Pompoms and Bonbons

They Kind of Go Together

Have you ever studied how sugars give us quick energy? I did, in 7th grade, which happened several decades ago, for me.

Several decades.

I had to memorize the benefits of various components of normal foods and other things we might eat that are not normal foods, to pass a homemaking test.

Back then, almost all girls studied homemaking. We each wanted to make a home — to turn a house that housed two strangers into a safe and welcoming nest for two who acted as one entity — and to welcome the regular appearance of new, tiny, perfect strangers joining the melee.

Things changed. Boys who desired to be professional chefs felt they should take homemaking. Girls who wanted to know how to fix their own stopped sinks felt they should take shop. Besides, the gender mix was fun. But I digress.

While learning to make a home, we learned good nutrition. All the diets recommending eliminating carbs to lose weight find their basis in pure science, quoted in our homemaking textbooks from the late sixties, and it was old news even then.

You cannot have bonbons unless you get a-movin’. Or else, you will grow fat.

They taught us. We learned it and passed tests. Sugars are for quick energy. Consume sugars and you must burn them or else you will grow fat.

We also learned:

• Too much sugar consumption could lead to diabetes. Fact.
• Honey, although it can have a similar effect, is not as bad. Fact.
• Protein is for long-lasting energy. Fact.
• Salad before a meal improves digestion. Fact.

Educated people knew these nutrition facts back then. So before a basketball game, players received instructions to eat protein and sugar. Coaches often kept Snickers and other rich candies on hand to rejuvenate a team member, if needed. Players often had a double cheeseburger for lunch and a double chocolate malted for a pre-game treat. Cheerleaders ate like that, too. Such athletic types could actually feel the added boost, they told us.

We envied them.

Today I do not. Today I work from several more facts, not known to science back then:

• Forcing the body to deal with too much sugar destroys the pancreas. Yes, after denying it awhile, scientists have again admitted too much sugar in the diet does cause diabetes, after all.
• Sugar consumption totally zaps immunities.
• Sugar is addictive.
• Sugar consumption causes high blood pressure.
• Tooth/gum diseases can cause heart attacks.

All these facts, in famous research, such as the Nurses’ Study, form the basis for much of the health protocol at the Mayo Clinic and for Dr. Atkins’ work, not to mention the “come latelies” such as “South Beach” and “Lose the Wheat Lose the Weight”.

But one more fact that spurs this post, a fact no one could have possibly known before: I woke up with a sore throat today. A bit achy and too tired for cheerleading, I’ve decided to post about good health until I again possess it.

Be well!