Share: 

Monday Thoughts to Ponder

rachel_swick
June 9, 2014

“Banning the use of food-stamp subsidies for soda and other sugary drinks could help prevent obesity in at least 141,000 children and prevent type 2 diabetes in 240,000 adults, researchers at Stanford University reported in Health Affairs.” –SmartBrief, via CNNMoney.

What do you think?

My thought is that Food Stamps should be providing the best food possible for low-income families. Soda is definitely not the best food possible. We should be lifting up children who are living in poverty, not limiting them by giving them another hurdle (obesity) to overcome. Low-income should not mean limited access to fresh food. Everyone by now knows that fresh food is better than processed and packaged. And, everyone should also know that soda is not a good thing to drink!

While the argument can be made that fruit juice is also full of sugar and is fattening, it still (hopefully) contains fruit. And, for some kids, that might be the easiest way to get fruit in their diet. I know many parents do not allow fruit juice, but I do allow Droolface to enjoy juice boxes. We look for the 100 percent juice kind. We love the juices that contain both fruit and vegetable juice. And, I try to steer clear of any with added sugar. In addition, he only drinks maybe one juice box a day on the weekends. Usually he asks for water or milk, but on a special occassion or a really hot day we do enjoy juice or lemonade.

While I think that banning soda (in general) is a great idea, I am not sure how much it will help prevent obesity. I feel like the overly processed food shoved at us from manufacturers has a lot to do with obesity. I think someday researchers will find that all these chemical additives and preservatives in food may be promoting obesity. But, banning soda is a great step in the right direction!

What do you do at your house? Do you think banning soda will help decrease obesity?

  • Real Parents. Real Food. Real Fun.

    Welcome to Adventures in Drool! Talking about green living, getting rid of plastics and toxic chemicals in our homes and raising happy kids on a budget. Join the conversation (www.adventuresindrool.com) and don't forget to Like us on Facebook!

    Rachel Swick Mavity, author of the blog, lives with a reformed drooler (Droolface), who at age 3 loves to get muddy, drink homemade smoothies, giggle and flirt with old ladies. Her current drooler (Birdy) enjoys spitting up on work clothes and leaving drool trails as a way of showing her love.

    Mavity previously worked as a journalist for seven years at newspapers from Pennsylvania to Maryland and Delaware. In Sussex County she worked for several newspapers, including the Cape Gazette. She lives in Lewes with her husband, Ryan Mavity, their son, "Droolface," and daughter, "Birdy." 

     

Subscribe to the CapeGazette.com Daily Newsletter