Inch by Inch
The title of this blog was inspired by an American Folk song - The Garden Song - written by David Mallet in the mid 1970's. I share the first 2 stanzas with you here:
Inch by inch, row by row Gonna make this garden grow All it takes is a rake and a hoe And a piece of fertile ground Inch by inch, row by row Someone bless these seeds I sow Someone warm them from below
Till the rain comes tumblin down
Anyone interested in the song in its entirety can go here.
I am about to write things of which you may already be aware; they may also be things you don't particularly want to hear. Yet, I feel driven to state my truth - to plant some seeds. Maybe your hearts are the 'fertile ground' referred to in the song. I certainly hope so.
So here goes: The subject is sugar. Yes. Sugar.
And particularly, it's about sugar consumption in children and what I feel is the responsibility of all adults who have anything to do with children.
I go to shul (synagogue) on Shabbos (Sabbath) mornings. During my 2 hour stay, I am witness to sights that literally turn my stomach... those being, the influx of children of all ages - ALL ages (as in - as young as a year old). They come in singularly and in groups. They appear to know exactly where to go. They are gone from my sight for but a few seconds and reemerge smiling with a lolly-pop or taffy in hand. Older siblings lovingly and painstakingly unwrap baby brother's candy as they make their way out of the shul.
In my day, our shul also had a candy man. It can hardly be called a shul if there isn't at least one candy man! My husband remembers the risk involved with approaching the candy man in his shul. The candy was only doled out to those kids willing to get their cheeks pinched - a meager price to pay for the sweet stuff that dental bills are made of.
Today we are a bit smarter. Science has shown us that dental carries are just the beginning of the deleterious affects of sugar on the human body.
According to a 2013 study, the U.S. national addiction to sugar runs the nation $1 trillion in healthcare costs each year. We're talking about health conditions like cancer, heart disease, type II diabetes and obesity. We're talking high blood pressure, fatty liver disease, impaired brain function, impaired immune function, mineral imbalance, osteoporosis, and more.
This is not the place to delve into the science behind these claims so I want to direct anyone interested to this article which comes replete with end notes.
Growing up in the 1960's, I was no different than most kids in terms of sugary breakfast cereals, Hershey Bars, Yankee Doodles, Devil Dogs and U-Bet chocolate syrup. As a scrawny 16 year old, my brainchild of a diet idea to gain weight was to add 3 servings of ice cream to my daily calorie intake! It worked! A year later I was 10 lbs heavier. As a college student, my diet consisted mainly of potato chips, cottage cheese and chocolate --- lots of chocolate!
As a breastfeeding mother, I would satisfy my sweet-tooth by consuming 10 to 14 dates in one sitting. As a member of Wt. Watchers in middle age, I always included chocolate in my daily point allowance. Yes, friends, I am not oblivious to the tantalizing tastes of pastries, chocolate, bread and pasta - all of which wreak havoc on all the systems mentioned at the top of this blog post.
When I realized 2 1/2 years ago, that I was dealing with cancer, the first thing I did was drop all sugars and simple carbohydrates from my diet. But why wait for something God forbid dreadful to happen?
And why train our kids' brains and taste buds to 'need' sugar? Today, we KNOW where that will most probably lead.
This is the seed I wish to plant here today: It's time to be conscious of how much, how often, and when we are enabling future health issues in our children. It's time to take note of hidden sugars on the packaging of the products we buy. Rationalizing away children's excess sugar consumption for which we, ourselves, are responsible, will not make the problem disappear. We are simply setting our kids up for the adult maladies we see around us today - not to mention the rise in juvenile diabetes and childhood obesity.
It breaks my heart to see these kids walking around at 9 AM on shabbos morning with melted chocolate all over their faces.
At age 2 and 3, it's a treat. At age 12 and 13 it is a NEED. At age 20 and 30 it's more than habit. At age 40 or 50 it can already be deadly. Think about it. That's all I ask. Water these seeds with a little honest thought. We can each make even the smallest of changes in our own garden.
Inch by inch, row by row,
As for me ...
Inch by inch, row by row Someone bless these seeds I sow
To Your Garden of Health,
MashaFaygel
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.