If you look around at most of the kids now you will notice that many are overweight or obese — the Centers for Disease Control mentions HERE that 25% off kids ages 2 to 5 years of old are considered to be overweight OR obese.
Crazy to think about, right?
Many of those cases can be attributed to the fact that our food industry rides on sugar – sugar in the form of corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sweeteners & more. Sure, there are sugar in milk and fruit – but those are natural sugars that aren’t as worrisome…
Sugar can come in the following forms:
- Corn sweetener
- Corn syrup
- Fruit juice concentrates
- High-fructose corn syrup
- Honey
- Malt sugar
- Molasses
- Sugar OR Raw Sugar, even Brown Sugar
- Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose, Lactose, Maltose, OR Sucrose)
- Syrup
It’s the sugars added to other foods & drinks – Kids Cereal, Capri Sun, Kool Aid Jammers, Trix Yogurt, Yoplait Yogurt, almost everything out there on store shelves is loaded with sugar. And LOTS of it.
If the product doesn’t have fruit or milk in the ingredients, then all of the sugars are added sugars. Our bodies don’t necessarily NEED added sugar to function.
Preschoolers consume an average of 10 – 12 teaspoons of sugar each day – that’s 4 TIMES the American Heart Association daily recommendation.
We NEED to cut back. Eating sugar can wreck havoc on your child’s health – see our last post to understand the effects of TOO much sugar.
Here are FIVE Ways to Cut Back.
1. Don’t Bring Junk into the House
This applies to all of those sugary snack foods – cereals, drinks and even mini muffins – pop tarts, and more. Read the labels – learn how to determine what HAS added sugar.
If it’s out of sight, then it’s out of mind – it will take some effort, but you can work to make that huge sweep of stuff and get it out of the house. Prepare yourself: Kids MAY whine initially but it will pass quickly, believe it or not they adjust quite fast.
We’ll also note, you might have to pass up all that processed food in store – you know, all that cheap stuff that’s on sale with coupons. It’s subsidized food that is pushed and heavily advertised – don’t fall trap.
2. Keep Healthy Options Available
I find that if I have things available, my kids will grab those without any complaint – that goes for boxes of raisins, apple slices, cauliflower that’s cut up, carrot sticks, even pineapple that’s sliced and kept in the middle shelf area of the fridge.
3. Learn how to Read Labels
Part of making better food choices is learning to read the labels – not the outside front of the box. You’ll be surprised to know that all that Kraft Salad Dressing, Barbecue Sauce, and Ketchup are FULL of sugar.
Learn how to make your own healthier options, or opt for Hummus that you can buy at Costco HERE, or make yourself for right around the same price. Be familiar with the different sugars you may find on labels, and be disciplined enough to pass over those items, no matter how inexpensive.
4. Ditch the Sugary Drinks
That goes for ALL of that fruit juice, sports and energy drinks and even punches in pouches. They are FULL of sugar. Even Mott’s reduced sugar is nothing but apple juice watered down…
Why not water? Use fresh fruit to infuse your own water into different flavors. Pick up low fat milk (or, even better, Raw Milk – read about that HERE). A great quality Coconut Water can be good too. If you DO serve juice, try for 100% fruit juice, and dilute it 50% or more with water.
5. Talk to Grandparents, or even Friends before Going Over
I know.. it’s impossible to stick to something when your kids are always invited or asked to go to Grandmas, or even friends houses. Mine are too – but it doesn’t change the way we do certain things.
Talk to Grandma and Grandpa about putting away those sugary items – Talk to other parents about WHY you opt for a focus on less sugar – try for a neutral play date location away from sugary snacks, and bring your own.
In the End..
Many children find comfort in what they love – and manufacturers KNOW this. They know that you will not be able to say “NO” to your kids when you are in a pickle in the store and they are throwing a tantrum.
But I will say that, with 4 kids myself, they DO what you tend to do – so if you show better health choices, they will eventually too. Children are resilient, they pick up quickly and they also ADJUST quickly too. Watching people in Costco throwing in kids boxed cereal left and right and adding Fritos Chips, Capri Suns, and Sugared Drinks without even so much as attempting to read any label concerns me.
If you know you need to reduce that sugar intake, then take the steps to make it a reality. Sure, it might be hard at first. It might NOT be convenient – but in the end, it will ultimately be the BETTER option for your family.
Sure, your sanity is worth worrying about, but so is your child’s health.