Elsa Anka's Podcast
"At home they call me Grandma Herbs"

🎧 Introducing the Naranja Amarga podcast (Juan Llorca and Nutrikids), with support from Zapato Feroz 👣

🍊 In this episode, we talk, with humor and reflection, about how children's nutrition has changed over the generations. 👶✨
🎙️ Elsa Anka shares her experience as a mother and grandmother, highlighting the importance of good habits , family example 👩👧👦 and balance in the consumption of sugar 🍬 and ultra-processed foods 🥤, all from a close and realistic perspective 💬💛




If you prefer to read the content, here is a brief outline summary with some key phrases from the conversation:

Context and protagonists

  • Podcast: Bitter Orange (baby nutrition).

  • Guest: Elsa Anka (journalist/model/actress and recent grandmother ).

  • Drivers: Melisa Gómez and Juan Llorca .

Motherhood, grandparenthood and bonding

Central idea: Parental love is immense and brings constant concern.

    • "It's the most wonderful thing that can happen to you, but love is proportional to suffering."

    • "Your happiness now depends 100% on that of your children."

    • "I love my granddaughter as much as my sons."

Grandmother's Role: Enjoyment vs. Limits

A more playful role, conscious of not invading the role of parents.

    • "You're left with the more fun part: having fun and being well."

    • "If he doesn't want to eat... let his parents know."

    • "At my daughter's house I'm a bit of a herb grandmother ."

Generational changes in nutrition

Before: Tricks and beliefs without evidence; now: Child signals and science.

    • «The pacifier and spoon trick… it worked, but I wouldn't do it today.»

    • "It made me uncomfortable to be forced to eat."

    • "We can't judge the above: they were doing the best they knew how."

Sugar, ultra-processed foods and social normalization

Criticism of the current display and the “normal” nature of sweets.

    • "Is it true that if it's not with sweets, the girl won't be happy?"

    • "It's not just a one-time thing ; it's often almost every day."

    • "A 5-year-old child today has consumed more sugar than one 100 years ago in his entire life." (mentioning Jaramillo)

    • "What you eat, they will eat."

Strategies and habits that do

Modeling, varied offerings, respect for satiety, fruit/yogurt for snacks.

    • "I put it on the table: without forcing it, trying a little bit and then more."

    • "With my granddaughter, natural yogurt with cut fruit... she takes it very well."

    • "If I don't have salad first, I'll have a little apple cider vinegar."

Health > aesthetics, and critical thinking without fatphobia

Priority: functional capacity and long-term well-being.

    • "I want to be 85 and tie my shoes."

    • "Fatphobia is the insult; asking 'Are you okay? Do you need help?' is not."

Advertising, environment and group

The environment pushes us to eat worse; the group can also push us to eat better.

    • "Before, it was TV and magazines; today, advertising is everywhere."

    • "If his group eats salad, he eats salad too."

Anecdotes that illustrate

“Mandatory” milk with cocoa, cologne for nausea, bread with dark chocolate, kombucha vs. lollipops.

    • "I'm hesitant to give him kombucha... but we'll accept a lollipop. Are we crazy?"

“Fierce Question” and children's shoes

Put on shoes when they're already walking and to protect them from the environment; in the meantime, barefoot is better.

    • "The girl, barefoot all day, if possible."