Winter holidays are approaching. And, as a rule, they are not complete without New Year's sweets. They are brought by guests, distributed in schools and kindergartens, and are always put in gift packages. Almost all children love sweets. Parents are tormented by the question of how much sweets a child can consume and how to limit this amount.
According to nutritionists and pediatricians, children up to a year Sweets are not recommended for feeding, as the baby's immune and digestive systems have not yet adjusted their work. Babies can be given sweets in the form of natural sugars - these are fructose and lactose from mother's milk. Water or kefir should not be sweetened.
You can start after a year with marshmallows or pastilles, marmalade without sugar powder. Sugar can cause fermentation in the intestines, and hence problems with bowel movements and rashes. Children prone to diathesis do not need sweet foods up to 2 years. Their introduction is possible, but later and with caution.
After 3 years old You can start giving your child sweets in the form of cakes or pastries. By this point, the digestive system is almost fully organized and can process these foods.
Lollipops and caramels can only be offered to a baby with 4 years old, as there is a risk that the child may choke.
The danger of consuming too much sugar is that it can negatively affect the condition of a child's teeth and cause excess weight. Eating too much sugar disrupts metabolism and increases the load on the liver. Parents need to explain to their child that excessive consumption of sweets can cause dental disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends reducing the consumption of added sugars to less than 101% of the total energy intake.
For people who consume an average of 2,000 kcal per day (which is the majority of adults with a sedentary lifestyle), the permissible daily dose of sugar is up to 50 g per day (10 teaspoons). However, the Ministry of Health, together with WHO experts, recommends reducing daily sugar consumption by another half - to 25 g or five teaspoons (this amount of free sugar is contained, for example, in a glass of fruit juice).
Therefore, now is the time to think about what healthy sweets to replace candies, which have become a traditional addition to gifts for the winter holidays. What to give to little sweet tooths? Choose treats that can be both tasty and healthy. You can replace chocolates with sugar-free pastillas, and lollipops with dried fruits. Instead of packaged juice, it is better to give your little one natural fruit juice, compote, or berry and fruit tea.
Avoid processed foods, fried foods: donuts and cakes. Instead of store-bought biscuits, cookies and crackers, which contain a lot of dyes and preservatives, find the simplest recipe and cook it at home. Carrot cake, banana cookies, chia/flax seed pudding, apples baked with cinnamon, homemade yogurt ice cream or kiwi sorbet. It is not only delicious, but also healthy - if you are not fond of sugar. Be sure to find a place in the holiday gift for fresh seasonal fruits: tangerines, persimmons, late-ripening apples and pears, oranges. They are rich in fiber, vitamins and antioxidants.
A few general recommendations:
- Lollipops and caramels are of no benefit, and in addition to sugar, they may contain dyes, preservatives, and flavorings. Therefore, such products should be completely excluded from the child's diet. In addition, they are harmful to teeth and are easy to choke on;
- you need to learn to regulate the amount of sweets your child eats. Never use sweets as a bribe or bribery, this can have negative consequences in the future;
- never leave sweets in sight of children, but always place fruit so that the child can see them;
- It is important to control the quality and quantity of sweets consumed by a child. At the same time, you should not make them a "forbidden fruit" and completely exclude them from the diet. Because, as the saying goes, what is not allowed, is what the child craves.
But you can't completely exclude sweets from your child's diet, because sweets are a great source of energy. In addition, candies and cakes are just joy and pleasure for every child. The main task of parents is to correctly and reasonably control the quantity and quality of sweets that their child eats.
Take care of your health and the health of your children! May the holidays bring only joy and positive emotions!
Chuhuyiv District Department of the Main Department of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection in Kharkiv Region