Niece That Has an Incredible "Sweet Tooth"

I agree with the previous poster...this sounds like a yeast problem. Yeast lives on sugar (and so does the brain). When yeast gets out of balance inside the body it can cause huge sugar cravings, then, the brain (which also requires sugar to function) sends messages for more, more more since the yeast is "hogging" all the sugar. It's a vicious cycle. I don't have specific information on how to regulate in children, but you can Google "candida children treatment" or similar for more information.
Good luck!

hi Y.,
I have a nine year old daughter with the same sweettooth. and i need help with it also. i find her eating chocolate in bed. she eats all the cookies when im gone. she lies about it and also has had a root canal and an extraction. i have no idea what to do. its such a battle. i have to hide all sweets in my house. and pay all the dental bills and sometimes she refuses to open her mouth at the dentist so we waste an enetire day and her teeth get worse. i would love some heartfelt advice. she has been sneaking candy off and on since she was 6. i dont with hold sweets so i dont understand why she has to have so much extra. any advice about understanding this would help me too. thanks moms!!!!

Please tell your sister in law about the book, "Little Sugar Addicts" by Kathleen DesMaisons. She will definitely recognize the behavior of her daughter and find realistic ways to help her. I have a couple of little sugar addicts in my family (and one big one, namely me) and our lives have changed so dramatically for the better that it's hard to even measure it. There's also an associated online support group for parents of sugar-sensitive kids that's been a godsend for our family. She can find out more about all of this at www.radiantrecovery.com.

Good luck!

The doctor you took her to sounds like a real knucklehead who has no concern for your niece. I would definitely speak with her about the ill effects of an overdose of sacharrine. Plus, do get her tested for diabetes, other. Eliminate any health issues first.

However, not having any candy or sweets at all in the house is out of the question. What you don't give her she'll want, and in quantities as big as she can get when she can get it. Why is she entirely depraved of candy and/or other sweets. No, it's not healthy, I agree, but if she eats her other good foods (and has a balanced diet) there is no harm in a candy bar from time to time. Even a piece of chocolate daily won't hurt her a bit. I would change that right away. Agree to her having some sweets as long as she agrees to eating properly most of the time. My 4-year old gets a "surprise" treat almost every night after dinner as long as he's eaten most of his dinner and his real dessert first (a fruit or yoghurt). I have also given him access to chocolate from a very young age and he's responsible for how much he eats. I told him 3-pieces the other day, he stole off with 6, ate 3 then gave me the others back. And he's only 4! Tell your SIL to stop depraving this poor girl and start making her responsible for her behavior around sugar.

Hope this helps.

It sounds like she may have a yeast overgrowth in her gut. Maybe her good bacteria was compromised in taking antibiotics for some reason? The yeast needs sugar to survive and can cause the cravings. They have lots of kids probiotics out there, I would have her start taking a good one(have someone at a natural foods store recommend one) if she likes yogurt, get some around the house. Telling a kid not to have sugar I think will only make it worse I think. Try these first and see if it curbs it a bit.
Good Luck!
K.

My daughter has a sweet tooth similar to what you describe, but she has never gone as far as sugar packets or stealing. However she has binged on sweets when she goes to the movies with Grandparents, or to visit with her father. What I mean by binge is stuff herself so full of sweets she comes home to my husband and I sick (throwing up). It has definitely been a struggle with her father, because we are not candy/soda/fast food/junk food people (my nephews actually complain that our fridge and pantry doesnt have any good snacks).

Anyway, what seems to be helping in our case is to allow, only after dinner IF she eats all her vegetables, her to have a 100 cal. pudding snack with a dollop of fat free cool whip. I cant say she is 100% binge free at her fathers house, but we have put our foot down with grandparents. We have discussed with her that it is a matter of what her body needs to function well, and sweets dont help her body, too much hurts her body. (By the way, I forgot to mention she is 7 1/2 yrs. old)

I found this on the internet:
This could explain some cravings for sugar for example (B vitamins and/or magnesium) or chocolate (magnesium). In addition, certain key minerals are known to help reduce sugar cravings if you correct a deficiency, such as with chromium or vanadium.

