Despite being allowed sweets and fizzy drinks, I am pretty sure my kids have never had a 'sugar rush'. Does it really exist or do modern parents just think it does?

[Enid]

I cannot think of a time when my children have bounced off the walls after eating anything sugary.

Does sugar affect different children differently?

Is a 'sugar rush' a known phenomenon? I know it raises blood sugar temporarily but does that always cause children to become unmanageable?

And if it does exist, why do kids seem to grow out of it? Eg teenagers eating shite and drinking coke and seemingly never having a sugar rush, in fact finding it hard to get out of bed ?

DD is 3 and therefore bonkers most of the time anyway, she doesn't on the whole seem to react to sweets in any noticeable manner ... however she did once go completely loopy (in a perfectly pleasant and amusing manner, at least to me, maybe not fellow shoppers) after having a Mr Whippy type ice cream just before going in.

My children (6 and 2) do not have a reaction to any of the following potential culprits that they have been exposed to by my lax parenting:

ribena
fruit shoots
cheapie squash
haribo
smarties
chocolate
10 penny mix from local shop
all sorts of other dodgy looking sweets including lots of French ones used to bribe them in the car

They have never been exposed to any sort of fizzy drink.

The only thing that I am convinced they react to is the icing off those birthday cakes you can buy in Asda or Morrisons. You know the kind of thing - with Thomas or Spiderman or Dora on the top. I am sure they do, because my MIL also buys that kind of thing for adult birthdays and they have the same effect then.

Ah, see, DG, I am v sensitive to caffeine, I always drink decaf, and even then, not often or much (it still has caffeine in it!). But I'm naturally a moderately hyper person, anyway. Anaesthetics etc work fine on me, most of the time.

Of course, the reaction to caffeine, and maybe sugar as well, may be down to habituation. Children and adults who are regularly exposed to these things are less likely to react strongly to them, I bet.

Oh God NQC, are you then suggesting that my children do not have sugar rushes because they are on a permanent high with my liberal attitude to what they consume?

whenever i get migraines (usually just visual disturbances, with little/no headache) i have to eat - pref sugary stuff - pretty damn quick to stop it from happening. i know stress is a trigger for me, but it's also made worse by not eating.

ds1 & 2 go mad after sugar. they are fine after one cake, any more and its like a switch has been flipped. its not additives that do it as they do it with home made cake. diet coke has the same effect, but not diet lemonade so im putting that down to caffeine. if it was just being extra bouncy i wouldnt mind, but they become really argumentative, rude and just plain horrible.

ds3 has only ever done this once when left with mil for the day. we got home and he was manic. asked mil how many sweets he had eaten and she admitted it was roughly a sweet shops worth. he has a different dad so wondering if maybe its genetic.

interesting what mb said about adhd, ds1 has aspergers and is def worse than ds2 but ive never put it down to this before

syurely additives and colourinmgs cause manic behaviour, not sugar?

When mine were little they would get tired and grumpy if we were out & they hadn't eaten for a while. A piece of chocolate would perk them up until we got home - it was never a problem

ds2 goes ballistic (for him) if he has caffeine.

A friend's daughter (age 20) was still avoiding blue smarties until they changed the ingredients as they made her go hyper.

I think that additives tip them over the edge and the sugar rush gives them the abundant energy they need to push it to the limits.

DG, I don't think children having sugar regularly is a big deal - I just tend to avoid it for mine because I'm a future diabetic, so I would rather stay away from it.

whats a futre diabetic nqc?

Me, I am. My mum was diabetic, my father is diabetic, all my grandparents were diabetics.

Granted, nearly everyone is a future diabetic - at 70 or 80, everyone seems to either be alarmingly skinny and on those weirdo milkshakes or diabetic.

hmm

my grandfather died of diabetes related complications

always have elevated blood sugar when pg

wonder if I am at risk

I tend to blame the sugar when really it is the fact that the thing they have eaten is illuminous pink

may be a link

mine are horrid after sweets, hence they are hidden in a jar for bribes

Yes, DumbledoresGirl - evidently your kids are like crack addicts, they have to consume bigger and bigger fixes to get the same high!

[MissG shoves remains of kingsize marsbar into her gob]

Probably a bit. Do your parents have diabetes? If your grandfather only got diabetes when he was older, it's not as significant.

no they dont (parents)

My ds1 responds dramatically to sugar. I can tell with total accuracy as I am walking him to school whether or not dh put honey on his toast. Honestly. And the few times he has had sweets/lemonade etc the effect on his behaviour has been undeniable, really very pronounced indeed.

Enid I am pretty sure it is the colourings my children react to - the colourings in the darth vader cake they ate must have been pretty hard core.

I drink far too much diet coke (full caffeine) and if we have it in the house, right up until bedtime and it never affects me. I also get those visual migraines and sometimes can stave them off with sugar or ibuprofen, although I do find laying down with my eyes closed the best thing.

I wouldn't worry about it, then, Enid, unless you're very heavy.

I have found that it depends on a lot of other factors. If they are hot and a bit dehyrated already or if they are overtired they can get a sugar rush - or at least that's what I assume it is. The food or drink does seem to have a quite rapid and dramatic effect on them in those cases. The youngest more than the other 2.

I saw that progam about the party food too. Twas very interesting
Dd(3) doesnt seem to react to sugar but she did have a bad reaction to red jelly and fruit pastilles (not sure what colour ) on 2 seperate occasions. She wasn't climbing the walls or anything but lacked concentration and her co-ordination went to pot.

My DD doesn't get sugar rushes nor is she affected by colourings or additives.

I also saw the prog that PetronellaPinkPants refers to. Truth About Food on BBC earlier this year.

I don't think I get sugar rushes but I do get sugar lows and start to feel very, very tired if I haven't eaten for more than about 5 hours. E.g. yesterday I had an egg and cress on wholemeal sandwich for lunch about 12noon and by 5.30pm I felt completely drained. I was at the gym though and had a ocuple of oatcakes, got stuck in and felt much better by 6.30pm, when I managed to eat something proper.

Sorry v. slow posting - things move on. My Grandad has diabetes but was diagnosed at 90+ so I don't think he counts. My GreatAunt (on other side) had the other type of diabetes and was on insulin injections from being a young adult. My parents don't have it but are both prime candidates (late 50s, overweight, not fantastic diet, heavy drinkers).