It's prevailing parental wisdom that too much sugar makes kids hyperactive, inducing them to bounce off walls — perhaps literally — and run around like screaming, sleep-deprived banshees.

Most supporting evidence, of course, is anecdotal, but here's a bit of science that parents can employ next time a child cries for an extra candy bar. Weirdly enough, it's even more relevant if you're dealing with a begging horse.

Researchers at Montana State University have found that young horses are easier to train if they are not fed "sweet grain," a mixture of corn, oats, barley and molasses that gives horses glossy coats and a livelier spirit.

MSU animal nutritionists discovered that the extra energy provided by the sweet grain in early stages of training appeared to make 2-year-old horses more disobedient and fearful than control horses fed only a mixture of hay. The grain-eating horses spent more time resisting the saddle. They startled easier. And they bucked or ran more often during training.

"Results suggest that trainers under time constraints could increase their training effectiveness during the early stages of training by not feeding excess dietary energy," wrote MSU horse trainer Wade Black in a paper to be submitted to the Journal of Animal Science.

While the MSU findings probably don't have any direct application to the care and feeding of human young, they do provide parents with a possible scientific response to children demanding sweets: Describe the MSU research, then tell them they can have as much hay as they want.

MEDTRONICA

Oral health for all

oralhealthforall.com

A comprehensive site devoted to oral health, operated by a veteran dental hygienist. There are sections on tooth care for babies, teens and seniors, and a guide to common oral health problems and ways to improve your smile.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Your mind constantly distinguishes the true from the false. Or at least what it believes to be true and false. Memory tests show that people tend to remember what they believe to be true and tend to forget what they believe to be false.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A serving of Orville Redenbacher's sweet Kettle Korn microwave popcorn (2 tablespoons of unpopped kernels or 35 grams) contains 180 calories, 108 from fat. That's 18 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 5 milligrams of cholesterol (2 percent); 230 mg of sodium (10 percent); 16 grams of total carbohydrates (5 percent); 3 g of dietary fiber (12 percent); and 2 g of protein.

STORIES FOR THE WAITING ROOM

Researchers have discovered a natural antibiotic that kills 12 strains of highly drug-resistant bacteria, including Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. The catch: It is derived from the secretions of maggots and it takes 20 mugfuls of maggots to produce one drop of antibiotic, according to New Scientist magazine.

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Phalacrophobia — fear of becoming bald

BEST MEDICINE

Chico Marx of the Marx Brothers used to tell a story about visiting a doctor regarding a bout of stomach trouble. The doctor prescribed plenty of milk and gave Chico a bottle of pills.

"I'll stop by this evening and see how you're doing," the doctor said. "In the meantime, drink at least four glasses of milk. Milk is the ticket for curing your trouble. So drink plenty of it."

That evening, the doctor returned, examined Chico and told him, "You're much better this evening. Just be sure you don't drink any milk. Not one glass. It's not for you."

"But doctor," Chico exclaimed, "only this morning you told me that milk was what I needed and that I should drink four glasses of it."

"Well, what do you know," the doctor replied. "It certainly goes to show that we've made tremendous progress in medicine since the last time I saw you."

OBSERVATION

It's a nasty word but, by God, it should sound alarm bells in parents' minds.

— Tam Fry of the United Kingdom charity National Obesity Forum on the decision by the British government to urge schools not to use the word "obesity" in letters to parents advising that their children are overweight.

LAST WORDS

"Wait a minute."

— The last utterance of Pope Alexander VI (1431-1503), who was born Roderic Llancol, later Roderic de Borja i Borja but is more notoriously known as the leader of the Borgias, a despotic family that reputedly often murdered its political opponents, usually by poison. There is some evidence that Alexander died this way.

To find out more about Scott Lafee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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