I would check with a nutritionist to see what might help balance the little girl without hurting her.

Take care, C.

Ok Y., I've got a ton of information to share, bare with me because it might be pieced together a little hap hazardly!

Yes, Heather is right, Chromium deficiency can lead to sugar cravings. And ingesting sugar depletes Chromium. Sugar also depletes B vitamins, Calcium, and I'm sure many others.
Dehydration causes sugar and carbohydrate cravings, and ingesting sugar causes dehydration.

It is by no accident that people are hooked on sugars and processed carbs. These foods are laced with chemical additives that the food industry KNOWS are habit forming. Processed foods of all kinds (including sugar which is a processed food) have become a trillion dollar industry and they have made sure to keep you coming back for more.

When these foods get ingested they not only displace the food that would normally supply the nutrients but they actually destroy vitamin levels and create chemical havoc. Your body starts to weaken and break down from malnourishmet. Every biological system in your body is taxed. Once malnourishment sets in, you are a sitting duck for every opportunistic pathogen and parasite to come along. (this is exactly what happens to potted plants that don't get watered. Next thing you know, they have scale, mites and fungus.)Your body, in a state of survival mode, will start sucking water, chemicals and nutrients out of bones and tissues to supply vital organs like the heart and brain.

A common parasite that has become a huge problem and infects a lot of people is candida Albicans(fungus.) Candida can send out signals to the host's brain - cravings for the food and chemicals which allows it to flourish. Malnourishment in our body also sends out signals to "eat." (fat people are malnourished) Extreme thirst can send out signals to eat. The primitive body was set up that way, before chemically altered food was made, to make sure of it's survival. "real" food can supply water to a dehydrated person who wasn't near a watering hole, especially fruit and veggies. If you keep filling the signal with poor food, you body will keep sending the signal, until it's needs are met. Your body also strives to maintain a certain chemical balance, blood sugar, etc.

To truly get those sweet cravings under control, you will have to drastically reduce or eliminate the carbs from the diet and start eating a diet of veggies, nuts, beans, eggs, fish, butter, and protien. Although there are pills to help with cravings, no pill can take the place of what a good diet can do. At some point, when the body is more healthy, she can go back to eating fruits. Chemicals and additives have to be stopped as well. No dairy (a dead food unless it's raw anyways and it feeds candida), MSG, soy,yeast or yeast extract, soy protien, hydrolized veg. protien, textured protien, hydrogenated shortning, aspartame,...you name it. Buy "God made" foods with no food labels on them. No Sodas /juices. If she wants a sweet drink put lemon juice in a glass of water and add Stevia.Lemons detox the liver.

Take L-glutamate to restore gut and lactobaccilus to restore flora. Since B vitamins are paramount to the nervous system, A liquid b vitamin complex under the tounge 3 x a day should be taken. Oregano oil under the tounge can work wonders for candida (and sweet cravings) but sometimes it can be harsh (a burning sensation) (depends on the brand)and some might refuse to take it.

If you must, you can look for ways to make her low carb diet easier by allowing some sugar replacement.

One subsitute for sugar is Stevia (Trader Joes carries it)which will not affect blood sugar levels. It is made from leaves and is found in a powder forn at TJ's. At first it can seem funny, but after you get used to it, as with anything, it becomes more palatable.

Zylitol is a 5 carbon sugar alcohol from the bark of birch trees that cannot be metabolized by candida, is slowly absorbed and has a GI of 7 (table sugar has 100.)It's actually very tasty and can be used the same as sugar, but it won't "brown" in baked goods. It can be useful for diabetics because no insulin is required for metabolization.

Two other things I would consider is fulvic acid for thyroid support/cellular support/recolonizing the GI tract, and chia seed can be used to stabilze blood sugar.

