Sugar is in many of the foods we eat, even the all-natural ones. Since everyone doesn’t eat a lot of it, why are so many children addicted to it?

Sugar is a natural sweetener found in nature. Pure cane sugar has a sweet taste, but is not as sweet as table sugar. The refining process increases the sweetness.

There are also many different forms of sugar in use in food production today. Any label ingredient that ends in “-ose,” or “-ase” can be a form of sugar.

The Effects of Sugar

The body uses sugars as a way of gauging insulin production. Steady blood sugar stops cravings. There are sugars in breads and other carbohydrate foods that level off insulin production.

Simple sugars, such as those in candy bars, sweetened cereals, cookies and other refined processed foods can spike the blood sugar. When it spikes, too much insulin is released into the bloodstream. You get a burst of energy but it can’t be sustained.

The blood sugar drops and you get very tired. To replenish the sugar stores, more sugar is needed. Often we reach for what is readily available, such as another sweet snack.

The Effect of Sugar on Children

You can tell if your child is addicted to sugar if they will eat nothing but sweets. If they don’t get a sweet treat, they will throw a tantrum or cry. These can be signs of sugar withdrawal. Just like anything else that can become an addiction, the body goes through a process when it is absent.

There is an important point to understand: a child reacts differently to sugar than an adult. This all has to do with the amount of sugar they are eating. A toddler may be able to eat solid food, but their portions are smaller than an adult.

We often don’t take this in account. For an adult, drinking a soda can make you more alert due to the sugar and caffeine. For a child, that same level of sugar in their body would be the equivalent of an adult drinking six sodas. The overload can lead to hyperactivity, which is what parents describe as kids going crazy after sweets.

Consider the long-term effects of even one soda a day; for example, it can lead to an addiction of sweets. Going cold turkey with your child can lead to the behavior that makes up withdrawal symptoms.

One solution can be to substitute processed sugar with natural sugars in fruits and vegetables. There is also a sweet taste to carrots, berries, bananas and many citrus fruits. Starting a child on them now can increase their love of nutritious foods and help to stop the sugar addiction.

Eating disorders are still a major problem among teenagers and young adults.  When a family member is diagnosed with the disorder, the road to acceptance and recovery can be long.  Here are eight tips for helping them and the rest of your family to get through it.

Teenagers usually don’t communicate everything to their parents.  It is the nature of being young.  To bridge that gap it is up to parents to keep the lines open and spend quality time with their children.  That is one way to catch eating disorders before they get out of control.

1. Acceptance. A parent’s first reaction is that their child is sick because of something that they did or didn’t do.  That leads to denial of the real problem behind the eating disorder.  Without any reservations, believe what the doctor says and admit that your child, parent, sibling or spouse has an eating disorder.

2. Be willing to discuss their feelings. You may be thinking about how this is affecting you but the person with the eating disorder is the primary concern.  Listen to what they have to say even if it is negative.  If you need to, use a mediator such as a psychiatrist.

3. Don’t play the blame game. The last thing that your family member needs to hear is you arguing with other family members about who is responsible for this situation.  Eating disorders go far beyond simply eating or not eating.  There are other emotional issues that tie into it.  Sometimes, placing blame only drives the family member further into themselves and away from you.

4. Take advice from the professionals. They have dealt with eating disorders longer than you have.  Follow their recommendations for helping your family member to heal and get on the road to recovery.

5. Show them affection. There will be time for talk in therapy sessions.  Show that you care with hugs, kisses and a helping hand.  Give them room to move while they are recovering.

6. Remove junk food and comfort foods from the house. These are foods that they have previously binged on or are tempting to them.  Institute better eating habits for the entire family so your family member doesn’t feel singled out at meals.

7. Recognize that there will be tough roads ahead – Just like with alcoholism or drug abuse, the affected person won’t always want to get well.  And, they can relapse.

8. Learn to socialize without food. Spend time together as a family where food is not the focus.  Go to a movie, get a pedicure or simply take a walk in the park.

Eating disorders are hard on everyone but especially the person with it.  Learn to support them in every way that you can.