I got some depressing news yesterday. I was catching up with an old friend of mine from high school and found out that her daughter, who is only 14 years old, was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes! My friend was crying when she told me. My friend's daughter is also very over-weight and not very physically active. The family is so busy they eat a lot of highly processed food from the frozen food section and stuff from a box and a can. They also grab food from those popular hot food bars. In addition to hearing the sad news about my friend's daughter, I also recently read a news story about a family who had two children, one age 11 and the other age 13, who were both diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Earlier this year, I wrote an article about why so many children are being diagnosed now with type 2 diabetes - and why the average age of onset is getting lower all the time. This article included several things that we as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, teachers, school administrators, school board members, politicians, PTA clubs, and other concerned adults can start doing immediately to improve the situation. This problem is so urgent that I sincerely believe we need to take immediate action. The copy of the article I wrote is below:
According to the CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention), approximately 2 million teenagers in the United States have pre-diabetes. Furthermore, the number of children who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing and the average age of onset is just as rapidly getting younger. Type 2 diabetes didn't exist at all until 1926 and it was completely unheard of in children until very recently - in fact, "type 2 diabetes" used to be called "adult onset diabetes" because it never showed up in children! These trends are ALARMING to say the very least!
Why are we experiencing this alarming trend?!?
Why do so many children have type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes and what can be done about it?
Children used to grow up eating wholesome healthy food. Eggs didn't come pre-packaged with hormones and they used to contain lots of healthy omega-3 because chickens ate grass and bugs. They were also allowed to move around and stretch their legs. Oats didn't come pre-cooked, defiberized, and laced with trans fat and high fructose corn syrup -- and they weren't designed to be nuked in the microwave destroying whatever nutrition might be left in them after all that processing. Oats and other grains were slow cooked and full of fiber and nutrients because they were not processed much. Dairy products were extremely healthy and nutritious without the hormones and antibiotics and before pasteurization, the proteins and probiotics in milk weren't destroyed. Cows still ate grass and weren't shot up with hormones and antibiotics - and beef still had flavor! Beef used to be an excellent source of omega-3 when cows still ate grass. Kids drank hormone-free milk with almost every meal, not soda pop and alleged "fruit juice" full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial chemical flavorings and colorings. Dinner did not come pre-packaged in a box loaded with trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and additives like MSG to make up for the loss of actual flavor.
No meal for a child included genetically modified, highly processed, dehydrated, and sometimes reconstituted "vegetables." Real vegetables with real nutrients and real fiber came straight from the garden or from nearby farms. Almost every family knew how and participated in the art of putting up fruits and vegetables for the winter - and they were still full of fiber, nutrients, and yes TASTE when they were opened in the winter.
School cafeterias offered real wholesome food as well! And... we didn't have large school districts like the Los Angeles school district fighting parents inspired by shows like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.
A typical after school snack was a piece of fruit, a peanut butter sandwich (WITHOUT the trans fat and/or high fructose corn syrup mixed in), or a few home made cookies made from scratch with wholesome ingredients and a glass of healthy hormone free antibody free pesticide free milk. I shudder when I really stop and think about what kids eat for after school snacks today!
Children used to be ACTIVE. They walked to school, walked to the movie theater, and walked to the store. They had more chores that included physical activity. They had LONG recess where they participated in physical activities like kickball, hop scotch, and jump rope. They ran around after school and played OUTSIDE where they got some sun on their skin to produce vitamin D. They screamed, they yelled, they jumped for joy, and breathed air that was far less polluted -- by the way, there's a connection between air pollution and diabetes.
In general, children used to be FAR LESS STRESSED. Kids did not worry about being shot by their classmates and they weren't pressured to do drugs right on the playground. Schedules were not quite so hectic. Kids didn't have to grow up so fast and worry about adult matters quite so soon. More kids had two parents for support, not just one, and in general, a lot more of the extended family were involved in their lives. Other adults in the neighborhood played a stronger role in helping the kids grow up as well.
Given all the facts above, it shouldn't be any big mystery why so many kids are developing diabetes! It is most certainly related to the enormous changes in diet, the dramatic decrease in physical activity, and the elevated chronic stress levels that kids grow up with now.
