Marketing Strategies: Also for three year olds.

"Mommy, does that check mark mean that this is healthy?"

 

 

Those are the words that came out of my three year old's mouth when we were on the cereal aisle at the grocery store. We've been talking a lot about healthy and not healthy foods lately. She knows that healthy foods are good for her body, and that not healthy foods could make her get sick. And at the tender young age of three and a half, the marketing techniques of General Mills are reaching her.

 

We made a major overhaul on the kids' diets about two months ago. As you know, I've been on the GAPS diet since just after the first of the year, and I've seen some pretty incredible improvements in my health. When I first started out, I was the only one doing the diet. The DH wasn't particularly interested(and didn't have any pressing health issues that he was concerned about), and since the diet is fairly difficult to get started on I wanted to get adjusted to it first before I thought about getting the kids involved. That didn't last long though. I couldn't stand feeding my kids food that I knew was going to damage their gut and their health, particularly the gluten and sugar! I couldn't justify feeding them food that I wouldn't dream of putting into my own body.

 

It was hard, but I planned ahead and we went cold turkey, completely removing grains and all sugar(except fruit and honey) from their diets. The first week was really tough, but we all made it and have seen significant results! Naturally, as we made such big changes to the kids' diets, we did a lot of talking about what we were doing and why. I did a lot of explaining about how healthy foods helped your body to grow strong and how unhealthy foods were bad for your body and could make you get sick. The last time Hayden had a doughnut, instead of just dealing with the meltdown that followed, I decided to explain to her what was happening and why she felt the way that she did. She ate the doughnut, and then about 15 minutes later had an absolute meltdown. Nothing tragic had happened, but because of the sugar in her system she totally overreacted and started sobbing. I calmed her down a little, and then explained to her that she was feeling so sad because of the doughnut that she just ate. I explained that the doughnut had a lot of sugar, and that when she eats a lot of sugar it makes her feel really yucky and sad. Her eyes got really big, and she thought about it for a minute, and then said, "But doughnuts taste really yummy!" I replied, "Yeah, I think they taste really yummy too! But the problem is that they taste really yummy in your mouth, but then when they go down to your tummy they make you feel really yucky, and they could make you sick later too." I know she's young, but I could really see the wheels turning as she thought about it, and she seemed to really understand the concept. The more that she understands about what foods to eat and why, the more empowered she'll be to make the right choices herself, even when I'm not there to guide her.

 

 

For the next several weeks, she'd ask this about nearly every food, "Does this have sugar in it?" Even Tristan asked a couple of times. We'd talk about nearly every food item that she saw. "Is this healthy?" "Does this have sugar in it?" "Could this make me sick?" We did a lot of talking about healthy food and unhealthy food. Then one day as we were watching tv, she saw a commercial for some kind of processed "health food". She heard the advertiser talking about how healthy the product was, and she said something like, "Look, mommy, that's a healthy food! Can we get that?" Oh boy. This is exactly what these big food companies want you to think!!! "Healthy whole grains" are not healthy! Processed food in a box or bag is not healthy! Grains and sugar with added vitamins are not healthy! These things will not nourish your body. I explained to Hayden that these foods are actually NOT healthy, but the people that make the food and the people that are on tv are lying to us, telling us that the food is healthy so that we'll buy it. She laughed, and thought that was pretty funny, and we talked about how it's not good to tell lies.

 

 

So then as we're at the grocery store, she asks, "Mom, does that check mark mean that it's healthy?" What a perfect teaching moment! I explained to her that, just like the commercials on tv, the people that make this cereal are lying to us, wanting us to think that their product is healthy when it's really not! I showed her how we could turn the cereal box around to look for ourselves at the ingredient list to see if it was healthy or not.

 

I read, "Corn, that's not healthy. Sugar- is that healthy for your body?" Hayden shook her head no. "More corn, and then corn syrup, which is just another name for sugar! More sugar! Is this sounding like something that we should eat?" Hayden: "Nope." Then I got down near the bottom of the list and started reading, "Red 40, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and other color added. Those are colors! Are we supposed to eat colors?" Hayden started laughing really hard. "Mom- that's not food!" I said, "You're right, it's not! Colors are for coloring with, like with your markers. They're not even food- why would someone want to put those in cereal and eat them?!?" We had a good laugh and decided that the cereal wasn't a good choice for us to eat.

 

 

Marketing techniques are powerful, especially the ones targeted at kids and the ones that want us to believe that anything out of a box is good for us! Don't fall for it! No matter how fun the box looks, this cereal is not a healthy choice for anyone's breakfast, much less a child's. When your child starts to ask for these types of foods, I challenge you to consider using the situation as a learning experience for your child, instead of buying it for them because the package looks exciting. Consider teaching them about how marketing works, why the food they're asking for isn't a good choice, and how to read an ingredient list for themselves. Not only will they be a little healthier now for having not eaten the food at question, but they'll have learned valuable lessons that will be useful throughout their entire lives!

 

 

 

Have you noticed your children picking up on marketing techniques? How do you handle that in your family?

Thank you, GAPS!!!

