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So this is potentially support for all the parents who say sugar causes behavior changes in their kids right? Another win for trusting anecdotal evidence you pe

So this is potentially support for all the parents who say sugar causes behavior changes in their kids right? Another win for trusting anecdotal evidence you personally observe over the ivory tower “we have no evidence that…” as a way to live because biology at least is very complex.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
That is WW2 propaganda used to justify sugar rationing. The behavior changes are a learned response because their parents have trained them that acting up is an expected outcome from sugar consumption.
- porknubbins 5y ago
  It can be true that it was WWII propaganda and a learned behavior exacerbated by parents signaling and there is a biological reaction to sugar. I don’t have kids so just know what I hear, but if sugar is affecting the vagus nerve that could affect behavior.
  - bildung 5y ago
    As many studies clearly point it the opposite direction, isn't it way more probable that parents whish for their kids to be more calm than their default state actually is? Kids are usually pretty active and in demand of attention, while parents of young kids are usually sleep deprived and stressed out. The energy level of your average satiated toddler simply is staggeringly high. We know from practically every field of human behaviour that even experts, when not guided by strict predefined rules, are simply unable to objectively assess social situations. E.G. in educationals settings, even experienced teachers sensitized for the topic are usually unable to correctly observe how their praise-punishment ratio is or the ratio of interacting with boys/girls or with loud and quiet students. It simply isn't reasonable to assume that parents, completely untrained in objectively evaluating these kinds of settings, assess the effects of sugar consumption correctly.
- parentoftoddler 5y ago
  Do you have any kids? It was obvious that mangoes and apples were causing our toddler to bounce off the walls.
  - luckydata 5y ago
    That's hogwash. They are just kids.
    - luckydata 5y ago
      https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324896 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324896 to the downvoters: sugar rush is a myth. If you want to believe in food astrology you're free to do so, but you're WRONG.
  - scheme271 5y ago
    I think you might be selectively sampling things. I.e. you notice when your toddler is hyperactive after eating fruits but not when he or she is hyperactive after eating other foods. When it comes to a sugar rush, potatoes, rice, and corn have a significantly higher glycemic index than oranges, apples, and mangos (potatoes are about twice as high). This means that potatoes and corn will more quickly spike your toddler's blood sugar levels quicker and to higher levels. Does your toddler get more hyperactive after eating potatoes or rice or corn?
    - vagrantJin 5y ago
      Hypothesis: It may not have anything to do with blood sugar. The effects are usually too immediate for any sugar digestive action to have occured besides actual mastication.
  - bildung 5y ago
    I have kids, and my experience perfectly matches the empirics on this one: There is no such thing as a sugar high. You may just have a wrong perfection of the "normal" state of you kid. The "hyperactive" version of your kid is just the normal way your kid behaves. What you observe if the blood sugar level of your kid wanes is fatigue, nor calmness. Edit: I can also see this with aquaintances who also believe in sugar highs: They only report this for the sugars perceived as worse than the "healthy" sugar sources, e.g. they project a sugar high if the kid gets a piece of cake, but not if it drinks 300ml of undiluted apple juice.
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  The opposite, sugar industry colluded for decades to cover up its harmful effects.
- ruffrey 5y ago
  Since 4 months old, our son bounced off the walls when given sugary fruits like banana and orange. With a mood crash an hour or two later.
  - 1xdevnet 5y ago
    I do not mean to invalidate your experience, but generally speaking it seems like both no and yes to sugar rush/sugar crash. "Double-blind trials have shown no difference in behavior between children given sugar-full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or those considered sensitive to sugar. A 2019 meta-analysis found no positive effect of sugar consumption on mood but did find an association with lower alertness and increased fatigue within an hour of consumption, known as a sugar crash." [0] [1] (emphasis mine) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Nutrition,_food,_and_drink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#... (yes, I know.) [1] http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/115618/1/WRAP-Sugar-rush-crash-meta-analysis-carbohydrate-effects-mood-Maylor-2019.pdf http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/115618/1/WRAP-Sugar-rush-crash-met...
  - bradknowles 5y ago
    Sounds like typical spike-and-crash style diabetic response to me. Yes, I am diabetic.
    - consp 5y ago
      That was my thought exactly though with younger kids this can be less simple due to size and response times of different parts of the digestive system. Though raising the blood sugar levels of non diabetic even by a few mmol/l can have significant effect where diabetics can have far larger swings an notice it less.
      - bradknowles 5y ago
        TBH, I don’t notice when my blood sugar is high. I only notice it when I crash. That’s why I’m trying to get better about using a CGM to keep a closer eye on my blood sugar, even though I’m not on insulin. My hope is that the CGM can help me notice patterns in my diet that I can then change, so that hopefully I never end up needing insulin. But this is a work in progress.

