When I started experimenting with candy and paying attention to sugar content in food and drinks, I saw that candy wasn't nearly as big a culprit for sugar consumption as soda. Here's yet more evidence of soda's effects on health.
Health officials around the world have warned that drinking soda or other sugar beverages is harmful.
A 2015 study* ties sweet drinks to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year, including 25,000 in the US alone, 133,000 from diabetes, 45,000 from cardiovascular disease, and 6450 from cancer. Another study** reported in 2015 shows that drinking just one sugar soda a day increases the risk for type 2 diabetes, even if the drinker is not obese. Researchers estimated that if Americans broke their sugary drink habits, 2 million new cases of diabetes could be prevented over the next 5 years.
*http://now.tufts.edu/articles/put-down-soda
quoted in the week July 17, 2015
**published by a team at the University of Cambridge that analyzed 17 studies
quoted in The Week August 14, 2015
(I've been getting caught up on my reading.)
Picture book "The Denim Jungle" Captures Children's Imagination
A new picture book invites parents everywhere to get down to kid level, and look at the world their children see. In "The Denim Jungle," a child explores a forest of blue-jeaned grown-up legs, as ordinary objects magically become exciting. Angela Taylor Hylland's easy verse feels like natural conversation, quite an accomplishment for a debut author.
This fun little book reminded me how important is the way our children see the world. It's when I stop to notice the way my children see the world that I really connect with them, and with the wonder of parenting. It's also led me into this crazy career.
After all, it was my four-year-old daughter's question, "Mommy, what would happen if I put these Nerds in water?" that launched Candy Experiments. More recently, when Highlights Magazine contacted me to request that I write an activity, I started floating wrapped candy bars in a bowl of water. My seven-year-old daughter came along, saw what I was doing, and jumped in with her own ideas. Soon she was inventing ways to sink my candy bars, which might someday end up in another article.
I loved reading "The Denim Jungle," and the reminder to connect with the way my children see the world. Good things happen when I do!
Visit thedenimjungle.com to learn more about the book and the author.
This fun little book reminded me how important is the way our children see the world. It's when I stop to notice the way my children see the world that I really connect with them, and with the wonder of parenting. It's also led me into this crazy career.
After all, it was my four-year-old daughter's question, "Mommy, what would happen if I put these Nerds in water?" that launched Candy Experiments. More recently, when Highlights Magazine contacted me to request that I write an activity, I started floating wrapped candy bars in a bowl of water. My seven-year-old daughter came along, saw what I was doing, and jumped in with her own ideas. Soon she was inventing ways to sink my candy bars, which might someday end up in another article.
I loved reading "The Denim Jungle," and the reminder to connect with the way my children see the world. Good things happen when I do!
Visit thedenimjungle.com to learn more about the book and the author.
Set candy on fire to see energy in action
This video by Bearded Science Guy shows how much energy there is in our candy. More calories=more flames!
New experiment: how early do candy sales start?
Never mind that Christmas just ended--Walmart starts selling Valentine candy on December 26.
3-D printed candy: Your next Christmas gift?
For that really special candy-experimenter in your life...
You've heard of 3-D printing for plastic, toys, medical devices, and everything else. What about candy?
Check out these 3-D printed confections made by ChefJet! The $5000 printer allows you to print white sugar confections; for just $10,000, you can buy a printer with an injket head that injects food coloring into the mixture.
You've heard of 3-D printing for plastic, toys, medical devices, and everything else. What about candy?
Check out these 3-D printed confections made by ChefJet! The $5000 printer allows you to print white sugar confections; for just $10,000, you can buy a printer with an injket head that injects food coloring into the mixture.
More Soda (bad) Health News
According to The Week, a long-term Swedish study reveals that "people with a daily soda habit may also be at higher risk for heart failure." In a study of 42,000 men over 45 followed for 12 years, "the subjects who drank more than two sweetened drinks every day had a 23 percent greater risk of developing heart failure."
"Soda Linked to Heart Failure," The Week, page 20
"Soda Linked to Heart Failure," The Week, page 20
Does Sugar Curb Stress?
Do you overload on sugar when you're dealing with holiday stress? There might be a reason.
"Sugar may help curb stress, and that may keep us coming back for more. Researchers randomly assigned 19 women aged 18 to 40 to drink beverages (supplied by the study) three times a day with meals. About half got drinks that were sweetened with sucrose (table sugar), while half got drinks sweetened with aspartame. After two weeks, the participants were given a math test that’s designed to cause stress. After the test, the women who had been drinking the sugar-sweetened drinks had lower levels of cortisol (a hormone that’s secreted by the adrenal gland when people are stressed) than those who had been drinking the aspartame-sweetened beverages. All the women also had an MRI to measure activity in a part of the brain (the hippocampus) that gets inhibited by stress. On average, those who got the sugary drinks had a more active hippocampus than those who got the diet drinks, suggesting that they were less stressed. The results may explain why many people seek out sugary foods when they’re stressed. What should you do? When you’re stressed, think twice before you reach for sweets…or stop after just a few bites and go for a walk. There’s more than one way to deal with stress."
Why we keep coming back to sugar in drinks, from Nutrition Action Review
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)