Does candy really make them hyper?
Because I’ve never noticed it in any of them.
They are often hyper when bugging you for candy and then quiet when they get it.
Yes. Mine doesn’t like an overabundance of sugar these days, but when she was younger she was clearly hyperactive and tended to misbehave when in the throes of a sugar buzz.
The “sugar high” has been debunked again and again, but it lives on. The only logical explanation, that has been offered, is that sugary treats often, also, contain caffeine, which may explain the energy boost, that and the festive atmosphere surrounding an event where excessive amounts of sugary treats are consumed.
The last article I saw about that, though, said that researchers gave their test group candy and observed them for 30 minutes, during which their behavior was no different from those receiving a placebo.
In my experience with my 3-yr-old twins, what actually happens is not so much a sugar “high” as a sugar CRASH. With my son especially, the crash occurs roughly 60 - 90 minutes after the treat has been consumed (depending on what else was in his stomach). At that point, extreme whininess, crying and hyperactive behavior commences, and you can bet he’s going to fight with his sister or me (or both).
I have a problem with sugar seriously affecting my mood as well (and I don’t have any signs of diabetes or hypo/hyperglycemia). Chocolate doesn’t do it, but sugary treats, particularly when consumed alone, do.
IANAD, but my little pet theory is that it has to do with the relationship between insulin swings in your bloodstream and serotonin levels in the brain. I think that the high fat content of chocolate offsets the effect (because fat boosts serotonin), as does the fat in something like the Big Mac eaten with a Coke.
I don’t believe there is such a thing as a sugar high. Lots of food have sugars of all types, but apparantly only white table sugar is the ‘evil’ one.
I’ve never noticed a sugar high in my kids.
Well, I certainly get a bit… active if I have a bunch of sweets. Gibbering would be a better word. I’m willing to entertain the idea that it’s not sugar, but there’s no caffine in the packets of Haribo that effect me. My mother would tell me it’s the ‘E Numbers’ but thats a vague term anyway.
From the Wiki site on Haribo: “The consistency of gummy bears has been proposed as ideal for breast implants. “Gummy Bear breast implants” have been on the market since 2005.”
There you go, all the excitement is over those bodacious new boobs.
No. Candy makes kids (and the rest of us) happy, so we play.
Peace,
mangeorge
Sugar strongly effects my mood. When I ate sugar regularly I behaved like a meth addict. As said upthread, it probably isn’t the sugar itself per se, but rather the insulin/andrenaline swings the sugar causes.
Wth mine, I noticed something very interesting. I’d always assumed sugar highs were real, so whenever she seemed hyper and had recently had something sugary, I’d think “huh, sugar high.”
But then I started trying to predict it - that is, EXPECTING a high after she had something sugary. And it just did not line up; sometimes she’d be hyper in hte period of time after having sugary stuff, and something she would not. Once I started looking for it and making note of it happening or not happening it became very obvious there was no connection at all.
OK, we’ve heard a number of anecotes and opinions. But, is there evidence to help “fight our ignorance”?
Here is a short but comprehenisve review on the interplay between what we eat and how we behave. In it, we learn that:
Reading further, we have:
And, interestingly,
More generally,
Other than personal experience and hearsay, can anyone cite a study that confirms the assertion that “sugar make kids hyper”?