What would you do if you found out that the vitamins you give your baby, which are supposed to make up for nutritional deficiencies and protect your baby's health, are loaded with sugars, colors, chemicals, toxins and other undesirable ingredients? Don't be surprised: you may be consuming more sugar yourself than you think. After all, sugar is hidden everywhere, from salad dressings to "natural fruit-filled" yogurts. It's found in energy bars, fruit juices, ketchup, breakfast cereals, sausage, and other industrially processed foods. And you may be misled by the fact that there are more than 70 code names for sugar, making it easy to confuse it with something else that is harmless.
Pediatric dentists have noted an increase in tooth decay in very young children, and some suspect that the culprit may be the sweet chewy vitamins that cause sugar to get stuck between the teeth.
Flossing and good oral hygiene can help eliminate sugar from between the teeth, but that's only part of the solution, because when you eat sugar, the acid-alkaline balance in your mouth is affected. This, in turn, creates an acidic environment in the mouth, which is conducive to the growth of pathogenic bacteria that produce products that destroy tooth enamel.
The Problem of Excess Sugar
We all eat too much sugar -- certainly more than the recommended six teaspoons of added sugar per day for women, nine for men and three for children (American Heart Association recommendations). As one consequence, obesity is spiraling out of control, and that includes children: it has become more common over the past 30 years, putting children at risk for many "adult" diseases, such as type II diabetes, high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease. There has also been an increase in the development of non-alcoholic liver obesity in children. And this concerns not only America, but also European countries and Russia.
Sugar is often used to make certain foods more desirable for children, who have already tasted the sweet taste and want it again.
School, stress, germs and sugar
The school-free years are behind us, and my child has been going to school every day for two months now, full of other kids (coughing, sneezing and blowing their nose), with intense stress and new emotions. All of this is a great stress on his body. And stress is known to weaken the immune system.
On top of that, I am no longer able to control my child's food as strictly as before, because now he is out of my sight six hours a day. And the diet directly affects the immune system. And sugar lowers it!
Phagocytes, the cells that protect us from harmful bacteria and other foreign substances, are an important part of the immune system. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published evidence that sugar reduces phagocytic activity.
First, sugar is linked to chronic inflammation, responsible for many diseases. According to the findings of Harvard Medical School, it increases the risk of death from cardiovascular disease.
Second, sugar disrupts the balance of good and bad bacteria in our bodies, causes reduced immunity, and can cause cold and flu-like symptoms in children, including coughs, sore throats, sinus infections, allergies, and other respiratory diseases.
A year ago I had no idea that my main enemy would be sugar and sweets and that I would have to develop strategies to minimize the amount of them in my beloved son's life. Now I spend quite a bit of time on this struggle. Here's what I can recommend to those who are as concerned as I am about the excessive presence of sugar in a child's life.
Healthy habits at home - healthy kids:
Make sure your child eats as well as possible, eats enough fresh vegetables, and engages in regular physical activity.
Eliminate sugar as much as possible, make rules, such as no more than 2 sweets a day and only after meals.
Read labels carefully, understand all the names of sugar.
Be aware of the hidden sugar that is present in foods that don't taste sweet at all.
Don't believe advertising slogans like "natural," "eco," and "sugar-free," check the labels.
Try to replace industrially produced candies, cookies and muffins with homemade ones whose composition you can control.
Try to meet your child's sweet tooth with fruit.
Minimize the amount of industrially processed foods in your home and diet. Prepare breakfasts, lunches and dinners from whole plants, fish and meat, not from the contents of bags, cans and boxes.
Do daily advocacy, telling your child that too much sweetness will hinder success in the things you love.
Whenever possible, send your child to school/kindergarten with homemade food.
You must be logged in to post a comment.