kevin_thibedeau 5y ago

That is WW2 propaganda used to justify sugar rationing. The behavior changes are a learned response because their parents have trained them that acting up is an expected outcome from sugar consumption.

porknubbins 5y ago
It can be true that it was WWII propaganda and a learned behavior exacerbated by parents signaling and there is a biological reaction to sugar. I don’t have kids so just know what I hear, but if sugar is affecting the vagus nerve that could affect behavior.
- bildung 5y ago
  As many studies clearly point it the opposite direction, isn't it way more probable that parents whish for their kids to be more calm than their default state actually is? Kids are usually pretty active and in demand of attention, while parents of young kids are usually sleep deprived and stressed out. The energy level of your average satiated toddler simply is staggeringly high. We know from practically every field of human behaviour that even experts, when not guided by strict predefined rules, are simply unable to objectively assess social situations. E.G. in educationals settings, even experienced teachers sensitized for the topic are usually unable to correctly observe how their praise-punishment ratio is or the ratio of interacting with boys/girls or with loud and quiet students. It simply isn't reasonable to assume that parents, completely untrained in objectively evaluating these kinds of settings, assess the effects of sugar consumption correctly.
parentoftoddler 5y ago
Do you have any kids? It was obvious that mangoes and apples were causing our toddler to bounce off the walls.
- luckydata 5y ago
  That's hogwash. They are just kids.
  - luckydata 5y ago
    https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324896 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324896 to the downvoters: sugar rush is a myth. If you want to believe in food astrology you're free to do so, but you're WRONG.
- scheme271 5y ago
  I think you might be selectively sampling things. I.e. you notice when your toddler is hyperactive after eating fruits but not when he or she is hyperactive after eating other foods. When it comes to a sugar rush, potatoes, rice, and corn have a significantly higher glycemic index than oranges, apples, and mangos (potatoes are about twice as high). This means that potatoes and corn will more quickly spike your toddler's blood sugar levels quicker and to higher levels. Does your toddler get more hyperactive after eating potatoes or rice or corn?
  - vagrantJin 5y ago
    Hypothesis: It may not have anything to do with blood sugar. The effects are usually too immediate for any sugar digestive action to have occured besides actual mastication.
- bildung 5y ago
  I have kids, and my experience perfectly matches the empirics on this one: There is no such thing as a sugar high. You may just have a wrong perfection of the "normal" state of you kid. The "hyperactive" version of your kid is just the normal way your kid behaves. What you observe if the blood sugar level of your kid wanes is fatigue, nor calmness. Edit: I can also see this with aquaintances who also believe in sugar highs: They only report this for the sugars perceived as worse than the "healthy" sugar sources, e.g. they project a sugar high if the kid gets a piece of cake, but not if it drinks 300ml of undiluted apple juice.
mixmastamyk 5y ago
The opposite, sugar industry colluded for decades to cover up its harmful effects.
ruffrey 5y ago
Since 4 months old, our son bounced off the walls when given sugary fruits like banana and orange. With a mood crash an hour or two later.
- 1xdevnet 5y ago
  I do not mean to invalidate your experience, but generally speaking it seems like both no and yes to sugar rush/sugar crash. "Double-blind trials have shown no difference in behavior between children given sugar-full or sugar-free diets, even in studies specifically looking at children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or those considered sensitive to sugar. A 2019 meta-analysis found no positive effect of sugar consumption on mood but did find an association with lower alertness and increased fatigue within an hour of consumption, known as a sugar crash." [0] [1] (emphasis mine) [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#Nutrition,_food,_and_drink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_misconceptions#... (yes, I know.) [1] http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/115618/1/WRAP-Sugar-rush-crash-meta-analysis-carbohydrate-effects-mood-Maylor-2019.pdf http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/115618/1/WRAP-Sugar-rush-crash-met...
- bradknowles 5y ago
  Sounds like typical spike-and-crash style diabetic response to me. Yes, I am diabetic.
  - consp 5y ago
    That was my thought exactly though with younger kids this can be less simple due to size and response times of different parts of the digestive system. Though raising the blood sugar levels of non diabetic even by a few mmol/l can have significant effect where diabetics can have far larger swings an notice it less.
    - bradknowles 5y ago
      TBH, I don’t notice when my blood sugar is high. I only notice it when I crash. That’s why I’m trying to get better about using a CGM to keep a closer eye on my blood sugar, even though I’m not on insulin. My hope is that the CGM can help me notice patterns in my diet that I can then change, so that hopefully I never end up needing insulin. But this is a work in progress.