What is the best alternative for Sugar for babies and Toddlers.

 

We have heard numerous information/ articles stating how sugar is bad. But sugar is just carbohydrate and is actually not bad for children if it’s consumed in the right amount.

The actual issue arises when children consume too much sugar.

Children love sweets and all things that are sweet. This is due to their taste buds being very sensitive. In fact, it is found that the preferred intensity of sweet for a child is two times of that of an adult. Sometimes we will find that children will tell that they need something more sweeter, when we would have found it’s already sweet.

Why is sugar not always bad?

Sugars are carbohydrates. Some common sugars that we normally consume are:

  • Fructose – Natural sugar found in fruits 
  • Lactose – Natural Sugar found in milk 
  • Sucrose - This is the man made sugar and scientific name for the common sugar in our home. It is also called as ‘free sugar’.

Every one of the above types of sugar have 3.75 calories per gram - which means that it’s around 15 calories in each teaspoon.

Sugar is digested very easily in our body and converted into energy. It’s a very simple process and does not harm children when they consume sugar.

Impact of having too much sugar:

It’s a known fact that having too much sugar can have an increased risk of weight gain for both adults and children, which further can result in risk of diabetes/ other heart diseases. This is because of the calories in sugar that can result in weight gain.

Sugar, also the main reason of tooth decay, but it’s only from man-made/ table sugar (sucrose). Fruit or milk sugars will not cause this. Also when fruit is converted to juice, its converted into free sugar which again is not good for our teeth.

Table sugar/ sucrose should be avoided in children under 4 yrs. as much as possible. Its more imperative when child is under 1 year.

 

Natural sugar as a substitute for children:

There are 3 types of natural sugar substitute. Let’s go through each one :

 

Natural Sweeteners

Natural sweeteners are honey, syrups, and other sugars like coconut sugar. Each one them is a sugar with a different name.

A major difference of these vs table sugar is that they are less refined and hence will have more nutrients like minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants.

With exception of honey each of the above is safe for children even under 1. Honey is safe if kid is over 1 year.

Coconut and Date sugar look and taste like brown sugar and can be used in cooking and baking as normal sugar.

Honey is liquid sugar and is an output by bees. It is sweeter than normal sugar and hence less amount of honey is enough in the cooking.

Syrups – e.g. maple, agave, molasses  - are also liquid sugar and can be added to cooking and baking as normal.

Sugar Alcohols

They are known as sweeteners. Some examples are xylitol, sorbitol and mannitol. The name can be misleading and one thing to note is that they don’t contain any alcohol.

Xylitol is a natural sugar and is extracted from different plants. It as originally extracted from birch tree.

Note that eating huge amounts of sugar alcohol can cause a laxative effect and lead to loose stools, bloating, etc.

Sugar alcohols are safe for children up to the maximum accepted daily limit set by the government.

 

Artificial Sweeteners (That Are Actually Natural!)

These are man-made sweeteners. E.g.: Steviol glycoside or ‘Stevia’ is a sweetener that is extracted from the stevia plant leaves. It has zero calories and is 200-300 times sweeter than table sugar.

Stevia has been shown to be safe for children up to the acceptable daily limit of 4mg/kg of body weight. Note that you would need to use a lot less of the sweetener than sugar for the same sweetness.

It is not recommended that this not be used in baking/ cooking.

Other Artificial Sweeteners

Other artificial sweeteners include brands like Canderel, Aspartame etc. These are not recommended for children,

Summary

Keep sweet foods to a minimum for babies under age 1 years, irrespective of the sugar or other sugar alternatives.

For children under 4, it’s best to use foods with sugar, honey, syrups and also give sweet foods in small portions.

Sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners not recommended in children/ toddlers until they are 3.

Little amigos nest has a variety of natural sugar substitute/ organic options like dates powder, and other options that are completely safe, natural and organic for children.

https://lilamigosnest.com/main/feeding-and-mealtime/organic-food.html