What Are We Feeding Our Children?

EPISODE 042: What Are We Feeding Our Children? 

We all want the best for our kids — but are the foods we’re feeding them truly nourishing their growing bodies and minds? 🤔 In this eye-opening episode, Coach Dee Diaz breaks down the hidden truth behind many common “kid-friendly” foods — and how they could be impacting our children’s energy, mood, focus, and long-term health. 

From sugary breakfast cereals and lunchbox snacks to brightly colored drinks and processed meals, she uncovers the surprising ways the modern food industry is shaping children’s health — and what parents, caregivers, and educators can do to change the story. 

✨ In this episode, you’ll learn:
🧠 How ultra-processed foods can affect attention, mood, and even memory
🥦 Practical, real-life swaps you can make right now — without overwhelm
💛 How to model a healthy relationship with food for your family
❤️ Empowering steps you can take TODAY to support your child’s health and happiness

This is not about guilt — it’s about empowerment. It’s about raising kids who are fueled to thrive, not just survive. Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, teacher, or caregiver, this episode will give you the knowledge and confidence to make healthier, more nourishing choices for the children you love. 

💡 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
👉🏾The Healthy Lunchbox Lifesaver Guide: https://bit.ly/SparklingFreeGuides
👉🏾Cart: https://link.doterra.com/jeV4bm

THIS EPISODE IS NOT SPONSORED. By purchasing through any of our affiliate links, we receive a small commission at no extra cost to you, which assists in suppo

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Chapters

• 0:00 What Are We Feeding Our Children?
• 2:13 The Truth About Kids' Nutrition
• 4:14 Sugary Drinks: Liquid Trouble
• 5:16 How Processed Foods Impact Our Kids
• 6:29 School Lunch & Peer Pressure
• 7:27 Long-Term Effects of Unhealthy Diets
• 8:21 Real-World Swaps for Busy Families
• 11:36 It Starts With Us: Modeling Healthy Habits
• 12:31 Let's Feed Them... Love
• 12:52 Weekly Challenge: One Small Change
• 13:49 Download the Healthy Lunchbox Lifesaver Guide

Transcript

What Are We Feeding Our Children?

If I handed your child 11 teaspoons of sugar for breakfast, would you let them eat it? Most parents would say: "Absolutely not". But the truth is that's exactly what's happening in millions of homes every single morning. Let's talk about what we're really feeding our kids and how to change it. Today, we're gonna discuss a topic that hits really close to home, especially if you're the one who's packing the lunch boxes, pouring the cereal, or finding yourself negotiating over dinner with a five-year-old.

Because Sparkling One, between the neon-colored snacks, the sugary drinks, and the mystery meat nuggets, it's time we had a real conversation. No guilt, no shame. Just awareness, love, and a whole lot of sparkle. 

Welcome to the Sparkling Life Coach Podcast.

Hey there, Sparkling One. I'm Dee Diaz, a Certified Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.

Here's a question that might make you pause. What exactly are we feeding our children? A juice box. Some chips, a sandwich, and a cookie. Sounds like a normal lunch, right? But hidden inside that innocent lunchbox could be the reason your child is moody, unfocused, and exhausted by 2:00 PM. So, let's unpack it, literally. Starting with some hard facts. 

Did you know that one in three children in the US is either overweight or obese? That's not just a number. That's our children struggling with their energy, with sleep, with mood, and even with self-esteem. And the food industry isn't helping. Every grocery store aisle is a jungle of bright packaging, cartoon characters, and false promises like "fortified with vitamins" or "whole grain". But the truth is, many of these so-called kids' foods are loaded with sugar, salt, artificial dyes, and preservatives we can't even pronounce.

Let's take an example. Think of a typical kid's breakfast: a bowl of fruity cereal, you know the one, with milk, a juice box, and maybe a toaster pastry on the side. Sound familiar?

That single meal can contain more than 45 grams of sugar. That's 11 teaspoons of sugar before they even put on their shoes for school. And we wonder why they're bouncing off the walls at 10:00 AM and crashing by lunch.

Now let's talk about the sneakiest culprit: sugary drinks, sodas, juice boxes, energy drinks, and even those vitamin waters —they're all sugar bombs in disguise. The average American child drinks about 30 gallons of sugary drinks per year. That's enough to fill a bathtub. So, let me paint you a picture. Imagine handing your child 10 sugar cubes and saying, "Here, eat these before lunch". You'd never do that. Right? But that's what's in a single 12-ounce can of soda. And here's the thing, this constant sugar intake messes with their blood sugar, with their ability to focus, their mood, and yes, it even affects their gut health and immune system. Our kids deserve better fuel, right?

Let's talk about the word processed. It gets thrown around a lot, but what does it really mean? Well, it's a food that's been altered from its natural state, often stripped of nutrients, pumped with sugar, sodium, artificial flavors, and chemicals. So, that means we're feeding our kids food-like substances more than real food.

