The Increase of Chronic Diseases in Children

Picture this: a child arrives at school just as the sun is coming up, having less than optimum number of hours of sleep the night before. They walk into the school cafeteria dragging both their bookbag and butt behind. They get in line to make some of their favorite first choices for the day – what to choose for breakfast. Feeling like they have hit pay dirt once again, their addictive pathways in the brain start kicking into high gear fully waking up to the day, eyes like a kid in a candy store, memories of their trip to Disneyland earlier in the summer, they face their many choices – so many to choose from! This Monday morning do they have:

  • Sausage Biscuit – 3 grams of sugar
  • Mini Pancakes – 11 grams of sugar
  • Chocolate Chip Muffin – 15 grams of sugar
  • Lucky Charms Cereal – 10 grams of sugar
  • Blueberry Pop Tarts – 30 grams of sugar
  • Giant Gold Fish Graham – 7 grams of sugar
  • Strawberry Applesauce Cup – 11 grams of sugar
  • Rich Raisins – 23 grams of sugar
  • Craisins – 29 grams of sugar
  • 100% Grape Juice – 20 grams of sugar

(NOTE: This is a real menu from my county’s school breakfast menu. Every single one of these items is nothing but sugar except for the sausage, and even then, the meat probably has some kind of sugar added to it).

And then… time to bounce off the walls for at least first period and onto second period in time to crash and burn. Oops, a test! “Oh no, I’m not ready” their brain is conveying, and into anxiety mode they go. When the test is handed back the next day with a big fat “F” they then drop into feelings of failure and unworthy, even depressed with perhaps a little fear thrown in when mom sees the results. And the vicious cycle repeats itself day after day. Sooner than later, the teacher calls a meeting with the parent (most likely singular) and suggests his or her child acts up in class and falls asleep, and they very well could have ADD/ADHD and it would be best for the child if they were put on a mood-altering medication so they can concentrate better and not disrupt the other children as well. And out the door the next drug addict goes.And then all kinds of scenarios can play out over the ensuing years to come, none of them pretty.

Now this might sound exaggerated or extreme to you, and perhaps at times it is. Maybe not in how each of these pieces plays out, but in reality, it’s not as far from the truth as you’d like to believe, and it closely happens more often than not.

I always say when we are looking at health wholistically – mental, emotional, physical and spiritual, that it’s not usually one thing that causes something, and it’s not usually just one thing that fixes a problem. So, for me to say that this child’s diet in this scenario was the sole or even root cause of the entire problem would not be fair. But, diet does play a huge role in all of our lives, good or bad, young and old alike. (make this a pull quote)And it is in our control.

This is the 8th in a series of blogs on the “Reality of our Food and the Demise of our Health.”
I will give the disclaimer now that I don’t have children or grandchildren, so I am one step removed from personal experience. However, I view the concerns of the health of our children from not only a practitioner’s lens, but also from the viewpoint of a conservative leader in wholistic health and, well, just plain common sense. So that is the place I will be sharing from today.

But before we continue, let’s review the definition of food, as that is the specific theme we will continue to pursue as we address children’s health this week.

Definition of Food

Food: substance consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, fat, and other nutrients used in the body of an organism to sustain growth and vital processes and to furnish energy. The absorption and utilization of food by the body is fundamental to nutrition and is facilitated by digestion. (Britannica)

Food: material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy (Merriam Webster).

Function and purpose of food: …to sustain growth, repair and vital processes and to furnish energy.

Definition of Chronic Disease

And as is the case with almost all of my references to sickness and disease, I’m talking about chronic and degenerative diseases – the ones that truly can be overcome using natural approaches – for both adults and children, in fact, especially children. So, let’s take a look at the definition of chronic disease as defined by the World Health Organization.

Chronic Disease: “Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), also known as chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral factors.”

And just for clarity, I would like to share what I mean by the difference between acute and chronic. Acute is basically a sudden onset, typically a communicable condition – i.e. contagious, and will resolve itself, or with the help of a short-term medication regiment.

