Sugar and balance

If you don't believe Running Gal (which is totally understandable, I am just a gal that runs!), do a google search on sugar. It's more harsh on the stuff than I am being here!

I often hear people talk of "balance" in this area...and I must admit, Nazi-Caffeine Husband and I struggle with what many people call balance in this area. We live in this world, but must we be of it? Because our American culture is constantly pushing sugar on our kids, when we try to take a stand, we tend to get called radical or Health Freaks.

I cowered under that at first. I'd go home and feel hurt and think maybe I should run to my kids bedrooms, and give them each lollipops. (That they were sleeping didn't matter - I was coming in to right my wrong...)

But, after a few years of personal agony over this, I have decided I will embrace being called "unbalanced", a "health Freak" or "radical" (Jesus loved many of those words!) as I also embrace my own children that sit in classrooms full of strep throat, coughs, and runny noses and they rarely contract a thing. I will embrace weekend after weekend skiing, and day after day of running, and sending my teacher husband who should be sick all the time like his cohorts are off on weekly bike rides, mountain climbs, and snowboarding.

If that's what radical looks like - if that's what unbalanced looks like - than I happily embrace it.

But, Running Gal, someday your kids will rebel.

• Don't we all? I left my healthy eating childhood behind for some years in my 20s and paid for it during the first couple years of my 30s. It sent me right back to my roots.
  

Just like our relationship with Christ it can't be our parent's religion, it has to, at some point, become our own. Teaching our kids what healthy eating really is is giving them a foundation for life and a super healthy start. My son, whose 8, has never been on antibiotics and missed his first day of school on Friday (2 years of preschool, k-garten, and 1st grade - not one sick day!).

We love how we feel, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. It's simple, but yet so hard, as we are forced to go against the flow. And the marketing campaigns pushing us that "balance" means letting our kids consume bucket loads of their corn syrup and sugar is working. Sugar has made it's way into all our homes, yet for thousands of years, humans did not eat it. Now, it's unbalanced if you don't. ???

When we resolved to stop eating this stuff, we literally dumped all of it into the garbage can. It forced us to figure out creative ways (like raw honey, dates, and agave nectar) to get that sweet tooth fix! We use raw dehydrated cane juice on occasion to make a few things like cobblers, muffins, or cookies...but it's extremely occasional!

Come back in a few days for a list of over 76 things sugar does to our bods. Some of it is in the short time and some of the effects are in the long run.

Happy eating! Be well!! And if you are brave, go dump your sugar in the trash! :)