This is going to be a long post – so it is going to count for my Tip Tuesday and Try Something New Friday this week.

Does what we feed our children affect their school work, behavior, health, etc? Let me begin with my story.

4-5 years ago we started changing the way we were eating. Mostly myself due to some stomach problems, but soon my son and then the rest of the family. The real concern started when a doctor said two things, all in the same appointment, that made the gears in my head start turning. It was an appointment for my oldest daughter because of a sudden illness, but while there he looked at my 2 year old son and told me he could get me some ritalin for him. What?? Then, focusing back on my daughter, he finally had to break down and tell me that he thought she had the mumps. Again – What?? Didn’t she have vaccine for that? He explained that due to the large amounts of antibiotics she had been on over the course of her short life, they pretty much made the vaccines void. We late found out that she just had a weird reaction to strep throat, but I was really trying to process of this new information. What was the point of pumping her little body full of medications that were just counteracting each other? And why would I put my busy little boy on medication just to calm him down? This began the research . . .

I have learned many things since that day 7 years ago. And I won’t be able to cover them all here, but I did want to share with you how it impacted our lives. The first thing we cut out was white sugar. That stuff is awful!! I even did an experiment with it on my son. He was constantly hungry (still is) but it was getting out of control. I went one week and recorded everything he ate and included 0% any kind of refined sugar. I made everything from scratch using sucanat or honey. I was just trying to prove that the refined sugar causes increased appetite. By day 2 or 3 he stopped asking for food incessantly. He ate like the rest of us by the end of the week. It was amazing!

The next thing we eliminated was anything artificial. Granted, it took us a while to figure out what all those ingredients were, but we slowly took out all food colorings and flavorings. And of course, if you can’t pronounce it you probably don’t need to eat it. Wow the difference it made! We really only first noticed a difference in our son. He could think better and he was capable of standing still longer than 5 seconds. After a year or two I started to notice that my oldest daughter had mellowed a bit. And when we slip and have some junk, she becomes moody. Looking back, I have always been an emotional basket case. For at least 4 years I have been normal! I didn’t know what normal felt like! I gave birth to our fourth child in 2008 and was even tempered, felt great, gained little weight, lost it all and some after the baby, and didn’t have any emotional breakdowns! My husband considers me a whole new person. Yes, sometimes we slip. I was real strict at first because I wanted to protect my family, but the kids always felt like they were missing out on something. So we made exceptions, like birthday parties. You may have one of whatever is being served, but only one. The kids still like to treat themselves, but they understand what it does to them and most of the time make the decision to not eat it themselves.

Over the years we not only avoid artificial ingredients, but try to fill our bodies with the best quality. Whole foods are best. Eat as much raw as you can stand. Drink lots of water everyday. We use extra virgin olive oil and coconut oil instead of the standard version at Wal-Mart. I cook almost everything from scratch to avoid hidden ingredients and offer my family the freshest meals. Eat animal products void of hormones. Eat organic if you can afford it, but if you can’t make sure you wash it well. Just give your family the best you can with what you have. You will be glad you did!

Another area we have seen vast improvement in has been our health. My oldest daughter is deaf and a dwarf which created chronic ear infections. She lived on strong antibiotics and repeated ear surgeries. That day at the doc’s office ended all that for us. I refused to give her more antibiotics and was trusting God to heal her ears from each and every infection. We used all kinds of natural remedies and changed our diets. After about a year of no antibiotics, she decided she wanted a cochlear implant. She can have no fluid in her ears to be eligible for the surgery. So after months and months of telling me that she had a severe infection and needed surgery, they finally got to go in and place her 4th set of ear tubes. To their surprise, it was full of fluid, but it was not infected. She received the implant and went on with life. Seven months later she started to develop another ear infection in the ear with the implant, which meant she had to have it taken care of immediately. That was her last set of tubes and her last ear infection, 5 years ago.

