We were talking the other day about how cheap it is for kids to buy fizzy drinks these days… and the amount of sugar that is in them!

I remember walking into the supermarket first thing in the morning on a number of occasions, and there were these young kids walking out of the supermarket with two bottles each (big ones) of fizzy drink!
I don’t think people get how “bad” sugar is especially in excessive amounts and I know from personal experience how “bad” sugar is and how addictive it can be because I was brought up on it! Every morning in our school lunch boxes, we would have at least (at least!) one chocolate bar! When I think back, I realise I became addicted at a very young age and have spent many years of my life trying to deal with balancing insulin and sugar levels.
Diabetes is a huge issue here in Aotearoa and in many places around the world and yet we continue to promote sugar every single day without thought for the consequences of consuming large amounts of it.

As adults, we need to take responsibility for ourselves and the food that we put into our bodies and bless those yummy chocolate bars that magically made their way into my lunchbox every morning, but now, its my responsibility to ensure that this is not passed on to the next generation… the least we can do is stop taking the easy option and feeding our children sugar!
I want to finish with a link to a beautiful flute and poetry reading by Rykelle Kemp and her Dad Randy Kemp who I met here in Aotearoa back in 2006. This is beautiful and talks about the assimilation of their people… and the words, “sugar – the new fire water” are Rykelle’s… http://bit.ly/kogjVP When you arrive to the website, you’ll see Rykelle in a recording studio, press play…
Arohanui,
Jo x