I’m going to forego the original idea for today, which involved discussing the virtues of fresh foods and a little tirade against the industrialization of what we eat (aren’t you relieved?). Instead I am going to talk about candy.
Candy! Have I gone mad? Well, yes, sort of.
Today I returned from an emergency visit to Sylvia’s program with a bag of contraband. It appears (evidenced by candy wrappers everywhere), that Sylvia has been living on a steady diet of candy. Now, I am not opposed to candy as a concept. I’ve been known to stash dark chocolate bars in difficult to reach places around the kitchen. I’m not even a paragon of virtue when it comes to refined sugar and flour (see entry ‘Life is Tough’). I am, however, a firm believer in moderation. But that’s not what I am talking about. There’s no moderation going on around here! No wonder Sylvia’s employers are commenting on how tired she is. Caring staff members at her program are distressed not only by Sylvia’s exhaustion, but by how unfocused and distractible she has become.
Generally I am prepared stand alone as ‘the health food nut’ (Sylvia’s words) and to even be dismissed as a food evangelist. But, apart from my daughter, no one was judging me today. In fact, I had company. It doesn’t take a degree in nutrition to figure out that a steady diet of refined sugar and additives is a unlimited pass for a body sugar rollercoaster ride that can only crash and burn.
What Sylvia doesn’t know is that her insulin levels spike from all that refined sugar. Because her body has to do very little work to assimilate those calories, it’s not long before her unsatisfied appetite wants more. All these empty calories put her on the path towards excess weight, diabetes, heart disease and more.
Living in a candy shop with all the thrill of instant gratification may just land Sylvia back in Brooklyn and under the watchful eye of this ‘health food nut’. Not an outcome that either of us relishes.
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