Energy drinks that fuel your kids, not fill them with caffeine and sugar

[artcanthurtu]

Let's face it. Kids like sugar. And increasingly, these days, kids like caffeine, too. Gone are the days when only adults ingested caffeine. Today, soda, soft drinks, and other beverages contain caffeine so that even the littlest members of our society are getting this most common substance, too.

Unfortunately, caffeine is a drug. Yes, it's a legal drug, but it's still a drug; namely, it's a stimulant. And today, even well meaning parents who would never let their kids eat junk food are letting their kids (perhaps unknowingly) ingest caffeine in ways previous generations never did. When taken in regularly, just like any other drug, caffeine can be something you become dependent on. Withdrawal can mean headaches, irritability, moodiness, and tiredness. And if you don't withdraw from it, you can become tolerant to it. This means that you need ever-increasing amounts of caffeine to get the same energy boost you got from smaller amounts previously. This is not something loving parents would subject their children to knowingly.

In addition to its addictive properties, caffeine is also damaging because it can cause vitamins and minerals to be leached from the body, since it's a diuretic.

Fortunately, there's a better way for kids to get energy besides caffeine and sugar. They are called super green energy drinks. In general, these are energy powders or other substances that contain "super green" energy foods like spirulina and wheat grass. Because they are so easily absorbed, they provide instant energy rush that is all natural, tastes good, makes you feel good, and best of all, is good for your body.

Now, we all know most little kids don't like their vegetables, but a super green energy drink can give your kids vegetables they need with relatively little struggle. Simply mix a spoonful of super green energy mix into a smoothie or some fruit juice, and when your child drinks it, he or she is getting several servings of vegetables at once, painlessly. Best of all, served this way, even children are going to like their vegetables. You can rest assured as a parent that you're giving your child the very best when you serve them super green energy drinks, chock-full of nutrition, vitamins and minerals.

Giving your little ones super green energy drinks can also help balance out a diet that might otherwise be less than perfect. After all, you can't be with them every moment of every day, and it's likely that your child might ingest at least some junk food every now and then. Super green energy drinks help make sure that your child gets the nutrition he or she needs, even when you can't be there all the time to make sure that good nutrition is also always the order of the day.

Now, of course, it's also good to be a role model for your children; if you're not getting the best nutrition from your own diet, then super green energy drinks are for you, too. They not only provide you with protein, complex carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, and other healthy substances such as anti-aging chlorophyll, but they also help smooth out what might otherwise be a less than healthy diet of your own.

So come on. Do both your child and yourself a favor, and try incorporating super green energy drinks in your diets today. Try one for breakfast or as a midmorning pick me up, and tuck another one into your afternoon for increased vitality that continues the rest of the day. Do this for your child, too, and see how much better you both feel.

[BethsNutrition]

May. 28, 2008 at 1:59 PM

I see so many kids getting giant sodas at the gas stations and coming out of fast food places (though I don't  eat fast food myself). It's crazy how many calories and how much sugar they're taking. Not to mention that it's probably addictive, which is probably why I always hear kids begging their moms to take them to McDonald's.

One of the problems might be making McDonald's a treat or an everyday thing. Either way, it becomes important to them. It's a staple of everyday life or it's something they see as extra special so tey always want it. 

I like the idea of veggies instead of carbs and sugars. Thanks for sharing it!!

[HealthyLauren]

Jun. 27, 2008 at 2:12 PM

It's kind of amazing what's legal and what's not. Alcohol, cigarettes, caffeine...I just don't understand why those are legal when other things aren't. Sure, I don't want something like marajuana (or worse, heroin) legalized, but I wonder why there isn't more regulation.

Before I became a SAHM, I was addicted to coffee in the workplace.  It really gets a hold on you and you can't get started in the morning without it. I had to stop drinking with it when I got pregnant because they said it's really bad for a kid's development. I know my mom didn't let us have caffeinated drinks until we were 10, though she let us have ones full of sugar. She was so worried it'd impair our growth.

The smoothie idea sounds great, I'll have to try that (as much for me as anyone!)