A Chill Guide to Diabetes Part 1

March is National Nutrition Month. Over the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to give a talk at Maya and Neal’s classes, discuss nutrition with them, and even cook in their class with them. I was partly expecting to be talking to kids who were disinterested in nutrition, telling me that they didn’t want to try the 100% whole foods, plant based meal that we were preparing. I thought that I would be trying to convince them to try a new dish that had lentils, rice, zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, and a bunch of spices that most had never seen. I was completely shocked when I went to Neal’s class, and my lesson exceeded my allotted time by 40 minutes because the kids had so many comments and questions about nutrition, health, added sugar, and diabetes. Then in Maya’s class there were similar questions PLUS more questions about trans fats, saturated vs. unsaturated fats, heart disease, celiac disease, and the list goes on. Who knew that elementary aged kids would be able to grasp these complicated concepts that even adults struggle to understand? I’ll tell you who - me! How do I know? I have two very curious kids who ask me some very insightful questions about nutrition and how it affects our health. I also know as a pediatrician who gets these questions on a regular basis from my young patients if I bring up nutrition with them in an engaging way. I didn’t have the chance to answer ALL the questions surrounding diabetes, sugar, nutrients, and health, but I did promise the kids that I would make videos on these topics with Maya and Neal in the near future. Anyone who knows me knows that I stay true to my word. I hope that you enjoy part 1 of my series on sugar and diabetes. I would love to know what is helpful for you to know and what topics would be interesting for you, your kids or really anyone to be able to know and understand. By the way, out of 56 children who tried the dish, two children said they didn’t like it that much. They both also told me before they tried the food that they didn’t think they were going to like it. The other 54 children came back for seconds and thirds and asked how they could make the food at home, so I would call it a win. #openmind