Breakfast at 7-11

February 11, 12:38 PMDenver Low Carb ExaminerLinda Duffy

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The breakfast of champions?

I was at my local 7-11 this morning and I really had to restrain myself. The first thing I saw as I was getting out of my car was a dad with his young son who appeared to be about 3 years old. They had just stepped out of the store and dad was getting the son situated to walk home. He put on his hat, zipped his jacket, and then handed him a glazed donut. Sitting on the ground while the dad got his kid ready was a large bottle of Mountain Dew. Hardly something I would consider the breakfast of champions.

Needless to say, my head nearly exploded at the thought of this kid getting pumped full of sugar first thing in the morning. I was able to bite my tongue and make it inside even though I wanted to take that dad and slap him around a bit while giving him a nutrition lesson. It wasn't easy, but lawyers are expensive and my work schedule does not allow time for an assault arrest.

Shaking my head, I made my way over to the coffee area to load up my thermos with Dark Mountain Blend. I was followed in the door by another parent, this time a mom, holding on to a two year old. Their first stop was the Dolly Madison display where mom directed the munchkin to grab a package of mini powder sugar donuts. As I was shaking while trying not to throw handfuls of mini-moos at this moronic mom, they headed over to the fountain drinks. Naturally, mom filled a Big Gulp with Coke.

Between the flour, the high fructose corn syrup, and the sugar, this "breakfast" was nothing more than a giant pile of carbohydrates. No doubt this mom and the previous dad will act all kinds of surprised when their kid ends up fat, gets cavities, or has behavior problems in school. Loading a kid with sugar while giving them NO protein or essential fatty acids is a recipe for a wired, cranky, spastic, obese, malnourished kid.

It would be nice to think that this was just a rare, occasional treat, but somehow I doubt it. It looked more like a typical breakfast for the two children before they headed off to daycare. When these kids grow up, I hope they some day realize that their acne and obesity and other health problems can be directly traced to what their parents feed them at this tender age. I doubt it though. With current government dietary guidelines recommending a high carb, low fat diet along with the billions spent on advertising products made with corn, wheat and other carbohydrates, the odds are firmly againt it. Plus the chance of them listening to some crazy red-headed lady in the 7-11 raving about the evils of sugar and high fructose corn syrup while tossing Splenda packets at passers-by is quite low. I guess we better hope the mainstream gets a clue before I finally snap.