Chronic on the other hand, develops over time, and lasts ongoing, perhaps a lifetime, or indefinitely unless wholistic intervention takes place.The last part of this definition is key. It’s this part of my definition of chronic, that you will not find in mainstream internet searches and sources. But the completeness of this definition will make all the difference in the world if adopted. Keep this in mind as we move forward today.

The Wholistic Viewpoint

It should be no secret by now that our society as a whole are becoming increasingly chronically ill. And 80% or greater of these diseases are due to diet and lifestyle choices. Another words, they are due to our very own choices we have been making over years. But the good news is, if they are due to our poor choices, they can be reversed due to our positive choices. But this is the part we are not told.

Instead, we are led to believe that all of this is beyond our control. However, the infamous tongue in cheek phrase “we’re from the government and we are here to help” is still bought, hook, line and sinker. To summarize what I found as I did research for this blog in regard to children’s health, is that there is a whole lot of talk and no action – at least any action of significance that results in reversal of the problem. A lot of policies here, and data collection there, and of course discrimination and lack of equity is always at the root from their viewpoint. Another words, it’s someone else’s fault and with more money the powers that be can fix it all. When we sit back and passively allow this approach to take place, nothing happens.

I’d like to take a look first at some statistics, then two primary areas where children are receiving their meals from – school and home, and then I would like to share some common sense solutions you can take to not have your children or grandchildren be part of these statistics and trends.

Let’s look at some of those statistics first.

Some Children’s Health Statistics

Let’s start with some facts. The following statistics are from the Children’s Health Defense website:

  • 4 in 10 (40%) – Teens suffer from Depression
  • 1 in 5 (20%) – Children suffer from Obesity
  • 1 in 5 (20%) – Teens have seriously considered suicide
  • 1 in 6 (16+%) – Children between ages 2-8 suffer from a developmental disorder
  • 1 in 10 (10%) – Children suffer from anxiety
  • 1 in 10 (10%) – Children suffer from ADHD
  • 1 in 12 (8%) – Children have asthma
  • 1 in 13 (7%) – Children have food allergies
  • 1 in 36 (3%) – Children have autism
  • 1 in 285 (0.35%) – Children have been diagnosed with cancer by the age of 20

A quick review of these statistics on the website has two viewpoints for each statistic – the CDC’s viewpoint, and what the website refers to as their viewpoint called “Defender Articles.” I found it interesting that the CDC didn’t mention food at all for any of them except obesity – after making approximately 5-6 clicks deep into their website. And then it was talking primarily about ideas for government-provided fruits and vegetable vouchers. Keep in mind they were only ideas of what they could do i.e. “policies,” not what the root cause of the obesity problem is – except when it comes to discriminatory observations. But throwing more money at a broken system is not the solution.

Some of these statistics on the surface address more mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and suicide. For the sake of the length of this blog, I will address the five physical health challenges collectively – obesity, ADHD, asthma, food allergies and cancer. But suffice it to say, a connection can be made between toxic chemicals whether in our food or food-like substances, vaccines or water; and the detrimental impact to every one of these health challenges listed here.

The Problem

My proverbial question, any time someone is asking for my help to come up with a solution to a problem, no matter how small or large the challenge, is first: what’s the objective? What are we aiming for or the desired outcome.

In the case of health, and children’s health in particular today, if you were to look closely at the above referenced website and these statistics in particular, the desired outcome of the CDC seems to be to set up a slew of policies, and create research studies, and measure statistics around healthy eating and exercise, but nothing of real substance was listed. They seem to mean well, even trying to alter behaviors, but the root cause doesn’t seem to be addressed: The foods children are actually presented with, and consuming.

To their credit they do state that added sugars are a problem (no concern about “natural sugar” already there), but they go on to say that the total calorie intake of added sugars should be no more than 10% of total calories needed to sustain healthy weight. This is on top of natural sugars consumed i.e. fruits, carbohydrates etc. My question here would be, why allow any added sugars at all if you are trying to prevent childhood obesity, or type 2 diabetes for that matter, since these are a major contributor to both health issues? And just because a sugar isn’t an “added sugar” doesn’t mean it still doesn’t pose a huge health risk.