For example, chicken nuggets made of mystery meat, pizza pockets with cheese that doesn't even melt, and chips that leave a neon orange trail on their fingers. These foods might be convenient, but they come at a cost. A study from 2019 found that kids who ate more processed foods had worse memory and attention in school.

Their bodies were inflamed, tired, and overwhelmed by additives. It's like putting bad fuel into a sports car. It's just not gonna run the way it's supposed to.

And then let's talk about the elephant in the lunchroom, yeah, school food.

It's true, many schools do their best. But with tight budgets and outdated systems, kids are often served frozen pizza, canned fruit syrup, and chocolate milk every single day. And even if you pack your child's lunch, there's the peer pressure: " Hey, why don't you have cookies?" Or, "Can I trade you for chips?"

"Ew! What's quinoa?" Yes, I've heard this one from a kid. We're up against a system that normalizes processed food and treats whole, nourishing food as weird or boring. But don't worry, I've got some ideas to help you gently shift the culture. We'll get to those soon. Now, let's get honest. We're not just talking about cavities and crankiness.

Unhealthy eating and childhood are linked to early onset type two diabetes, fatty liver disease, hormonal imbalances, mood disorders like anxiety and depression, and poor sleep and immune function. These are adult problems, right? But they're showing up in elementary school. And it's not just physical; when a child is constantly tired, foggy, or feeling off, it impacts how they see themselves and how they experience the world.

And that's the part that breaks my heart. But here's the hope. We can change this. Now, if you are thinking, "Dee, I hear you, but I'm a busy parent. I don't have time for from-scratch, quinoa, kale, muffins. Okay, I get it. That's true. But I'm not talking about perfection here. I'm inviting you to start with one small shift.

So, here's a few you can try this week. How about if you swap juice for water or fruit-infused water and let your child pick the fruits?

Or how about upgrading one snack, like popcorn instead of chips, or apple slices with almond butter instead of cookies. And limit the rainbow snacks. You know the ones with dye number five and dye number 40. And this is important because those dyes can mess with attention and behavior.

Or give them whole food supplements like dōTERRA Kids A2Z Chewable. It combines a blend of B vitamins with a blend of vitamins A, C, and E, as well as botanical extracts. It supports healthy cell development and longevity when taken daily. Or even better, they can also take the VMG Plus supplement I'm always telling you about, which is a delicious drink that's safe for children with adjustable doses based on age and nutritional needs. It's so delicious. Your children will love it.

As well as the EO Mega Plus supplement. This one's great for their heart, their brain, their joints, and their skin. And thanks to Wild Orange Essential Oil, it doesn't taste like fish oil. It's also chewable, or you can pierce it with a pin and pour the oil on their food, or they can drink it directly from a teaspoon.

And teach them to read labels. You can do it together. Make it a fun detective game at the store to spot hidden sugars. These changes don't have to feel hard. They just need to feel doable.

And here's something that's so important and humbling. Our kids are watching us. They see what we put in our bodies. They hear how we talk about food. They notice if we skip meals, stress, eat, or call ourselves bad for eating cake. So, let's model balance. Let's model nourishment. Let's model sparkle. You don't have to be perfect. Just present.

And make it a rule in your home. Real food first. Yes, there's room for pizza night or a celebratory cake, but we also celebrate smoothies, veggies with dip, and rainbow fruit bowls like they're special because they really are.

So, what are we feeding our children? Let's feed them energy. Let's feed them focus. Let's feed them real nourishment from the earth. Food that fuels their bodies and minds. Let's feed them love.

Now I wanna hear from you, what's one small change you are gonna make this week to nourish your kids better? Maybe it's swapping juice boxes for water. Maybe it's reading labels at the grocery store, or maybe it's just having that conversation with your child about sugar. Whatever it is, drop it in the comments. Your idea might inspire another parent who's watching right now.

Okay, Sparkling One. If this episode opens your eyes, please share it with another parent, teacher, or caregiver in your life. We can create real change, one lunchbox, one snack, and one conversation at a time.

You never know whose child's health you can impact just by passing this along.

And if you're ready to take this a step further, I created a free guide called "Healthy Lunchbox and Snack Swaps". It's packed with easy kid-approved alternatives to the sugary processed snacks we talked about today. There's also a link for a customizable shopping cart with the items I mentioned.

You can download it for free at the link you'll find in the show notes. So, download the guide, check out the cart, and start building healthier habits right away.

Here's the truth. We may not control everything in this world, but we do control what we put on our kids' plates. And those choices, those tiny everyday decisions, they add up; you don't have to be perfect. You just have to start, and every step you take toward real, nourishing food is a step toward a brighter, healthier future for your child.

Thanks bunches for spending this time with me today. If this episode made you think twice about what's in your child's food, give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe, and share it with another parent who needs to hear this. And hey, let's keep the conversation going. Comment with one small change you're committing to this week.

Together we can raise a generation that's nourished, energized, and ready to shine because you and your kids were made to sparkle inside and out. 

So, Sparkle On, and don't forget to sprinkle a little sparkle everywhere you go. Ciao!