It’s somewhere around 8:00 at night, we get home from taking our kids trick-or-treating around town. After going through and inspecting all their candy, we let them each pick out one piece to enjoy before getting ready and settle down for bed. They had also had a few pieces earlier in the evening.
Instead of settling in for a quiet family movie night, we had wild and crazy, somewhat delusional children. They were obviously feeling the effects of the sugar rush. We patiently let them run their energy off before attempting to put them to bed, and it ended up being quite a late night before they finally settled down and crashed.
Is this to be the norm for the next several months as we go through the upcoming holiday season of candy, treats, and desserts? Because on top of the hyperness, my son, who is almost 4, turns into an alter ego that is defiant and antagonizing when he gets too much sugar. His usual sweet hearted self goes somewhere else.
So what’s a mom to do besides deprive her children of the fun festivities and sweet treats, or worse, tolerate the crazy and sometimes naughty behavior for the entire winter putting her sanity at risk? Fight back with these savvy tips!
First off, moderation is key. However, even just one piece of candy will yield noticeable personality changes in my son. So, right or wrong, here’s what I do to maintain sanity and support the health in my family.
1. The kids are only allowed to have a treat after eating healthy food first. My hopes are to mix the refined sugar with good fiber and protein to slow down the rate of absorption of the refined sugar entering the bloodstream so there is not a flood of energy hitting the blood and brain all at once. Plus, if I let them have candy between meals, they tend to not want to eat the good food during mealtime. I’m sure you can relate.
2. Ningxia Red™ juice is a staple in our home anyway, but when there is candy or other sweet treats in the house, I make sure the kids (and myself) get EXTRA Ningxia Red™ to help support normal blood sugar levels and give us the cell protection and immune support of the high antioxidant contents of the drink. Plus, I notice when they drink the Ningxia Red™, they aren’t as crazy and demanding for the candy. It seems to curb the cravings.
Now, if you are familiar with Ningxia Red™, you may be confused as to why I would give it to my kids to control their energy, as Ningxia Red™ itself is energizing. But there’s a difference between nutritional energy and sugar or caffeine stimulant energy. The nutritional energy that comes from Ningxia Red™ doesn’t create the spike-and-crash effect. It doesn’t create hyperactivity and craziness that can cause emotional overwhelms, meltdowns, and naughtiness in kids that sugar does. It is a healthy, feel-good energy that seems to be better understood and tolerated by my kids. My daughter who is almost 2 can drink an 8oz bottle of water with 1 oz of Ningxia Red™ in it to fall asleep for her nap or bedtime and have no troubles sleeping. It’s balanced nutrition. Not a stimulant. Since I mix it with water, it also contributes to their water intake for the day, whereas if I were to give them sugary juice from the store, it would take away from their water intake, causing dehydration and add to the sugar rush. Plus, sugar is inflammatory. Ningxia Red's powerful antioxidants help flush inflammation from the body. Low-level inflammation is what leaves us feeling old before our time.
3. MightyVites™ Chewables are another part of our daily routine, but when there is candy in the house, it can save me a lot of hassle in arguing. As I mentioned in #1, I limit their candy intake to being a dessert after good food. But when they see their buckets on the counter, they want something out of it. So instead of always having to tell them “no”, I can sometimes give them a MightyVite™ instead. They’re happy because MightyVites™ taste so good the kids think they’re candy. I’m happy because they are getting a super healthy multivitamin that contains no dyes, refined sugar, or artificial sweeteners, and gives them the nutritional equivalent of eating WAY more fruits and vegetables than I’ll ever get them to eat in a month let alone a day. MightyVites™ also contains NO synthetic vitamins, no fillers, and no aspartame like the store brands do. They are made with real, whole-food ingredients that come with the same Seed-to-Seal® promise of quality and purity that Young Living’s essential oils do. What this means for me as a mom is peace of mind in knowing my kids are actually absorbing and utilizing the nutrition that is in their multivitamin and I’m not just wasting my money on the commercial multivitamin concept that get flushed down the toilet.
4. Life 9™ and The Red Drink: The extra sugar consumption can leave the immune system compromised and also cause upset tummies and yeast overgrowth. A good probiotic can promote healthy gut flora, which will support these issues. Life 9™ comes in a capsule. It is easy enough for me to take a capsule before bed, but my kids are too small to swallow capsules. So here’s what I do for them; I have a cocktail in my fridge we call “red drink”. We drink this instead of sugar laden juices and soft drinks. I take 1 capsule of Life9™ and break it open, then sprinkle it into 2 cups of red drink, splitting it equally between the 2 kids. I keep the juice amount small to ensure the kids drink it all right away. Now, this isn’t the most effective way to take Life9™, as you will have more die-off rate, but it will work well enough for those who cannot swallow capsules. With the 17 billion live active cultures and 9 Super strains Young Living uses, there will be less die-off than store brands which are mostly dead-on-arrival anyway.
