High Sugar Diet In Children – What Can You Do About It?

For children aged between 2 and 18, the total recommended daily sugar intake is a maximum of 6-teaspoons ( only 25grams) or 100 calories. To put this in to perspective, on average a milk chocolate bar has 23 grams of sugar which is the vast majority of your child’s limit for the day, this figure might shock you but sugar is hidden in so many foods and drinks that we would never expect. For example, Cadbury’s Dairy Milk is a stunning 79% sugar!

Sugar is found in juice, pasta sauce, rice and even bread – so even if you are really careful it can be almost impossible to stick to the daily limit.

If you are a parent of a picky eater, you likely cater to what your child wants. As long as they are eating something, you are satisfied. What you may not know is that catering to your child’s pickiness can have a negative effect on their behaviour, their health and their overall well-being. For example, if your child will only eat certain foods such as macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets, each one of their meals is loaded with sugar and carbohydrates and is highly-processed. Its also extremely deficient in nutrients. When every meal that your child eats is so high in calories, sugary carbs yet so low in genuine nutritional context, it won’t be long before they start putting on weight and develop vitamin deficiency from not eating fruit, salad, vegetables and, of course, healthy proteins

What can you do about it?
When it comes to reducing your child’s sugar intake you need to make the changes gradually. You don’t want to take away all their treats as it will most likely end in a temper tantrum from the younger children.

Instead, 1 or 2 everyday swaps per week can make a huge difference. For example, put a low-sugar (full-fat) yogurt in their lunch box, swap a fruit juice for water infused with chopped-up fruit, or swap a chocolate bar for an apple.

A prime example of foods that are effectively poisonous to kids growing bodies but masquerade as healthy by means of cynical marketing campaigns is Innocent Smoothies for kids. Despite the marketing hype these so-called “healthy” fruit juices are little more than concentrated sugar, and can contain more sugar than full-sugar (Original) Coke. Frightening! If that’s not bad enough, then the kids’ cereal “CoCo Pops” is actually a staggering 84% sugar.

To find out more about what foods you should avoid because of they are highly processed and full of sugar, join our Wellness with ProLongevity Facebook group. Its a fount of knowledge and advice from a leading NHS health professional https://buff.ly/2ACMaj3