Sugar rush

I've just been reading the (large body) of scientific evidence that flies in the face of what every parent knows: There is no link between sugar and hyperactivity in kids.

To be fair, I already knew this from a conversation I had with a pediatrician years ago: The body tightly regulates blood sugar level, ensuring a steady supply to the brain.  If you eat a small amount of sugar, such as a teaspoon, it will have no noticeable effect on blood sugar.  If you eat a significant amount of sugar (say, a soda) then the body will release insulin, which triggers the cells in your body to convert the sugar to triglycerides and store it away for future use, effectively removing it from the bloodstream.

In some people, the insulin removes too much sugar, temporarily causing hypoglycemia, or a sugar crash, but that's rare.  You mid-afternoon sleepiness is not caused by a lack of sugar, and your recovery is not caused by a rush of sugar; it's caused by the act of eating and relaxing as much as the placebo effect--since you expect to feel better after eating a sugary snack, you do feel better.

Why, then, do kids seem to behave so badly after eating sugar?  Again, it's the context--if they are at a celebration, with other kids, they are bound to act up.  If their parents are indulging them with sugar, it's likely they are indulging them in general.  The expectation is they will act up, and kids readily oblige.

So if there is no such thing as a sugar rush or a sugar crash, I have one more question: Is there a sugar hangover?  In the morning after, they certain seem to exhibit the classic signs of withdrawal: Difficult to rouse, anti-social behavior and an over-riding desire for the tail-of-the-dog, more sugar.  From hot chocolate to ice cream, it doesn't seem to matter how miserable they feel, sugar is the answer.

Of course, kids don't have the self-awareness to blame their mood on the sugar; it's the person who woke them, or gave them an omelette instead of pancakes (with jam and syrup).  Or in my case, the person who physically lifted them up and put them in the car, because we had prior commitments that morning.  However, by noon I got a hug, an apology, and an "I love you."

I still get tired in the afternoon, and I still reach for a sugary sweet as a pick-me-up, but I also don't start screaming, crying and throwing things when I don't get my way.  Unfortunately I can't blame it on the sugar; I will have to recognise it was my own fault for not controlling the situation and letting them stay up too late.  Perhaps that's the hardest part of being a parent--whenever you try to reward them, it ends up biting you.