And a conflict I see here is one arm of the federal government (the CDC in this case) is suggesting minimizing added sugars, and yet the USDA, another arm of our federal government, allows the majority of school breakfast and lunch foods served in school cafeterias to be nothing but sugar? Just take a look at the daily sample menu at the beginning of this blog and tell me I am wrong. Sounds like our tax dollars are being spent to cancel each other out at the cost of our children’s health.

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A Common Denominator of Chronic Childhood Diseases

There can be all kinds of policies and programs discussed and written down by the CDC or USDA, school health associations etc., but I believe this is simply more justification and requirements for funding than for true outcomes – because the problem is getting worse, not better. Also, because the root cause is not being addressed. One of the major root causes for most, if not all of these chronic childhood diseases listed above is diet. Just as it has been in all of the other areas, we have been talking about in each of the blogs over the past few months.

Let’s take an honest look at two primary areas where children are consuming their meals: school and home – or more specifically as provided for them by the adult caregiver whoever that might be – parents, grandparents, guardian, teacher/schools etc. Whether those meals are served at home or eaten out.

School Meals

In my recent blog “Are We Sending the Underprivileged to an Earlier Grave?” I address the meals, under the guise of “food” that are being served to our children, every day, twice a day for nine out of twelve months of the year, in our public school systems. And as you can see from the beginning of this blog, I hope you would agree, it is horrifying.

If it’s been awhile since you’ve paid attention to what the children are being served in our public school cafeterias these days, here is a LINK to one our elementary schools in my county. I’m sure yours is something similar. As a side note, don’t be deceived into believing if a food item or meal says “0” sugars – or even low sugar — that it doesn’t have sugar and therefore is not a concern. Just as important of a number to pay attention to are the carbohydrates – these too turn to sugar in a person’s body if they are not quickly burned up, primarily through movement and activity.

These menus read like any menu in an unhealthy restaurant or better yet a county fair or amusement park. And one of the reasons I say this is, they have multiple unhealthy choices to choose from, just like one would at a restaurant.And to top it off the adult is giving the child free rein as to what unhealthy foods they want to indulge themselves with. Oh yes, there is the gratuitous apple, or small cup of plain carrots, but what child is going to choose a healthy fruit or plain vegetable when their addictive pathway in the brain is conditioned to reach for more sugar? These kids are basically dining out five days a week, and for a lot of kids, twice a day – and some days three meals a day if dinner is eaten out. Now we already know this is an unhealthy habit for working adults who eat their lunch out at a restaurant every day rather than bringing a healthy meal from home, so why are we intentionally allowing this for our children?

When I was growing up, we didn’t have a slew of choices in our cafeteria – we had the standard American diet each day – one protein, one vegetable (usually out of a can), and one starch of some kind – typically potatoes or pasta in my region of the country. And then there was the proverbial dessert – usually cake or ice cream as I recall. This was not the best, but it certainly is a far cry better than what children are given today. I remember hearing for the first time maybe 10 years or more ago that schools had soda machines in them. I was shocked! That was just unheard of in our public school system back in the 60’s and 70’s.

The bottom line is, we are consciously allowing our children to be fed foods with very little, if any nutritional value, and worse these foods literally are toxic to their bodies with processed sugars; genetically modified wheat, corn and soy; and growth hormone and antibiotic laden meats and dairy products. (see the blog on the importance of Non-GMO’s, Organic, and Gluten Free foods) We are setting them up for failure before they sit down for first period class.

Home Meals

Unfortunately, the trend continues once the children are home from school. So we can’t just blame our school system or even the government. Children have adopted the same unhealthy dietary habits and lifestyle as the parents have. After all, who does the grocery shopping?

I hate to keep referencing “when I was a kid” but that’s how far back we need to go, and truthfully even further, because I feel it was my generation – growing up in the 60’s and 70’s that started the explosion of the unhealthy foods. Maybe not our literal meals – at least what was served up in school, and even at home. But breakfast was a bowl of sugar and there were plenty of packaged/processed sugary snacks throughout the day to go around.

But when my mom fixed dinner, if it wasn’t dad who had an occasional say in what would be for dinner, mom made that decision every night. She didn’t ask us four kids for our vote, we ate was set before us and nothing less was acceptable. In our house it was somewhat a repeat of what we had in school – a meat (once in a while, fish – because that’s what dad liked), a canned vegetable and some kind of starch – potatoes or a pasta of some form and bread – there was always white bread.