What is this red drink?
I take an empty Ningxia Red™ bottle (25 oz). I add 2-4 oz of Ningxia Red™ juice, 3-4 drops of Lime Vitality™ essential oil, 2 tsp of Sulfurzyme™ POWDER, then top the bottle off with water. We drink this all throughout our day. It has the Ningxia Red™ juice we need for the reasons explained above and the added benefits and flavor of the Lime Vitality™ essential oil, but the real secret is in the Sulfurzyme™ Powder. The Sulfurzyme™ powder contains nutritional sulfur in the form of MSM, which supports a whole boat load of necessary bodily functions that are crucial to our health, but I explain all that HERE because there’s a lot to it. Sulfurzyme™ Powder also contains Ningxia Wolfberry powder for the same antioxidant support that the Ningxia Red™ juice offers, so even more immune support, blood sugar balance, and antioxidant protection. The Sulfurzyme™ in powder form also has PREbiotics which are natural essential sugars that feed the probiotic or healthy gut flora. So refined sugar found in candy and sweets feeds BAD bacteria and yeast. Unrefined sugars found in nature feed the GOOD bacteria, promoting healthy energy levels, strong immune systems, and happy tummies. That sounds like a win to this mom!
5. KidScents™ Toothpaste is an all-natural toothpaste to promote healthy oral hygiene. Don’t let all the candy rot your kids’ teeth! We try to brush our teeth after we eat candy, but it is a non-negotiable before bedtime and in the mornings. Why KidScents toothpaste from Young Living? Why not a toothpaste that comes recommended by most dentists? Well, read your labels to answer that question. As a mom, I’m not impressed with seeing warning labels that say, “call poison control if more than a pea-sized amount is ingested” on a product my 2 and 4 year old children are essentially eating off their tooth brushes. It is just astonishing to me that this is even considered okay. I prefer for my toothpaste to be effective at keeping our mouths healthy and clean, but not at the expense of other areas of our health. Young Living offers effective products without the compromise. I don’t have to keep my toothpastes locked away out of my kids’ reach for fear of them eating the whole tube. I don’t have to worry about them swallowing it. The reality of it is, even if the toothpaste doesn’t get swallowed, anything that goes in the mouth gets directly absorbed into the bloodstream, so they don’t have to even eat it to get the dangerous effects of the poisons that are in store brand toothpastes. It’s just not worth it when there is such a simple solution right at our fingertips. And my kids love the flavor, so I don’t have to fight with them to get them to brush. Another win.
6. If tummy troubles do occur despite my best efforts, Young Living offers several natural, risk-free options. My first go-to is always an essential oil blend called, DiGize™. It doesn’t smell the best unless you like black licorice, but it works on my family every time. I have it diluted in a roller for easy application. I just rub it on the tummy starting on the lower right side, massage in clockwise circles moving up, across, and down, ending in the lower left quadrant. You are actually following the ascending colon, transverse colon, then descending colon. Or, I hand the roller of oil to my kiddo and say have at it, allowing them to smear the oil everywhere and be empowered and in control of their own health with no worries. Other oily options to sooth a sugar tummy can be used in the same fashion include: Aroma Ease, which smells more spearminty and the KidScents® TummyGize™ which comes prediluted and ready to use for children. There are other options, but these are my favorites.
7. And the last tool in my box is outside time. Yes, SEND THEM OUTSIDE! Let them be kids and burn off that energy the way they were meant to. Kids’ physical and mental development depends on their ability to move. We have the luxury of living on a farm where they have lots of room to run and play carefree. But you can always take them to a park or go for a walk or bike ride, or just play catch with them. Kids are designed to move, and nothing beats fresh air for tuckering out an overactive kiddo.
I hope this gives you some ways to regain control of your kiddos and keep them healthy during these upcoming holiday months. But please keep in mind, moderation is really the key. Our body takes a huge hit from the sugars and dyes that are in candy. So be kind to it by giving it the tools it needs to fight back.
Be Well,
Jackie
BTW - For more tips to keep your family healthy by nature, join my community of other families living the savvy life HERE.
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