As parents we always look for the best alternatives for the diet of our children, however, marketing and the food industry is usually misleading, so here are some baby foods that seem healthy but you should not give your children If you are looking to protect your food.
Yogurts for babies and children
The first yogurts we give to our children as well as others that are promoted with children's drawings and messages such as "rich in calcium and protein" or "for optimal growth" may have sugars added to its composition as well as starch that is nothing more than a thickener without nutritional validity.
For each glass the first baby yogurts can have up to 8 grams of sugar, many of them added industrially and a variety of additives that contribute nothing to health. And copies for older children like any strawberry yogurt can have up to 15 grams of sugar in its composition.
In Babies and more Infant feeding: everything parents should know summarized in 17 basic keysAs the OCU points out, it is better to avoid yogurts at such a young age (before the year of life) or go to milk, natural yogurt that does not have added or unflavored sugars which are the ones that less sugar concentrate inside.
Actually, yogurt is not necessary, but with milk it is enough to meet the calcium and protein needs of the smallest of the house.
Commercial Fruit Juices
They are for many the most appropriate way to add fruit to children, however, commercial fruit juices may contain a lot of added sugar and be a scarce source of good nutrients for the body, which is why its consumption is discouraged in the daily diet of the smallest of the house.
For every 200 ml they can contain up to 15 grams of sugar and are one of the main sources of this nutrient that the WHO recommends reducing in the infant diet as the ANIBES study points out.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limiting the consumption of fruit juices in children because its excessive consumption can lead to high sugar consumption and be associated with dental caries, gastrointestinal problems and others.
The best will always be a fresh fruit and water as usual drink, because Fruit juices are not essential or carry benefits For children's health.
Vegetable drinks
The calls until recently "milks" vegetables or drinks based on soy juice, almonds, coconut, oatmeal or others They are often considered good alternatives to offer our children, as they are considered "easy to digest" because they do not have lactose and their only name that mentions "of plant origin" is often sufficient for consumption.
However, the Vegetable drinks do not have enough calcium and many times they do not even offer an adequate protein intake, so their consumption in replacement of breast or cow's milk in larger children can condition growth.
As if that were not enough, most of them have a high sugar content in its composition, close to 15 grams per 200 ml. If we are looking for a good option to offer our children, it is best to opt for vegetable drinks without added sugars that are often also flavored drinks or of course, breast milk or vaccine.
Breakfast cereals
Children's breakfast cereals are offered as a source of quality energy, fiber and other good nutrients. However, although they are one of the most chosen options for the first meal of the day, most of them have a huge amount of sugar inside, exceeding 15%.
Children's cereals not only have attractive packaging but also have different shapes, colors and flavors to capture even more the attention of the children of the house. But nevertheless, They do not offer fiber or good proportions of vitamins or minerals but more color and taste worse nutritional quality starring too much sugar and in some cases, trans fat and sodium in appreciable amounts.
In its replacement, better go to natural and whole grains, such as oatmeal, rice, quinoa or others without added sugars and even better if they are without attractive packaging, without flashy colors or fruity or other diverse flavors.
In Babies and more This is the sugar contained in baby cereal porridge: we analyze the main brandsCereal bars
The word cereals seems to always be a good option to add to the children's diet and granola bars, cereals and others added are the options that children consume most as an easily portable snack.
However, the vast majority of them they are rich in sugar and concentrated in calories, with little fiber and proteins that satiate, and can also have trans fat and sodium in appreciable amounts.
If we want to avoid excess sugar in the children's diet the best thing is avoid commercial cereal bars and develop alternatives with our own hands, if possible, without free sugars added to its preparation.
Fortified Cookies
The cookies They are another of the most chosen options when solving breakfasts with ease, promoting many times as enriched or fortified and therefore, capturing the attention of many consumers who seek the best in nutritional terms for their children.
However, fortified foods are not always healthier than those that do not have added vitamins or minerals, and cookies that are marketed as good sources of energy are nothing more than another presentation of the industrial bakery being for that reason, rich in sugars, in addition to salt and poor quality fats In many presentations.
It is best to elaborate homemade cookies that will not have additives and we can choose quality ingredients to add to them, being the most advisable to prepare alternatives without added sugars.
These are good examples of foods that seem healthy but that we should not give our children If we seek to protect your current and future health.
It is important Don't let us be guided by messages, drawings and other marketing strategies but look in detail at the list of ingredients as well as the nutritional information of children's products in search of valuable data such as sugar content, trans fat, refined flour, salt or sodium and others.