Now what can we do about it? First, we need to engage the media in getting the truth out about trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified foods (GMO's), food additives like MSG, all the reasons for the low quality dairy products, all the reasons for low quality meat products, the dangers of modern massive-scale profit-driven food processing, etc, etc... Let's try to save our children and our children's children from the current alarming diabetes and obesity epidemic before us. We need to start speaking out about it more. We need to show up at school board meetings and demand better quality food in our children's school cafeterias. We need to tell politicians that we expect them to make laws and revise laws that better our kids - like keeping GMO's out of school cafeterias and prominently disclosed on food labels and on hot food bars when GMO, trans fat, etc ingredients are used. Would you take home food from the hot bar if the food was prominently labeled that it contained trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and GMOs?
Second, we need to DRAMATICALLY change the diet of our children. Eliminating all trans fat and high fructose corn syrup is a good step in the right direction. These are poisons that CAUSE diabetes. Eating organic eliminates genetically modified organisms. Stop buying processed food and put some REAL food on the table!!! Yes, organic food is more costly but if you eliminate the processed foods, this more than makes up for the cost differential. Teach our children better eating habits. Boycott school lunches until they eliminate the processed food, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified orgasms, etc.... Spend time with the kids and grow a garden featuring a diversity of healthy fresh veggies. Teach them how to put up food for the winter. If you don't know how, take a class with your kids about how to do it. Make it fun.
Third, we need to be a LOUD voice for bringing back recess and physical activity to our children's lives. Maybe this should be legislatively mandated. Get the PTA's and other parent organizations involved. Speak out at local public meetings. Educate your neighbors, friends, and family. Our kids are developing type diabetes at age 11, 13, 14 for pete's sake! We really need to INSIST on getting back fun physical activity into our kid's life. Also, get active with your kids. Take a walk, play sports, go whale watching, etc.
Fourth, find ways to eliminate stress from our children's lives and help them learn how to cope better with stress. Try to create an peaceful supportive environment where they get more sleep and remain less stressed overall.
The information I link to at the top of the page (big red button) provides EXCELLENT step by step instructions on how to PREVENT diabetes and/or reverse pre-diabetes/diabetes if you and/or your kids have it. Watch the video all the way through and then take a look at their detailed information.
Earlier this year, I wrote an article about why so many children are being diagnosed now with type 2 diabetes - and why the average age of onset is getting lower all the time. This article included several things that we as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, teachers, school administrators, school board members, politicians, PTA clubs, and other concerned adults can start doing immediately to improve the situation. This problem is so urgent that I sincerely believe we need to take immediate action. The copy of the article I wrote is below:
According to the CDC (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention), approximately 2 million teenagers in the United States have pre-diabetes. Furthermore, the number of children who are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes is rapidly increasing and the average age of onset is just as rapidly getting younger. Type 2 diabetes didn't exist at all until 1926 and it was completely unheard of in children until very recently - in fact, "type 2 diabetes" used to be called "adult onset diabetes" because it never showed up in children! These trends are ALARMING to say the very least!
Why are we experiencing this alarming trend?!?
Why do so many children have type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes and what can be done about it?
Children used to grow up eating wholesome healthy food. Eggs didn't come pre-packaged with hormones and they used to contain lots of healthy omega-3 because chickens ate grass and bugs. They were also allowed to move around and stretch their legs. Oats didn't come pre-cooked, defiberized, and laced with trans fat and high fructose corn syrup -- and they weren't designed to be nuked in the microwave destroying whatever nutrition might be left in them after all that processing. Oats and other grains were slow cooked and full of fiber and nutrients because they were not processed much. Dairy products were extremely healthy and nutritious without the hormones and antibiotics and before pasteurization, the proteins and probiotics in milk weren't destroyed. Cows still ate grass and weren't shot up with hormones and antibiotics - and beef still had flavor! Beef used to be an excellent source of omega-3 when cows still ate grass. Kids drank hormone-free milk with almost every meal, not soda pop and alleged "fruit juice" full of high fructose corn syrup and artificial chemical flavorings and colorings. Dinner did not come pre-packaged in a box loaded with trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and additives like MSG to make up for the loss of actual flavor.
