MAY 2018
Page 9
EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT
Motts Apple
box contains
SWEETS AND SCHOLARS a Juice
approximately 28
“
May I have a kid’s meal
with an apple juice please?”
I use this statement at least
twice a week at various local fast
food restaurants. In an attempt to
be a great mom, I often opt for
the apple juice option instead of
soda. That’s the better choice,
right? Well, according to The
American Heart Association, the
recommendation is that children
should have no more than six
teaspoons of sugar a day, which
is equivalent to about 25 grams
of sugar. According to the label,
FUN WITH FRESH FOOD
A
re you trying to raise
your children or grand-
children to be good eat-
ers? Is every meal a struggle to
get the kids to eat enough fruits
and veggies? Are you looking for
some free entertainment over the
summer? Well, you are in luck!
UGA Extension has a solution to
all these issues in the form of the
Fun with Fresh Food program.
Fun with Fresh Food is a 20-min-
ute food “commercial” that intro-
duces children and adults to new
fruits and vegetables with cooking
tips, taste tests, recipes, and free
produce to take home. Many chil-
dren have never shucked corn or
snapped a green bean before. The
aim is to let them interact with
fruits and vegetables using mul-
tiple senses. Many times children
need to try a food 8 to 15 times
before they accept it, so exposure
is essential.
The effort started with finan-
cial support from the Hospital
Authority of Rockdale
(HARC),
which
allowed
Rockdale County Extension to
purchase a mobile kitchen cart
for nutrition education in the
community. MaryBeth Hornbeck,
Rockdale County FACS Agent,
championed the effort with input
from community partners, includ-
ing RCPS School Nutrition,
Rockdale Emergency Relief,
and the Nancy Guinn Memorial
Library.
grams of sugar, which is more
than the daily recommendation.
It’s well documented that sugar
activates the brain’s pleasure
response, but scientists are
discovering that it impacts the
brain in a variety of other ways.
When people consume a lot of
sugar and then attempt challenging
tasks, like math problems, the
brain’s hypothalamus allows the
body to release a lot of cortisol.
Cortisol, which is known as the
stress hormone, is a substance
that impedes memory. When
children’s bodies are flooded
with cortisol at school, they
struggle to pay attention to their
lessons and find it difficult to
sit quietly. When their focus is
elsewhere, they find it difficult
to retain new information.
Researchers state that sugar
decreases attention span and
memory. Scientists are also
seeing that chronic sugar
consumption may permanently
impair memory functions.
Memory and the ability to pay
attention are truly two critical
attributes demonstrated in high
performing students. Healthy
The 2017 pilot was a huge suc-
cess. One parent said, “My nine-
year-old is so excited to help in the
kitchen now, which is huge since
I don’t enjoy cooking.” Another
parent said, “I never thought to eat
green beans raw since I grew up
eating them boiled, cut and heavily
seasoned. We always get them now
when we shop.” Peggy Lawrence,
RCPS School Nutrition Director,
said, “I could never get my son to
eat zucchini. This past weekend,
he made the fritters all on his own
for a neighborhood party.”
Hornbeck says, “The beauty of
the program is that we’re address-
ing it from multiple angles. We
aim to empower the parents and
excite the kids. We show the kids
how they can help in the kitch-
en. We let them taste it, and we
send them home with the food and
the skills. Our hope is that eating
“Teaching
families to love
fruits and
COFFEE BREAK WITH ANDREA
eating is essential to academic
success. Parents have to
monitor their children’s sugar
consumption, to ensure academic
productivity. (Some information
taken from www.learningliftoff.
com).
Here are a few savvy tips to
decrease your child’s sugar
consumption:
IT’S NEVER TOO LATE
• Require children to drink lots
of water.
• Make fruits your treat option.
• Increase protein intake.
• Use candy for crafts and
experiments instead of eating
them.
• Replace sugary treats with
stickers, toys, and kid-friendly
trinkets.
Monitoring sugar consumption
not only helps children perform
better academically, but it also
aids in good health and a better
quality of life for our little ones.
Nadra Powell
Owner/Educator
High Achievers Education
Center Inc.
With continued support from
HARC, Hornbeck has a goal of
distributing $1000 worth of pro-
duce to local