NEED TO KNOW
Maria Menounos is sharing why she avoids giving her daughter Athena sugar
Menounos says she focuses on building a strong foundation for Athena’s health with a clean diet of protein, vegetables, and fruit
Menounos shares her daughter with husband Keven Undergaro
Maria Menounos is sharing why she doesn’t give her daughter Athena any foods with sugar.
In a clip from an upcoming episode of her podcast Heal Squad, shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Menounos, 47, speaks with Jeannie Mai about the reason why she chooses not to give her 2-year-old daughter Athena foods with sugar. Menounos, who shares her daughter with husband Keven Undergaro, says it stems from her family’s health problems.
“We don’t eat any sugar,” says Menounos. “How?” asks Mai.
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“Because I’m diabetic. My dad’s diabetic, my brother’s diabetic. We have so much diabetes in my family, so I’m teaching her to eat really clean because I have the option,” says Menounos. “She has zero option as a kid. At some point, I’m not going to have the same kind of control, so it’s just protein, vegetables, yeah that’s it.”
“Fruit?” asks Mai.
“And fruit,” says Menonous. “I blend strawberries and make little popsicles with little plain strawberries or plain watermelon juice. Even like the other night, we made these cottage cheese crust pizzas that I told you, you were going to come over. And she didn’t even eat it.”
Mai then asks what Menounos would do if she and her daughter were at a birthday party together, which would presumably have cake.
“She doesn’t even care. Now we’ve only gone to one,” says Menounos.
“There is a blue-shaped cake, three-tiered, with Ariel dangling from it,” says Mai.
“She’s 2 and a half! She just wants to play in the jungle gym, or whatever, goes on the slide,” jokes Menounos.
She goes on to add that they’d recently gone to a birthday party and Athena didn’t want any of the sweets.
“She didn’t want any of the stuff. And she’ll say, ‘I don’t like cake with sugar,'” says Menounos. “Listen, she might at some point. And what am I going to do?”
“But for now, I was looking at her body as like a foundation,” continues the proud mom. “I’m going to build this foundation as strong as I can, knowing that she’s got my blood and we’ve had so many things. I’m like, I have to be super super careful with her.”
“She drinks water and milk completely,” says Mai. “Or like a cucumber flavored water or something.”
“Nope, just water. Oh, actually, she loves sparkling water,” admits Menounos.
“That’s really cool. And you’re preventing her from possibly picking up any habits that could lead to diabetes because your family is….” says Mai, trailing off.
“We have insulin resistance,” says Menounos. “And plus, it’s just the healthier way to be. So I’m like, if I can do it right now…I would not have been like this if the s— didn’t hit the fan.”
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