Let’s think about the kids. It is the gift of your presence in their lives and the impact it makes on them. What you do, eat and say gets instilled into them. The memories that get made during childhood will be the foundation for their coping mechanisms as they get older. It’s essential to guard your health particularly more during the holidays due to the stress and excitement of the season. It should be even more important to take care of yourself—because your kids are watching you.
What we do as adults, is that we reflect, subconsciously – and fondly or not – on our childhood. Oftentimes, the holidays replay in our minds and we may find joy in those celebratory times. In order to self-soothe ourselves during stress, we think about times that made us happy. So, we think about the good ole times of the aromas from mom’s kitchen. We associate the comfort of food, cakes and cookies with good times. In order to bring momentary relief to our lives, we indulge in those holiday foods as adults.
In order to overcome the incredibly addictive toxins, preservatives and garbage that is in food at parties, this mental/emotional connection is key to understand. By really digesting this, we can identify a problem, make a change and that makes a remarkable difference. This association from childhood is a driving force allowing each generation to repeat the pattern of ‘GOOD TIMES = BAD FOOD’. It is as if it is OK to indulge and have cheat days to ‘enjoy life’. We know it’s bad for our health and we just accept that the holidays are going to be filled with sweets and poor food.
Sugar is addictive just like alcohol. They don’t tell you in AA to go drink during the holidays. See ya in a few weeks after you’ve relapsed! It’s ridiculous to think it’s ok to encourage bad eating habits during a joyous time of celebrating. But, that is precisely what our society does. Sugar addictions can start young and their growing palates are being trained to enjoy extreme flavors. Overconsumption of sugar can damage your taste buds and any food without sweetness will end up lacking taste. The answer is nutritious food which allows our palates to enjoy the true flavor of food again.
It is my mission to spread awareness and joy about actual food. It is essential to encourage healthy food especially during the holiday season. Your kids are watching and taking mental notes. The ONLY way to do this is to ‘ADD IN THE GOOD’. Replace white sugar with fruit, dates, stevia or monkfruit. Swap out dairy for cashew cheese. Add in vegetables with antioxidants and fiber whenever possible and google ‘healthy option’ to nutritionally boost any recipe. By doing so, you are showing your kids that healthy is possible during the holidays.
Believe it or not, you may create more inclusion at your dinner table of others trying to be healthier. And I bet there will be more gratitude for being healthy than resistance. Kids are getting sicker, not healthier – the choice is yours this holiday season.
In Good Health,
Dr. Dawn Siglain ND, LAc
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