Herald on Sunday

Could you raise a sugar-free family?

- By Sarah Schenker

It wasn’t until I became pregnant at 33 that my sugar cravings really took hold. I found myself constantly yearning for ice-cream.

I stocked our freezer with mint choc chip and devoured bowls at a time. The baby would kick up a frenzy in my stomach after I’d eaten — sugar even gets a reaction in the womb.

After my son Daniel arrived in 2008 I was, understand­ably, exhausted as I adjusted to breastfeed­ing a newborn. It ’s hard to find a moment to comb your hair, let alone eat properly.

Despite all my knowledge of food and nutrition, I would regularly grab a quick sugar fix or some carbs to keep me going, but the subsequent crashes interfered with my sleep, leaving me even more tired.

At a playdate when Daniel was around five months old, he reached for a slice of French bread and happily started gumming it. It wasn’t necessaril­y the food I’d have chosen for his first few mouthfuls, but it showed me he was ready for weaning and I made the decision, then and there, that I didn’t want to feed him refined carbs or processed sugars, and our journey began.

When I started most people were focusing on low-fat or lowGI diets, and sugar wasn’t really under the microscope.

But I knew that something so addictive couldn’t be great for our bodies — a hunch that has certainly proved to be true.

So, as some of my mum friends experiment­ed with pouches and jars, I began to puree a rainbow of vegetables and fruit for Daniel’s mealtimes.

There were times when I was definitely tempted by shop-bought food, but I was committed, and seeing my son develop a strong, adventurou­s approach to food was so rewarding.

But while he was thriving, I still felt tired and sluggish, and my mood was all over the place.

I needed to start taking care of my own nutrition, so I began to incorporat­e food I was preparing for Daniel into my own meals.

If I made him mashed carrot, for instance, I would use the leftovers to make myself spicy carrot soup. And I went cold turkey on the sugary foods I’d been relying on.

I immediatel­y felt a difference. I was more alert, energetic and looked trimmer. My second son Jacob came along 18 months after Daniel and we refined our non-refined approach.

I developed more and more recipes and got on first-name terms with my local grocer.

As the boys got older, things obviously became trickier. I can’t police what they eat at school, and I ’ve had to learn to be more relaxed when they go to parties or restaurant­s.

I didn’t want to be that parent who denied them a slice of birthday cake with their friends.

Nowadays, I’d say their sugar intake is around 80/20 — none at home, and occasional­ly when they’re out and about.

Of course they love the occasional treat, but it isn’t the battlegrou­nd that some of my friends and family assume it might be.

The boys do eat fruit and of course I make them cake on their birthdays — it just happens to not include refined sugar.

I use fruit puree or mash up dates for my sweet dishes — you get the lovely, sugary hit, but packed with the fibre, vitamins and minerals that balance its effects on the body.

Nutritiona­lly, at least, I think I have set my family on the right path. I hope my boys will be mindful eaters for life, even if they do succumb to fizzy drinks eventually. — Telegraph

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