A New Study On The Impact of Sugar Exposure on Children

An important new study highlighted that you can decrease your kids’ lifetime risk of chronic disease by 1) limiting sugar during pregnancy and 2) limiting sugar before 2 years old.

Findings: Lower exposure to added sugar in utero and during the first 2 years of life was associated with a 35% reduction in type 2 diabetes risk, 20% reduction in hypertension and a 30% reduction in obesity risk in adulthood. This is so powerful!

For the last few years I’ve shared how I 1) kept my sugar intake very low during pregnancy 2) monitored my blood sugar with a continuous glucose monitor during certain parts of pregnancy and 3) how we are avoiding added sugar (and non-nutritive sweeteners like stevia and monk fruit) for my kids before 2 years old.

My Takeaways

• Moms who consume less sugar during pregnancy can pass on health benefits to offspring.
• Limiting added sugar before 2 had an even more profound effect on health outcomes later in life than limiting in utero which means what you feed kids between 0-2 makes a difference.
• Nutrition guidelines advise no added sugar from 0-2 years old, which has been shown to be beneficial in this study.
• Making blood sugar balancing recipes (like the ones we have in The Being Collective?) can set the stage for better health for you and your whole family. This is why I am so passionate about what we do. It’s not just about your health, but also the health of people around you.
• If you have not yet gotten pregnant, I would also add that there is immense value in focusing on this prior to pregnancy. The better blood sugar control you have before pregnancy, the better your blood sugar control will be during pregnancy when your hormones are working against you.
• It’s not easy to avoid added sugar from 0-2 but it’s definitely worth it. Honestly, the hard part isn’t that kids want candy at this age because they don’t know what they don’t know. They don’t even know to ask for it. The challenge is more so navigating social norms, eating when out if you didn’t pack enough food, packing enough food, wanting them to be involved in activities like baking Christmas cookies, and needing to find a separate option for them than everyone else, and dealing with the opinions of others who say “let the kid live a little” or “let kids be kids”.

What Has Worked Well for Us

• I pack Amara Smoothie Melts in Easter Baskets, Halloween Baskets, etc. for a fun “treat” and also pack them in our diaper bag at all times for a snack. I have no affiliation with the brand, but love them and what they stand for.
• Serenity Kids packs are our second snack staple when out of the house.  
• McKinley loves smoothies and green juices because she wants to drink what she sees us drinking. I usually make her a separate smoothie with just collagen in place of the flavored protein powders like we use for our smoothies from The Being Collective.
• Two ideas for a 1st birthday when you aren’t doing cake: 1) banana pancakes (banana, egg, almond flour) with mashed raspberries instead of cake (that’s what we did for McKinley) or 2) a watermelon smash instead of cake smash (that’s what Christina, one of my dietitians, did for her daughter, Lina).
• Make large amounts of egg muffins and spinach banana muffins that you can put in the freezer and then move to the fridge for on the go snacks or snacks at home. For holidays, buy muffin molds that are ghost or Christmas tree shaped that make it more festive.

Please Give Yourself Grace

If you did not do this as a mom, give yourself grace. All moms are doing the best they can with the information that they have at the time. Use this as empowering information to pass onto your friends, family and grandkids (one day!). Also, please don’t think I am perfect. McKinley is loving cheese quesadillas that I make with Siete Wraps and Grass-fed Cheese. When she doesn’t eat her dinner, there are plenty of times that I make her a quesadilla and call it a night!

If you are ready to feel stronger, healthier, and more consistent in the kitchen for yourself and your kids, join us for The Being Collective’s 28 Day Challenge. You’ll get 4 weeks of simple and anti-inflammatory meal plans with meal prep instructions, live group coaching calls with Brigid and our team of Registered Dietitians, a 4 week course with our most transformative frameworks and strategies to use food as medicine, 24/7 access to an exclusive support group, and more! Join our next round here.