Kids Diet Saboteurs
Do you know what foods are sabotaging your child’s diet? Wondering what calories may be creeping into their diet without you even knowing it? From fruit juices to after-school snacks, Truestar targets the foods that may be sabotaging your child’s health!
Diet Saboteurs
1. Fruit Juices: Fruit juices are a drink of choice for many kids but unfortunately it’s not the best choice for their health! No matter what kind or flavor, fruit juices and fruit drinks are loaded with sugar and calories that can sabotage anyone’s diet efforts. In fact, a recent study in the Journal of Pediatrics found that overweight 3-4 year olds who drank something sweet 1-2 times per day doubled their risk of becoming more overweight a year later. Fruit juices are considered “empty” calories, as they have little nutrition and can add up calories in the diet easily as our kids gulp away. Healthier option: Water down 100% juices to half water and half juice to decrease calories. Also, try to encourage water as a beverage of choice and have your kids enjoy the whole fruit rather than the juice. The fruit contains natural sugars, as well as nutrients and fiber.
2. Cereals: Nutritious cereals can supply your kids with as much as half of the daily requirements for many of the top vitamins and minerals. Unfortunately, many of the cereals our kids choose due to TV advertisements and colorful boxes are not nutritious. Kid’s cereals tend to be loaded with sugar and calories that can easily sabotage your child’s health. Healthier Option: Check nutrition labels of cereals for whole grains. Try to choose a cereal with at least an average source of fiber (2g of fiber per serving) or one with a high source of fiber (more than 4g grams per serving). Also, limit the sugar in cereals. Sugary cereals are nothing more than empty calories. Check the nutrition panel that the total carbohydrate to sugar ratio is no less than 4:1. Meaning that if the total carbohydrates are 20g the sugars should be 5g or less. To sweeten your child’s cereal naturally, add fresh, frozen or dried fruit.
3. Snacks: If you’re feeding your kids fruit roll-ups or fruit snacks made with fruit juice and think they’re nutritious—think again! Fruit snacks are nothing more than empty calories and sugar. Unfortunately, against most parents’ popular belief, fruit snacks do not count as a fruit serving. As well, just because the box may say fat free, it doesn’t mean they are calorie or sugar free. Many of these products are low in nutrients and high in sugar and calories. Healthier Option: Have your child snack on the real whole fruit rather than the artificial snacks. Also, give your kids vegetables with dip or celery with peanut butter as a healthy snack. Other healthy snacks include homemade trail mix with soynuts and dried fruit and lowfat cheese and crackers.
Help keep your children healthy with Truestar nutrition, exercise, vitamin, attitude and sleep plans for kids!
