5 Ways to cut SUGAR from your child’s diet: Help them to live a healthy life!
If you have missed the previous Blog about sugar addiction, just click here
When you will visit the blog on Sugar Addiction, you will
understand what is the importance of today’s topic.
Okay, so, following are
5 ways to cut Sugar from your child’s diet:
#1 Start Early
Try to get into the habit of giving your child
low sugar diet right from
starting top feed for the first time. Because,
it is you who develop habits in your child. After
stopping breast feeding and starting
top food, don’t give your child much of sugary food like
sheera, sweet rice, kheer etc. Instead of that
you can give dal water, crushed dal rice,
smashed boiled potatoes etc. There is
one view which even says that you
should not give sugar or salt to your child
for first 2 years of their life!
#2 Absolute No To Cold Drinks
It is a well known fact that soft drinks
do not have any nutritive value & still
you give it to your child. But do you know that,
even cold drinks manufacturers themselves are
writing in their advertisements that
they are not suitable for children. Who would be
more authentic than the manufacturers themselves? Listen
to them, ( in one of our previous blog, we have
discussed about this issue in detail. Click here to re-visit the blog on
4 shocking facts about Thums Up Charged!) and
there are many healthy alternatives like
Coconut water, butter milk, lemon water etc.
#3 No Chocolate Milk Powder
You obviously want your child to
grow well and fast. So, what do you do?
You start believing in those television commercials &
start giving them chocolate powder which you think are
full of proteins and vitamins. But, believe me,
my child has grown pretty well without those
chocolate milk powders and your
child will also grow well even without those
aggressively advertised milk powders like
Horlicks, complan etc. Natural healthy alternatives are:
- Chickoo milkshake
- Dates milk
- Anjeer (fig) milk.
#4 Don’t Make It A Reward
When you use sweets like chocolates, cakes or pastries as
rewards or bribes for your
child’s achievement, sweets are wrongly
linked in your child’s minds as
something that is desirable. If your child has
really got sweet tooth, you can think of
some healthy alternatives like
home made no-sugar dates, banana sweets or even
no sugar home made cakes. A word of caution-
you need to replace sugar with
naturally sweet substances, don’t use
artificial sugar alternatives like sugarfree. They are
even more harmful than sugar!
#5 Don’t Just Tell, Be Their Role Model
You must have heard this before-
Your children don’t listen to you, they
Copy you. It is equally true for
Sugar addiction as well. If you yourself
don’t follow what you tell them, they
definitely won’t listen to you. But, if
you yourself can control your own
sugar consumption, they probably
will also follow your path.
I know, the last point is
most difficult. Don’t worry, rather
consult a qualified dietitian. We can
give you tips & tricks which
will help yourself & your child to
get rid of Sugar Addiction!
That all for today,
See you next Tuesday
With another Tuesday tip,
Till than….
Take care.
Providing simple solutions for the complexities of life-
Dr. Bhumita Makwana
Your Dietitian & Cosmetic Clinician
