Today I found out that sugar does not make kids hyper. In fact, it has been proven in numerous studies that it doesn’t affect their behavior at all.
In one such study, it was found that mothers who think their kids have been given sugar (even though their kids haven’t been given any), will almost always say their kids are acting hyper. On the flip-side, if they think their kids haven’t been given sugar (even if they have in actuality), they will almost always say their kids are acting normal; even though in both cases there is no actual discernible difference of behavior being observed between the two. It’s almost all in the parent’s head.
“Almost”, you say? Interestingly, if the child believes they have been given sugar and they believe that sugar will make them hyper, some children will act more hyper. But this again is all in their head. If they believe they haven’t been given sugar, even though they’ve been given loads, these kids will report no change in how they feel and will act normal. If they are given no sugar, but they think they’ve been given lots of sugar, they will often report feeling a “sugar rush” and act hyper. This is more or less just the mysterious placebo effect in action on a small percentage of these kids.
On the other hand, caffeine will absolutely make a good percentage of kids hyper. So while many parents attribute the hyperactivity in kids that often follows drinking a lot of soda as being caused by sugar, it is actually generally the caffeine doing the work.
In the end though, excessive amounts of processed sugars is bad for kids (and adults too!), in a variety of ways. Best to stay away from them as much as possible outside of natural sugars found in fruits and the like; pro-tip: corn syrup = bad too. Although, according to recent medical studies, it’s not entirely clear yet whether corn syrup is worse for you than sugar, but it is clear that both are pretty bad for you at the levels most people eat on a daily basis, moderation of course being the key for healthy in-take in both cases.
On the other hand, maybe it’s best to just not eat anything at all; probably the best way to avoid eating unhealthy things
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