I've been on the GAPS diet for about 8 weeks now, and boy oh boy have I seen some results!!! I'm very excited about how I'm progressing. I'm still doing full GAPS- I haven't done the intro yet or added in any supplements. I do have some fermented cod liver oil on the way, and I'm planning on ordering some probiotics in the next day or two, so hopefully adding those two things will only help accelerate the healing!!!

 

One awesome change that I've seen is that my seasonal allergies have all but disappeared!!! I've had awful allergies since my teens. I couldn't even really call them seasonal because they bothered me year round. Springtime was the absolute worst though! Months at a time would go by without me being able to breathe through my nose at all. It sucked, but after so many years it was just a normal part of life for me. I'm so, so thrilled to report that I haven't struggled at all with my allergies this year- even with spring approaching(and basically in full swing here in south Texas- we've hit 90 degrees already). I'm breathing through my nose! I don't have to carry kleenex around with me wherever I go! I don't have to keep toilet paper(for blowing my nose) in every room of the house! So awesome!

I wish I'd had a tissue box this cute!
 

One of my biggest reasons that I started GAPS was to try to get a handle on my hormones/PMS/anxiety. It's been something I've dealt with for years, and it's really been a thorn in my side. A couple of years ago, I was so depressed that I could barely function. I was on the edge of being suicidal on my worst days. Now that I know what I know about GAPS, I realize that I was literally poisoning myself with my diet, and that my gut disfunction was having a direct impact on my mental health. (GAPS stands for Gut And Psychology Syndrome- my gut was messed up and it was effecting me psychologically, big time!) My lowest point was just before I cut gluten out of my diet. Not only did I have a leaky gut, but I was feeding my leaky gut something that I was extremely allergic to! No wonder I felt so horrible!!!

 

I started taking a quality fish oil(Norwegian gold critical omega- I highly recommend them) and exercising, and that made enough of a difference so that I was able to function on most days. But when that time of the month rolled around? All bets were off. Seriously off. I literally felt like a crazy person whenever my hormones would start going nuts. I would get panicky. I would think horrible thoughts about myself and others. The slightest irritation would seem huge to me- things like music too loud, the kids touching me, or even anything out of place(OCD?) would be enough to almost send me over the edge. I felt like I had no control over myself. I tried really, really hard to control the way that I was feeling, and to not lash out, but it was almost impossible. Sometimes I'd just erupt- even as I was trying not to. I hated it. My family hated it too. It was like something was taking over my mind and body, and each time I couldn't wait for it to be over so I could get back to being me again.

 

Not only did I deal with that before my period started, but I dealt with it before I ovulated too. Twice a cycle I'd become a crazy person with little control over myself. It'd last for 3 or 4 days, with the last day being the worst. On top of all that, I'd had 40 day cycles for several years- 10 or 11 days longer than a normal, healthy cycle.

 

This January's cycle was unforgettable. On January 1st I cut out sugar completely. I wasn't expecting that change to dramatically shorten my cycle, but it did. So when I started getting those horrible PMS symptoms, I didn't realize what was going on. I thought I was just having a really bad couple of days. On the third day or so, I was having a really crummy day, and DH said something to me that he shouldn't have.(To his credit, it wasn't nearly as bad as my reaction.) I fell apart. I got in the shower and sobbed. I had super powerful thoughts of hurting myself. I spent half an hour in the shower trying to silence those thoughts and regain composure. I was so scared. I hadn't felt or thought that way in over a year, and I had no idea what was going on. I eventually got control of myself, and DH apologized, which helped me to feel a bit better.(I was too scared and emberassed to even tell him what had happened.) Even though the worst was past, the range of emotion I had felt was so huge that I felt like I had been hit by a truck, even the next morning. When my cycle started that evening, I was shocked! I hadn't had a 29 day cycle in about 7 years.

 

That was my last cycle before I started GAPS. My first cycle on GAPS was a bit better than that, but still pretty awful. But the second one? Big difference. First of all, I barely even noticed when I ovulated, vs. the crazy hormonal mess that ovulation used to throw at me. Three days before my period, I started to feel a little emotional. I teared up near the end of a killer Crossfit workout. I was a little irritable. Nothing too bad. The next day, I was fine. The third day, the day before my period started, things got a little worse. (This would normally be the worst day for me, the day where in January I totally lost it.) I definitely felt hormonal, irritable, and a little anxious. But I was able to keep it under control!!! It took effort, quite a bit of effort. With just about every thought, I had to consiously remind myself to calm down, that this was just PMS, and I could make it through. I'll be honest, I did yell a couple of times. But before I would have yelled, and kept yelling, and wouldn't have been able to make myself stop. But I was able to make myself stop this time, and calm down almost instantly. It was definitely still a struggle, but one I can handle! I'm hoping that things continue to improve the longer that I'm on GAPS, but even if they don't, I've at least got something I know I can handle now!!! That's a huge deal.

 

And another 29 day cycle! I've had 40 day cycles for almost 7 years now. Isn't that amazing- that after just a couple of weeks of dietary change, my cycles changed from 40 days to 29 days??? I've known that diet can make a difference in your health. But to see it with my own eyes, in my own body, and in such a dramatic way, is just amazing!!! Thank you, GAPS!!!

