Webster Avenue. It’s where families of four stroll throughout the day, walking their dogs or going out to brunch. At night, DePaul students take over, shuffling from sports bar to sports bar on their midnight hunts for intoxication. Wedged right in between Floriole Cafe and where John’s Place used to be lies Webster's greatest treasure: Sweet Mandy B’s. Sweet Mandy B’s is well-recognized by Lincoln Park residents as having the best desserts in all of Chicago.

This morning, at 11:10am, when I had just gotten out of my second class, someone offered me a senior treat. I looked down into the flowery orange and light green Sweet Mandy B’s box and saw a brownie, probably 4 by 4 inches long and slathered with pink frosting. Layers of it nestled on top of a robust mid-section of fudge sauce and the spongy, chocolatey base. “No,” I said instinctively. “I’m alright. Thanks, though.” I glanced over and noticed my friend devouring one. I shouted his way, “Dang! Those things are a Hypoglycemic Coma waiting to happen!” He laughed; it wasn’t the first time he’d heard this joke.

The thought of consuming that brownie never even crossed my mind. It breaks one of my biggest rules: no sugar before noon. This is a philosophy that I have picked up over the last couple of years, and it has become a routine that I swear by. A few years ago I would’ve thought about taking a bite. But now, even my favorite treat can’t tempt me to deviate from my daily routine. 

The long-time owner of Sweet Mandy B’s, Cindy, advertises that she has “truly loved watching children and families grow, and creating the special desserts that still bring smiles today.” It’s true, locals say a Sweet Mandy B’s cupcake is “like a bite into heaven.” Cindy Levine, the bakery’s owner, describes the interior as having, “pastel colors and old fashioned décor.” The bakery “evokes a sense of warmth and nostalgia from the moment you enter.” Little kids press their faces up against the glass display cabinets filled with delicious treats.
Sweet Mandy B’s is a playground. They serve everything from traditional cookies and brownies, to cupcakes and ice cream, and cakes and pies as well as unique creations such as dirt cakes, double doozies, and cabinet cake.
One of the first connoisseurs of chocolate, Thomas Jefferson, warned John Adams that “the superiority of chocolate, both for health and nourishment, will soon give it the preference over tea and coffee in America.”
Jefferson’s prediction that chocolate would proliferate in popularity was accurate, but his assertion that chocolate is healthy and nutritious was not. According to more recent studies, sugar - the stuff that makes chocolate good -  is actually like a drug. When we eat it, receptors in our brain release serotonin, the pleasure hormone, and we experience a crash later on. According to research by Healthline News, sugar actually affects “the part of the brain that’s associated with emotional control;” moreover, “intermittent access to sugar can lead to behavioral and neurochemical changes that resemble the effects of a substance of abuse.”

So, why did I deny the brownie this morning? 

My grandfather diagnosed himself with Hypoglycemia. The Physicians Committee describes Hypoglycemia as a condition in which patients are required to craft a diet with “a reduction in simple sugars, a large intake of complex carbohydrates, and frequent feedings.” Papa’s personal solution was to never eat sweets before noon. My father followed in his footsteps. So did I.

My uncle has a very strict routine as well. He wakes up every morning, works out, and goes straight to work. My father says that he likes to wake up every morning and “feel good.” According to my father, my uncle is “totally addicted to working out.”

Many years ago, my uncle battled with alcoholism. My Father says that it seems like he strengthened other routines as a “substitute for losing alcohol.” Shortly afterward, my grandfather made the decision to give up alcohol with him. My father says, “the first time I knew my brother had a problem was when I was on a business trip in Dallas, and his girlfriend called me saying she thought he had a problem. It was the first time I realized he might actually be struggling - not able to control himself.” At one point in his life, Uncle Shark, as my sisters and I know him, felt like he couldn’t break free from his drinking habit. My father describes his brother’s time in rehab as “a struggle for him to get through every minute. Every day was a long day. He just started putting one day after another after another.”

My grandfather, father, uncle and I have all clung to our routines. Papa eats nothing but unsalted nuts, black coffee, and lukewarm water without ice until noon every day; my father, eggs or oats, sometimes a glass of milk, and rarely, an espresso to replace his black coffee. I typically drink a protein shake, grab a handful of almonds or make eggs and typically get some sort of caffeine as well.

Our habits are certainly similar, but are my father and my Hypoglycemic tendencies genetic, or was is something else at play?

At first glance, it appears that my father and grandfather’s parallel eating habits should be hereditary.

Genetics are the answer to thousands of familial similarities, but one condition in particular breaks the rule: Hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is not hereditary. Neither my father nor I are diagnosed, yet we continue to eat as if we are. Why?

I realized that the answer is because of environmental factors. Psych Central says, “what we learn in these early years takes on an inflexible character about which we have little choice.” What our parents do when we are young is “programmed” in a child’s mind, especially with repeated habits.

My father started following his father’s eating habits at a young age because he looked up to his father. I did the same. Even though we don’t actually have Hypoglycemia, we are both genuinely affected by sugar. Time, repetition, and exposure have cemented our habits. Our routine became our mantra.

I’ll never accept a brownie at 11:10am, but it will always be my favorite treat after dinner.