Ditching the sugar can be a sweet deal for children
CHILDREN are suffering the effects of having too much sugar in their diets.
One in three UK kids are obese by the time they leave primary school, type two diabetes in children and teenagers has risen 14 per cent in the last year, and the average child consumes three times their recommended allowance of sugar every day. So what can you do to wean your kids off it?
Nutritional therapist and eating psychology coach Claudia le Feuvre believes creative thinking with food can wean a child off refined sugar without tantrums.
She suggested the whole family could try to cut out sugar for a week or 10 days as a fun “experiment”.
But she urges parents not to overdo it when describing sugar’s downsides. “We have to be careful not to scaremonger,” she said. “We shouldn’t tell children sugar is the enemy.”
Here are Claudia’s top tips. The average child eats more than half their recommended sugar intake before school.
If your child has sugary cereal and chocolate spread for breakfast, they’ll start on a blood sugar rollercoaster.
Cereals such as cornflakes have virtually no nutrition.
Instead, go for oats, which can be sweetened naturally with fresh fruit, raisins or honey.
Buying local honey from a farmers’ market will also help strengthen the immune system against hay fever. Try a wholemeal wrap with chicken or turkey and lots of crunchy veg. Or a wholemeal pasta salad with tuna or ham and veg. Veg sticks and houmous are good, too.
Popular yoghurts, such as Frubes, are sugary. I buy a big tub of natural yogurt, put a portion in a small container, with muesli or berries to stir into it in another container. Water is the gold standard for drinks. But if you’re weaning kids off sugary drinks, invest in a water bottle with an inner compartment for ice. Put mint leaves, cucumber, blueberries or a strawberry in it. It’s delicious. Kids are always ravenous after school so it’s important they have a snack when they arrive home. Eggs are my snack of choice. They are cheap and quick to cook.
Homemade pasta sauce is a healthier alternative to shop stuff
I’m wary about giving chocolate as a reward but assign it to just one day or occasion a week. Perhaps wait for the school bell on a Friday. On other days be creative with fruit. Peel a banana or halve and de-seed grapes and freeze them. They taste like gorgeous ice lollies. Homemade pasta sauce is a much healthier alternative to the shop-bought stuff. In the supermarket, ask your children to pick veg they like. You might be surprised. Eating together helps with everyone eating the same.
So when possible, sit down as a family together.
The table is where healthy eating attitudes are learned. For more see go to Claudia’s website at happyinbody.com