I have a "sweet tooth" and find that getting adequate amounts of protein throughout the day helps curb the need for the sugar "pick me up". Good luck. Definitely do not ignore this problem, it seems pretty extreme.

You might suggest that your niece have an evaluation with a Geneticist for a metabolic syndrome that might be a contributing factor. Perhaps a developmental pediatrician may be of use too. What a tough problem. good luck!

I don't have much to add in the way of content just support. The doctor should have listened to your sister. SHE is the expert on her childs behavior, has the knowledge and instinct to know something is wrong. The condescending wave off from the doctor is inexcusable. If she continues to get that kind of treatment it's time to find a new doctor, which I know is not easy and pain but this sounds serious. Investigation as to why this is happening needed to start when your SIL first brought up the issue.

You already have a ton of great ideas, but I wanted to mention these nutritionists work with kids:
http://www.shapedown.com/SD_About.html
(but mostly they go after if this is a response to stress)
SHAPEDOWN incorporates into obesity treatment a broad range of family therapy and psychoeducational techniques to address underlying psychosocial correlates of the child’s or adolescent’s weight. Included are problem solving, assertive and emotionally expressive communication and parenting skills – limit-setting and nurturing. In addition, cognitive therapy, stress management techniques and body image therapies are used. Together these techniques create the intimacy and safety children need to stop their excessive appetites for food and inactive pursuits.

I know you didn't say she had a weight problem, but at least in adults a sweet tooth is often triggered by stress (thus kid level stress management might help her)
or at least deal with the stress of de-sugaring ;-)

GOOD LUCK

Hi Y.,

I am a wellness consultant. The reason why she is craving sweets is because her body is lacking nutrients and because her body is not getting satisfied she will continue to crave her sweets. I was like that as a young girl. Today I work for the largest wellness company in the world and they introduced a young barley grass that is great in helping with the sugar cravings. It has lots of minerals, protein and calcium to help correct food imbalances and balances the sugar level in your body.

It is also important to drink good clean filtered water that has nutrients. Our children today are not getting enough water to help detox their bodies.

My whole family drinks good water with barley in their breakfast drinks and adds it to salads or anything cold. My 8 year old granddaughter loves it. She had a bit of a sweet tooth also.

I also want to advise you that the sweet n low sugar is not good for anyone. It is a synthetic sugar that experts have found caused seisures in some cases.

If you would like more information on how to help your young one get on a healthier path email me and I will assist you.

Have a great week.

N. Marie

Did the dr test her for diabetes? I know there are a lot of early waring signs like excessive thirst. I am not sure if sweet cravings would be a waring sign but eating so many sweets may trigger type 2 diabetes. I would have a bllod test done. Teh family needs to spend time educating her about the problems associated with eating too many sweets, tell her her hair will not be long and healthy if she does not eat good heathy food and she will not grow tall and have good strong muscles if she fills up on sweets

I like sugar a lot and chocolate not like her though! I learned to reduce my sugar wants by reading the book Sugarbusters used for diabetics even though am not one. I have tinnitus and sugar makes it worse! People like chocolate because it has antidepressant like properties. Sugarbusters. Bust that Sugar! There is book of that title. But also just found this site too:
http://www.sugarbusters.com/filessb/kids.html
Check out this link TOO! :-)

In other words make her an advocate to fight sugar will get enough it anyway as we have too.

http://www.sugarbusters.com/filessb/kidpantry.html

Also CORN is everywhere in foods because it is cheap Sugar. There is a movement to label products that dont have this other type of SUGAR in them. (there is a movie about it should see it google it)

