The Power Of Protein

Have you ever read the book Peter Pan?  There is a scene where Tinkerbell gets incredibly angry about her situation, make some rash decisions.  The author explains it this way.  "Fairies have to be one thing or the other, because, being so small they unfortunately have room for only one feeling at a time".  This is exactly the case with our 4 year old Gennisee.  By today's standards she would probably be labeled A.D.D. or something even more dramatic if we were to have her evaluated.  The fact is, she is sometimes very happy and sometimes very angry.  There doesn't seem to be any in between.  Bi-polar?  Maybe.  Stubborn?  Yes.  Un-treatable?  Absolutely not.

You see, every morning Gennisee wakes up grumpy.  OK, she actually wakes up very happy, bun in the 3 1/2 minutes that pass between her getting out of bed and making it down-stairs, she becomes grumpy.  Not just grumpy, but down right angry about anything that happens to not be exactly what she wants.  Here you see is where the power of protein comes in.  I know there are a lot of views on the different types of protein and if you have an opinion, we can discuss it . . later.  For now you just need to know that protein works and why it works.  You see, we start most every day by breaking the case of the grumpies with a chocolate protein shake.  It's part routine, which is very important for kids like Gennisee but it's also energy that lasts.  Protein is a very level form of energy.  Your system metabolizes it slowly and burns it at an even rate.  The highly technical graph explains.  Sugar and sugar produced by starch (i.e. most cereals) give you an immediate energy boost.  Unfortunately, this energy rush ends as fast as it started, meaning a crash.  Proteins take a little longer for your body to process but stick with you much longer.  The result is a more stable body and a more stable personality.

We chose to go with a shake because it works for us, but don't feel like this is the only source of good protein.  Dairy products like milk, yogurt and cheese are great sources of protein.  Eggs are fabulous and cheap.  There are also a few cereals like Kashi that have pretty decent amounts of protein if you can get your kids to eat them.  Bottom line that attitude many times means "I need energy"  We have had great results by giving our daughter a big hit with a shake in the morning and by keeping her nibbling on cheese sticks and yogurt throughout the day.  She may only have room for one feeling at a time, but that doesn't mean we can't help choose the feeling.