeth and gums. It helps the body absorb iron and maintain healthy tissue. It also promotes wound healing.
   
5. Vitamin D is also known as the "sunshine vitamin," since it is made by the body after being in the sun. Ten to 15 minutes of sunshine three times per week is enough to produce the body's requirement of vitamin D. This vitamin promotes the body's absorption of calcium, which is essential for the normal development and maintenance of healthy teeth and bones. It also helps maintain proper blood levels of calcium and phosphorus.
   
6. Vitamin E is an antioxidant also known as tocopherol. It plays a role in the formation of red blood cells and helps the body use vitamin K.
   
7. Vitamin K is not listed among the essential vitamins, but without it blood would not stick together (coagulate). Some studies suggest that it helps promote strong bones in the elderly.
   
8. Biotin is essential for the metabolism of proteins and carbohydrates, and in the production of hormones and cholesterol.
   
9. Niacin is a B vitamin that helps maintain healthy skin and nerves. It is also has cholesterol-lowering effects.
   
10. Folate works with vitamin B12 to help form red blood cells. It is necessary for the production of DNA, which controls tissue growth and cell function. Any woman who is pregnant should be sure to get enough folate. Low levels of folate are linked to birth defects such as spina bifida. Many foods are now fortified with folic acid.
    
11. Pantothenic acid is essential for the metabolism of food. It is also plays a role in the production of hormones and cholesterol.
    
12. Riboflavin (B2) works with the other B vitamins. It is important for body growth and the production of red blood cells.
    
13. Thiamine (B1) helps the body cells change carbohydrates into energy. It is also essential for heart function and healthy nerve cells.

Vitamin A:

* Eggs
* Meat
* Milk
* Cheese
* Cream
* Liver
* Kidney
* Cod
* Halibut fish oil

Vitamin D:

* Cheese
* Butter
* Margarine
* Cream
* Fortified milk
* Fish
* Oysters
* Cereals

Vitamin E:

* Wheat germ
* Corn
* Nuts
* Seeds
* Olives
* Spinach and other green leafy vegetables
* Asparagus
* Vegetable oils and products made from vegetable oils, such as margarine

Vitamin K:

* Cabbage
* Cauliflower
* Spinach
* Soybeans
* Cereals

WATER-SOLUBLE VITAMINS

Folate:

* Green, leafy vegetables
* Fortified foods

Niacin (B3):

* Dairy products
* Poultry
* Fish
* Lean meats
* Nuts
* Eggs
* Legumes
* Enriched breads and cereals

Pantothenic acid and biotin

* Eggs
* Fish
* Dairy products
* Whole-grain cereals
* Legumes
* Yeast
* Broccoli and other vegetables in the cabbage family
* White and sweet potatoes
* Lean beef

Thiamine (B1):

* Fortified breads, cereals, and pasta
* Whole grains
* Lean meats
* Fish
* Dried beans
* Peas
* Soybeans
* Dairy products
* Fruits and vegetables

Vitamin B12:

* Meat
* Eggs
* Poultry
* Shellfish
* Milk and milk products

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid)

* Citrus fruits and juices
* Strawberries
* Tomatoes
* Broccoli
* Turnip and other greens
* Sweet and white potatoes
* Cantaloupe

Lists vitimins and how much of each you need

[ThistleS]

Originally Posted by Pseudo_Croat

I didn't know this. How would eating nothing but protein be bad for you, besides plugging you up from not getting fiber?

- Pseudo_Croat

You would suffer from vitamin deficiencies. Also fat and carbohydrates serve their own roles in cell metabolism and other body functions.

[OptimusShr]

Originally Posted by ThistleS

You would suffer from vitamin deficiencies. Also fat and carbohydrates serve their own roles in cell metabolism and other body functions.

Also if you get so few carbohydrates that the body starts burning fat which creates ketones which can lead to health problems if it goes on long enough.

One thing I didn't know for a long time, that came up in a similar discussion: Eskimos. Where do they get Vitamin C? Berries and such won't do, since some tribes were so far north that was not useful most or all of the year.

Answer? Liver. Many large animals, esp. carnivores like polar bears and seals/sealions have very high C levels in the liver; man is one of the few animals on the planet that cannot sythesize C and has to consume it.

moonglum

[Kitsune27]

Originally Posted by moonglum

One thing I didn't know for a long time, that came up in a similar discussion: Eskimos. Where do they get Vitamin C? Berries and such won't do, since some tribes were so far north that was not useful most or all of the year.

Answer? Liver. Many large animals, esp. carnivores like polar bears and seals/sealions have very high C levels in the liver; man is one of the few animals on the planet that cannot sythesize C and has to consume it.

moonglum

Is it C ? It hought it was Viatmin A that was in the livers (often toxic doses) and the C they got came from consuming the greens found in the bellies of the herbivores they caught.
Guess I'll have to bully Google and see.

[Little Galaxy]

I'd heard it was actually the seal blubber that contained the vitamin C.

But some of it's in the liver too, as well as Vitamin A.

[Cure the Blues]

Originally Posted by Kitsune27

Is it C ? It hought it was Viatmin A that was in the livers (often toxic doses) and the C they got came from consuming the greens found in the bellies of the herbivores they caught.
Guess I'll have to bully Google and see.