No meal for a child included genetically modified, highly processed, dehydrated, and sometimes reconstituted "vegetables." Real vegetables with real nutrients and real fiber came straight from the garden or from nearby farms. Almost every family knew how and participated in the art of putting up fruits and vegetables for the winter - and they were still full of fiber, nutrients, and yes TASTE when they were opened in the winter.
School cafeterias offered real wholesome food as well! And... we didn't have large school districts like the Los Angeles school district fighting parents inspired by shows like Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution.
A typical after school snack was a piece of fruit, a peanut butter sandwich (WITHOUT the trans fat and/or high fructose corn syrup mixed in), or a few home made cookies made from scratch with wholesome ingredients and a glass of healthy hormone free antibody free pesticide free milk. I shudder when I really stop and think about what kids eat for after school snacks today!
Children used to be ACTIVE. They walked to school, walked to the movie theater, and walked to the store. They had more chores that included physical activity. They had LONG recess where they participated in physical activities like kickball, hop scotch, and jump rope. They ran around after school and played OUTSIDE where they got some sun on their skin to produce vitamin D. They screamed, they yelled, they jumped for joy, and breathed air that was far less polluted -- by the way, there's a connection between air pollution and diabetes.
In general, children used to be FAR LESS STRESSED. Kids did not worry about being shot by their classmates and they weren't pressured to do drugs right on the playground. Schedules were not quite so hectic. Kids didn't have to grow up so fast and worry about adult matters quite so soon. More kids had two parents for support, not just one, and in general, a lot more of the extended family were involved in their lives. Other adults in the neighborhood played a stronger role in helping the kids grow up as well.
Given all the facts above, it shouldn't be any big mystery why so many kids are developing diabetes! It is most certainly related to the enormous changes in diet, the dramatic decrease in physical activity, and the elevated chronic stress levels that kids grow up with now.
Now what can we do about it? First, we need to engage the media in getting the truth out about trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified foods (GMO's), food additives like MSG, all the reasons for the low quality dairy products, all the reasons for low quality meat products, the dangers of modern massive-scale profit-driven food processing, etc, etc... Let's try to save our children and our children's children from the current alarming diabetes and obesity epidemic before us. We need to start speaking out about it more. We need to show up at school board meetings and demand better quality food in our children's school cafeterias. We need to tell politicians that we expect them to make laws and revise laws that better our kids - like keeping GMO's out of school cafeterias and prominently disclosed on food labels and on hot food bars when GMO, trans fat, etc ingredients are used. Would you take home food from the hot bar if the food was prominently labeled that it contained trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, and GMOs?
Second, we need to DRAMATICALLY change the diet of our children. Eliminating all trans fat and high fructose corn syrup is a good step in the right direction. These are poisons that CAUSE diabetes. Eating organic eliminates genetically modified organisms. Stop buying processed food and put some REAL food on the table!!! Yes, organic food is more costly but if you eliminate the processed foods, this more than makes up for the cost differential. Teach our children better eating habits. Boycott school lunches until they eliminate the processed food, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, genetically modified orgasms, etc.... Spend time with the kids and grow a garden featuring a diversity of healthy fresh veggies. Teach them how to put up food for the winter. If you don't know how, take a class with your kids about how to do it. Make it fun.
Third, we need to be a LOUD voice for bringing back recess and physical activity to our children's lives. Maybe this should be legislatively mandated. Get the PTA's and other parent organizations involved. Speak out at local public meetings. Educate your neighbors, friends, and family. Our kids are developing type diabetes at age 11, 13, 14 for pete's sake! We really need to INSIST on getting back fun physical activity into our kid's life. Also, get active with your kids. Take a walk, play sports, go whale watching, etc.
Fourth, find ways to eliminate stress from our children's lives and help them learn how to cope better with stress. Try to create an peaceful supportive environment where they get more sleep and remain less stressed overall.
The information I link to at the top of the page (big red button) provides EXCELLENT step by step instructions on how to PREVENT diabetes and/or reverse pre-diabetes/diabetes if you and/or your kids have it. Watch the video all the way through and then take a look at their detailed information.
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