Dear Y.,
I cannot imagine a doctor saying, "Oh well, some of us just have a sweet tooth". That just blows my mind!
She could be hypoglycemic or something....
It's not normal for someone to crave that much sugar.
Her parents need to take her to a different doctor or to see a nutritionist. Her system could be lacking something or there could be another underlying issue. But, it should be dealt with now.
My ex-husband used to lie about and sneak food. He complained about his weight, but I found out those "early morning meetings" he had to leave for included an all you can eat breakfast buffet. I thought he was having an affair, which I also think happened, but I busted him numerous times sitting all by himself in a restaurant with enough food for 4 people on the table. I used to have to hide food because if I made cookies or brownies for the kids so they could have one in their lunch or with a glass of milk after school, he would stay up and eat every single one. There was never one left for anyone else. During the summer, if I bought ice cream, the next morning it would all be gone. No one else got any. Everytime we moved, I would find all kinds of things that I had stashed and forgotten so at least the kids had a fighting chance at having A cookie after helping me bake them.
We all need food to live, but there are healthy treats and alternatives. A child at 9 years old is old enough to understand nutritional value. If she truly can't help herself, then someone needs to help her. You don't want her to be 45 and still gluttonous and lying and hiding when it comes to food.
Your concerns are valid and I hope she can get turned around in all this and on the road to a more healthy approach to her diet.

Sounds like your Niece has a yeast bacteria running rampant in her intestines and the bacteria feeds on sugar. It is what makes us crave sugar. You need to get the good bacteria up and in full force. The easiest way to do this is to take Probiotic Plus 12 By Dr Ohhira. Since she is so young it will not take long to repopulate the good bacteria in the intestines. One small cap at bedtime with water, and one small cap upon waking with water. Follow the directions for children. It is available at health food stores. or online at www.allhealthtrends.com Read the info on it. It is an amazing product created by a microbiologist. All ingredients are natural. The good bacteria is necessary to balance our immune system and fight the bad bacteria and do its job. And if she is having teeth problems she is not getting enough minerals. Minerals are esential to life. Ask any farmer. This is a good info site on minerals. http://www.bazuji.com/food/minerals.htm Sizzling Minerals.
Minerals keep the bones and teeth strong.
Good Luck.

Y.
This is certainly sad for this young girl because of the road it will lead to. As one mom suggested, try to determine if there is a underlying issue that is bothering her, however, we are seeing more and more children developing addictive behaviors towards food because their bodies are lacking the nutrients they desperately need. Over 80% of what we are eating today is causing health issues because of the lack of nutrients in our foods, therefore the body is craving.
Look at the typical American diet of children today and it's frightening how that will continue to lead to health issues. We as adults are also lacking balanced nutrients.

I discovered a awesome, 20 year old Food Science/Nutritional Company, Reliv International, whose nutritional products are positively impacting people's health. They are patented nutrition - no caution labels - totally safe from pregnancy to grandma. The will give your body optimal,balanced nutrition and it's taken as a shake!
The KIDS product is either a chocolate or vanilla shake and will get her body into balance.
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Y.,
The fact that your niece is doing dishonest things to get candy means there is probably a deeper issue there - I would not go as far as to call it an eating disorder, but it is appropriate to be concerned. Anyway I think it could go beyond a sweet tooth. One thing that would be important to know is: does she lie about other things, or just about food?

I would look into getting some evaluation for her. Definitely find a really good physician who will look into this for you. Have her evaluated for medical disorders that would cause this. (I can't think of any, but this is possible.) If there are no medical reasons for this, I would take her to a psychiatrist. That way if there is a deeper emotional issue, it can be dealt with early.

If you are not happy with doctors you find in Redding and no one takes this seriously, I would take matters into my own hands and take her to a specialist at UC Davis in Sacramento or even to San Francisco. I have not found the medical care in Redding to be that great, in general although I'm sure there are some good docs out there.

Hope this helps. Your SIL is right to be concerned and her gut instincts are right!!!! (what is that doctor thinking?)

We will pray for her.
Love
M.

Oh, wow! That much Sweet-n-Low could have poisoned her! That is not sugar--it is saccharin, and it can be carcinogenic--just supposedly not in the quantities people usually use it in, so FDA leaves it on the market.
Has anyone tested her for diabetes? Otherwise, there is some trace mineral, the deficiency of which can cause serious sugar cravings, but I can't remember which. Chromium, maybe?