IIRC, that was why the Antarctic explorer Douglas Mawson had hypervitaminosis A. After the loss of most of their supplies, they subsisted on their sled dogs and the liver consumption gave them a massive A overdose. I've also heard the same about polar bears and seals.

There are precious few non-primate mammals that don't synthesize vitamin C. Guinea pigs and a species of fruit bat are the only ones that come to mind. Nonsynthesizers apparently still have the tattered remains of the gene for vitamin C synthase. The vast majority of mammals do not need dietary vitamin C.

[Cactus Wren]

Sugar doesn't make you hyper? Please, someone forward this to all the little teeners on fanfiction.net who think it's hilariously amusing to post any nonsensical, free-associative babble they can keyboard in:

where are the CHEETOS! "Shouted Snape jumping up and down on the table" I want CHEETOS! "meanwhile Harry was playing quidditch with Argorn and Captian Jack Sparrow (a/n they are all at my school!)

... and defend it by saying it was written during a "SUGA HI!!!!!!!!"

(That example is an exaggeration. But not by much.)

[Sylvanz]

I so wish the word would get out on this. It's got to be one of the most pernicious food myths out there, and it really really hangs my munchkin. Educated people that really ought to know better will prate away about how their kids are going to tear the walls down if they eat a cookie.

I went on a trip years ago with a bunch of people. One women had a young child at home and regaled me constantly how the child just couldn't eat sweets because she would get so "hyper." On the way home we stopped to pick this child up. Naturally enough she was excited to see her mother and rocketed into the van we were riding in to give her a hug. The mother held her back and said accusingly: "You've been eating sugar haven't you? I can tell you are all "hypered up." You know better than to eat that stuff. Now what was it you had? I hope it was worth it 'cause you are in big trouble." This child by the way was six I think. I saw this woman some years later and was told that she and this child were no longer on speaking terms. Yeah, go figure huh? To my mind this not very smart woman (she was not smart - I'm sorry it wasn't just the sugar thing she was dumb as a box of rocks) was looking for attention and got it by using the sugar myth to pretend a normal little girl became hyper with the smallest ingestion of sugar. Grrr. I knew better then and it amazes me that this stupid false myth persists to this day.

P&LL, Sly

[Salamander]

Hmmm... I am more than willing to deposit the 6yr old version of Sal Jr and a barrel of candy with anyone who believes that no child ever has an adverse reaction to sugar. The difference between a sugared and unsugared Sal Jr was quite distinct.

He didn't switch from being a mild-mannered child into a whirling dervish of destruction... but he did most certainly become fidgety, irritable and much more prone to becoming over-excited.

As he's grown, it has gotten less and less bad and now certainly we can give him some sugared treats from time to time but too much in a single day and you can start to see those behaviours return.

The closest I can come to a blind test is that we could tell when my mother had given him something to eat/drink containing large amounts of sugar, based on his behaviour when we picked him up. There was excited Sal Jr (because he loves spending time with my mother) or there was excited, silly Sal Jr with mood swings.

Do I think some people blame sugar as a scapegoat for the behaviour of their child? Yes. Do I believe all are children capable of consuming sizeable amounts of sugar without adverse reactions to it? No.

ETA: I must admit that I have a bias against most nutritional studies, it seems a lot (not all) frequently contradict each other. I forget if alcohol consumed in moderate amounts is good or bad this week... the same goes for chocolate which also seems to have a monthly cycle of being good and then bad for you.

[Sylvanz]

Originally Posted by Salamander

Hmmm... I am more than willing to deposit the 6yr old version of Sal Jr and a barrel of candy with anyone who believes that no child ever has an adverse reaction to sugar. The difference between a sugared and unsugared Sal Jr was quite distinct.

He didn't switch from being a mild-mannered child into a whirling dervish of destruction... but he did most certainly become fidgety, irritable and much more prone to becoming over-excited.

As he's grown, it has gotten less and less bad and now certainly we can give him some sugared treats from time to time but too much in a single day and you can start to see those behaviours return.

The closest I can come to a blind test is that we could tell when my mother had given him something to eat/drink containing large amounts of sugar, based on his behaviour when we picked him up. There was excited Sal Jr (because he loves spending time with my mother) or there was excited, silly Sal Jr with mood swings.

Do I think some people blame sugar as a scapegoat for the behaviour of their child? Yes. Do I believe all are children capable of consuming sizeable amounts of sugar without adverse reactions to it? No.

ETA: I must admit that I have a bias against most nutritional studies, it seems a lot (not all) frequently contradict each other. I forget if alcohol consumed in moderate amounts is good or bad this week... the same goes for chocolate which also seems to have a monthly cycle of being good and then bad for you.

Sal, buddy, for the love of DOYC read this link. Hyper-link This is the first one I came up with, but I'm sure I can find a more scholarly article if you like. Sugar absolutely does not cause hyper activity in normal children. More often than not the link is what activity is going on when the child is being given surgary foods/drinks - sometimes just the treat itself or the novelty of even getting a treat (because they don't get it often because it is thought it makes them hyper - lather rinse repeat) is what causes the excitement. This is not some fly by night study this has been peer reviewed and repeated.

P&LL, Syl'sugar can make you fat and rot your teeth but it won't make you hyper'vanz