Kids love sugar, and why not? All the foods they like to eat are full of sweetness. However, according to statistics, people all over the world are eating too much sugar every day. The average daily sugar intake for children and young adults ages 2–19 is 17 teaspoons or 71 grams, which comes primarily from sugar-sweetened beverages, desserts, and sugary snacks.

According to experts, excess sugar is causing various lifestyle diseases like heart attack, type 2 diabetes, liver problems etc. And so, to deal with consuming large amounts of sugar daily, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommend less than that. 10 percent of calories from added sugars for children two years of age and older and no added sugars for children younger than 2 years of age. Similarly, the American Heart Association recommends that children consume no more than 25 grams, or 6 teaspoons, of sugar per day, and also recommends no added sugar to children under 2 years of age.

According to experts, it is important to reduce sugar with the help of some easy steps to promote a healthy lifestyle and prevent diseases, which include:

Include more fruits and vegetables in daily diet

Doctors say most children don’t eat enough fresh produce, including fruits and vegetables like apples, carrots, broccoli, bananas and peppers. Whole fruits and vegetables are rich in water and fiber, which helps children feel full. Moreover, studies say that chewing is an important part of satiety and hence including more fruits and vegetables in meals and snacks can help them get rid of sugar addiction.

Encourage more home cooked food

Even though this is difficult in some households, the more you can cook for your family at home, the more control you will have over the foods you eat. Restaurants mostly add sugar and preservatives to enhance the taste of food in their menus. But these additives are not necessary to make foods taste good.

Stop giving sugary drinks to children

Kids love to drink soda, sports drinks, lemonade, fruit punch, energy drinks, and 100 percent fruit juice – all of which are full of sugar.

Just avoid these and make babies drink mostly water or plain low-fat milk. Instead of drinking apple juice, eat whole fruits like apples.

Swap Sugar for Breakfast

Simple swaps and food combinations help transform your child’s meals from sugar bomb to nutritional powerhouse – without sacrificing taste. Some things you can do include combining food groups such as peanut butter and celery or adding proteins such as cheese and apples. Such pairings give a feeling of sweetness along with satisfaction.

Additionally, choose no-added-sugar options for spreads and cereals, such as adding crushed bananas or nut butter instead of jelly on toast, or choosing low-sugar cereal options.

Serve carbs carefully

Be it the crispiness or the taste, all kids love crackers and chips. Since they are loaded with salt, sugar and carbohydrates – crackers and chips eventually break down into sugar and also get stuck on your teeth for a long time.

And so, to replicate the same taste, you can bake or air fry fresh vegetables at home with their favorite herbs and spices to reduce the consumption of sugar and carbs.

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