My kids very rarely get sick. I truly believe it is because of our diet. Their bodies are better able to defend themselves because they are fed wholesome foods. As I am writing this, I have to admit that they are ALL sick right now. But that is actually what got me to thinking about this topic. I get that feeling, “What do I do?” because they aren’t sick very often and I forget what to do sometimes. I imagine that they would be much worse off than they are if they didn’t have strong, healthy bodies. It was obviously something contagious because they all have it. The baby is actually fairing the best. We use natural remedies like juice, essential oils, rest, and soup.

Like I said before, I can’t get into every detail here, but wanted to get your gears to turning. Think about it. If you put junk into your body, its gonna come out junk. If you put good stuff in your body, you can have healthier skin, less health problems, and a better mood. I resolved stomach cramps, moodiness, migraines, low blood sugar problems, and more just changing my diet. Try a new recipe this week – an all natural one! I’ve got some great recipes posted on the website and on my facebook page. Check them out and let me know what you think.

I have been experimenting over the years with different sugar substitutes. I have not tried them all, so if you have any recommendations please let me know. Let me share with you what I have discovered.

Sucanat – this is the closest thing we can buy to unrefined sugar. Since the molassas has not been extracted yet, sucanat has a very “molassas” taste. It is a larger granule than white sugar so it does take longer to dissolve. I have substituted this for white sugar in equal amounts. It works great in baked goods and gives it a nice brown sugar taste. It does have it’s own distinct taste to it so you may want to gradually add it in to your cooking. It will give anything you put it in a nice brown color. I’m not real sure on its affects on blood sugar, but it is still sugar so will affect blood sugar to some extent. We have noticed that it doesn’t bother us as much as white sugar though. This can be bought at most health food stores and online.

Molassas – I use this in breads and my granola. It has a strong flavor, so use sparingly. Molassas will still affect your blood sugar, as do any liquid sugars. This can be bought at most grocery stores.

Honey – I love to use honey, but like Molassas, it will affect your blood sugar. Honey will differ in taste depending on where the bees gathered their pollen. Also can be bought at most grocery stores. Look for pure honey.

Stevia – this is an herb that is naturally sweet. You can purchase it in liquid, powder, or leaves. We have only used liquid. It is very sweet and we only put 3 drops per glass of tea. I have yet to try cooking with it. You need recipes tested with stevia because it takes very little stevia to equal the sugar called for in a recipe. They also now have flavored stevia. I have been wanting to try some of the flavored stevia in my homemade yogurt. You can purchase stevia in the pharmacy/herb section of your health food store. Some Wal-marts are carrying stevia granules in the sugar aisle. Since this is an herb it will not affect your blood sugar.

Maple Syrup – We only buy pure maple syrup, not corn syrup flavored like maple. But once again this will affect your blood sugar, but tastes wonderful in corn bread. But if you are going to eat cornbread what difference is a little maple syrup (since the corn will raise your blood sugar too)? This can also be found in most grocery stores. I found the best deal at Sam’s.

Maple Sugar – Yum! This is crystalized maple syrup. This is wonderful to sprinkle over desserts or fruit or yogurt. I’m not sure how it affects your blood sugar since it is not liquid, but it is still sugar. You can find this at most health food stores or online.

Juice – This can be used as a sweetner when baking. Applesauce can also be used. It is a sugar and a liquid one at that, but I feel that the health benefits of juice balances out the affects on blood sugar. Of course I don’t drink juice, but I will bake with it. Drinking juice causes it to be absorbed very quickly into your blood stream, but when it is baked into something it doesn’t seem to have to same effect. When buying juice look for juice not made from concentrate.

Powdered Milk – Powdered milk is very sweet. Using it in baking instead of store-bought milk, will add a little sweet to your baking. I buy quality brands that are very fine, not granulated. You can find these at most grocery stores.

Agave Nectar – Since I wrote this article a year ago, we have discovered agave nectar. This has a low glycemic index so doesn’t affect your blood sugar much. It has a mild taste and is wonderful in beverages. I have also used it to make sugar-free chocolate syrup. What would life be without chocolate?!?!? It is a little on the pricey side, but we are enjoying the benefits of using it.

Hope that will help you know what is available and give you a selection to chose from. Once again, please share your ideas with me.