 

Sugar: The wonder drug

Did you know that sugar is addictive? Yes? No? Kinda-sorta? I always knew in the back of my head that sugar was bad for me, and I'd heard that it was addictive. But I didn't really think about it that much or feel like I needed to make any real changes with regard to my levels of sugar consumption. But all that has changed...

 

On January 1st, I joined a 6 week long weight loss contest with several other local moms. There was a cash prize, so I decided to really put some effort into trying to win! (Sadly, I didn't win, but I did get second place! Not too shabby.) One of my weight loss strategies was to cut out sugar. I went cold turkey- no sugar at all, except for fruit and honey.

 

I didn't think I'd have too hard of a time with it. I knew I could stand to cut back a little bit, but I didn't think my level of sugar consumption was all that bad. I'd have a couple of gluten free cookies here, a piece of chocolate there. I did go a little crazy with sweets over the holidays, but doesn't everyone? And I did have baked oatmeal with sugar in it almost every single morning- but that was in oatmeal! Didn't count. Needless to say, I was in a bit of denial.

 

The first couple of days were not fun. Big cravings, which I expected. But what I didn't expect was the total downer! I felt like I was seriously down in the dumps. Depressed even. I remember at one point my mind was just racing with all the reasons that I was a horrible failure at life. I was just miserable. No other reason for it, except that my body was having sugar withdrawals. I was a bit shocked that just cutting out sugar could have that much of an effect on me.

 

Around day 4, I cut open a pear and ate a slice. It tasted AMAZING. I couldn't remember the last time that a piece of fruit had tasted that sweet! My taste buds were starting to re-adjust! It took about 5 or 6 days for the feelings of depression to subside. The cravings went away too. I have no problem now looking at cookies, cake, or ice cream and not eating any. I honestly don't have any desire for them anymore- and I had a huge sweet tooth before.

 

You'd think that experience with withdrawal would have been enough to convince me of the dangers and addictive powers of sugar. But it wasn't. I was still off of sugar, because of the weight loss contest and because I had also started the GAPS diet, but it still hadn't sunk in to me just how serious it was until I ate some sugar again.

 

My aunt and uncle were in town visiting, and at kindof the last minute, we had to leave the kids with them and go somewhere for a couple of hours. Normally I would have had food pre-prepared, but since it was a last minute thing, I showed my aunt where the ingredients were and explained how to make the dish- a simple chicken green curry stir fry. When we got home that night, I walked in the door and scooped myself out a bowl. I was about halfway through eating it when I remembered that since I have a food allergy, it would be a good idea to double check that she didn't add anything extra in there. When I asked, she admitted that she had added a little of the sugar that I had on hand. (Let me just interject here that this was a "natural" sugar! It wasn't even the super bad for you granulated white stuff.) Now again, I didn't think it was going to be a huge deal! I knew that sugar wasn't allowed on GAPS, but I didn't want to hurt my aunt's feelings, so I finished my bowl. I thought the sugar might set me back a little bit, but I didn't think it would matter much.

 

I was sooo wrong. Within about 15 minutes my heart started racing. I started feeling hot. My arms started feeling tingly. I felt like I needed to throw it all back up. Not only was my body affected, but my mind was as well. I felt like I needed to just curl up into a ball and cry, and yet at the same time, I wanted to go into a rage. I'm a little embarassed to admit it, but I yelled at both my husband and the kids. I couldn't hold it together!!! I was totally flabbergasted at the affect that just a little bit of sugar had on both my body and my mind. How could I have let myself eat this stuff every day, sometimes multiple times a day???

 

The next morning I woke up with diharreah. Fun stuff. I continued on with GAPS as well as I could, hoping to bounce back quickly. I avoided sugar for the day, but that next evening I wanted a snack, so I made myself a couple of celery stalks with almond butter and raisins on top. I ate half a celery stick, which had maybe 10-15 raisins on it, and I started to feel the symptoms coming on again. My heart started beating faster. My left arm started tingling. I was in tune enough to notice it before it got too bad, and I didn't even finish my snack. I was so frustrated- I had been tolerating fruit and honey just fine for weeks, and just one slip up with sugar had set back my gut healing process so much that I couldn't even tolerate a handful of raisins?!? No wonder my gut is so messed up when I've been throwing tons of sugar at it for so long!!!

 

That crazy experience only strengthened my resolve to stay on GAPS and continue to heal my gut, and to stay off sugar for the rest of my life. Nothing good can come of it! It really is addictive- some say it can be just as hard of a habit to break as cigarettes or even some drugs. That experience also lit a fire under me to get my kids off of sugar- I know that Hayden's addicted too, and that's my fault! I know it will be a crazy couple of days when I first pull her off of it, but the rewards for her long term health will be totally worth it. And by the way, after another day or so of gut healing, I'm now able to tolerate fruit and honey again just fine- thank goodness!

 

Have you ever cut out sugar? Ever thought about doing it? What's holding you back?