Who is Controlling All of This?

The bottom line is, as always, I’m all about semantics – and in this case, the slight of hand as well. When I looked further into who determined the foods that were served to our children, I was not surprised at what I found.In a round-about way, it is our government, the USDA in particular – and those who always grease their palms. In particular, the dairy industry but I’m sure the Big Ag business plays a huge part as well. And even the mega corporations – I forgot to mention, Pizza Hut was a choice 1-2 times a month as well.

When I searched who determined the menu, I came across this paper “2024 North Carolina School Meals” (Please Read to learn more) couple of things jumped out at me:

  1. The emphasis was on providing “free” meals and patting themselves on the back for doing so, it didn’t matter that there is no nutritional value, but instead toxic chemicals in these meals.
  2. The “success” of this initiative was simply that children didn’t go hungry – it wasn’t about what they were fed, just that they had something in their bellies.
  3. Their claim to providing “nutritious” meals was based on what the government states is nutritious – calcium, “whole” grain and fiber were the measurements the School Meal program concerned themselves with. Of course it would, remember from an earlier blog, the Dairy Industry is a huge lobbying group – milk has been served in the schools, in every school for many, many years. Unfortunately, these dairy products are severely tainted with growth hormones, antibiotics and genetically modified feed. What do you think these things are doing to our children?
  4. And this is where the roads really divide, and the “slight of hand takes place.” Going back to a previous blog I wrote a couple weeks ago: Nutrients versus Ingredients. It’s not about the macronutrients listed on the label — which is what is shown on my county’s school menu website and what they want you to keep your eyes on – it’s about the ingredients in these food-like substances that the county via the government is “heroically” subjecting our children to – of course the ingredients are not revealed on the website.

When I followed a link in the School Meals article it actually stated this: “Multiple studies find an association between school breakfast participation and lower body mass index (BMI), lower probability of being overweight, and lower probability of obesity.” This was a study from a 2005-2006 school year. If this study were correct, then why has there been a rise in childhood obesity and increasing? The other finding the study stated was that they saw worse effects from the school lunch program. But they continued to move forward with it anyway.

The Solution

    • Becoming aware of what your children are consuming in school, and understanding what these toxic substances are doing to their health is a good place to start.
  • Now you know the truth. Take a stand against these toxic meals – especially for those who truly do need financial support and rely on schools for their nourishment. But right now, they are not getting that. A full belly doesn’t necessarily equate to a nourished body.
  • Start sending your child to school with a lunch from home, and a breakfast as well if necessary. If you are financially able but rely on the schools to feed your children simply because you don’t have time to prepare their meals for them, change your priorities. Make this a higher priority and find time. As they get older, teach them to make their own meals to take to school.
  • Make time to plan healthy family meals at the beginning of the week, and grocery shop accordingly. Remember to consider what meals they will be packing for school that week.
  • Read the earlier blogs on the “Reality of our Food and the Demise of our Health” series – your children’s health and life are dependent on knowing these truths and making changes to the foods you and your family consume.

In Closing

All of these children are the treasurers of our Country. They are our next generation. They are our future leaders. One, will they even be around long enough to lead, and if so, will they be capable and sound – spirit, soul and body – to do so from a place of health and positive thinking? If they stay on the path they are on with their diet, I fear the worst. But it’s never too late to take charge, stand up for them, and deliver the nourishment their bodies need to be the healthiest and vital generation we have yet to see.

Do you like to get a jump on your Christmas shopping? How about gifting that special someone who wants to learn more about their health with a copy of “Are You Being Deceived About Truth Wellness?” “Are You Being Deceived About Truth Wellness?”

Here are the other blogs in this series:
“The Reality of Our Food and the Demise of Our Health”
“Genetics or Lifestyle?”
“How Did We Get Here? The History of Processed Foods”
“Ingredients Over Nutrition Facts”
Non-GMO’s USDA Organic, Gluten-Free – Important Food Labels!
“Are We Sending the Underprivileged to an Early Grave?”

“Addiction to Food”

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