Sugar and babies

No added sugar for babies, US advisory panel recommends

Coping with a picky eater —

Do you have a picky eater in your house? As babies grow, they can develop aversions to foods they once liked. Pediatricians, nutritionists and feeding specialists give their top tips for handling picky eaters.

You can begin "picky-proofing" when baby begins eating solid foods. "Babies learn taste preferences from a very early age, so offer a variety of tastes, textures, and even temperatures of food," said pediatric feeding specialist Melanie Potock, author of "Adventures in Veggieland."

Pediatrician Dr. Tanya Altmann, author of "What to Feed Your Baby" has a list of "11 foundation foods" she believes will help children learn to love healthy food. "Let your infant lean in and open his mouth when he wants to eat," said Altmann. "Don't force feed or play airplane games -- that doesn't help. "

Encourage your child to make friends with food at a young age by involving them with cooking, said Potock. She also suggests playing with food, such as using beans in a tic-tac-toe game.

Potock also suggests talking about how food is grown, such as with green beans and "Jack and the Beanstalk." Better yet, she said, grow your own veggies if possible, and have your child harvest and cook them. Take your child regularly to the farmers' market to see and touch new temptations.

Michigan pediatrician and researcher Dr. Julie Lumeng suggests pairing your picky child with one that is eating a variety of foods. "Children are more likely to be willing to taste a new food if they see another human being tasting that new food," she said. "And it's even more powerful if it's a peer."

Parents should model healthy eating behavior, said Ellyn Satter, author of "Child of Mine: Feeding with Love and Good Sense. "
"Kids do better with eating when they get their parents' undivided, positive attention," said Satter, adding that rule applies even when serving take-out or going to a restaurant. "However you put together a meal, it's still important to sit down together and pay attention to each other when you eat it."

At age 2 and 3, it's developmentally appropriate for toddlers to have aversions to foods they used to like, said Lumeng. Worried parents often begin coaxing, harassing or even bribing with dessert. Don't do it, said Lumeng. She just completed a study showing that pressure tactics don't work.

Instead of pressuring your child, continue to cook meals that you enjoy and include one or two items the child likes. "But don't cater to them and limit the menu to only things the child readily accepts," warns Satter. "And don't force them to eat. Let your child choose what and how much to eat of what you put on the table."

Following these tips will help parents survive the picky eating era and set their child up for later success, experts said.
"As the child moves through the natural stage of picky eating and emerges out the other side," said Potock, "they've been exposed and are friends with a lot of different foods and are ready to try them again."

Coping with a picky eater

CNN  — 

There’s a new motto for parents when it comes to feeding babies from birth until 2 years of age: “Every bite counts.”

That’s the takeaway from the first plan ever proposed for infants and toddlers by the 2020 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a group of experts charged with providing science-based recommendations twice each decade on how our diet affects our health.

“This report continues the traditional emphasis on individuals ages 2 years and older and, for the first time, expands upon it to reflect the growing body of evidence about appropriate nutrition during the earliest stages of life,” the report stated.

“Nutritional exposures during the first 1,000 days of life not only contribute to long-term health but also help shape taste preferences and food choices.”

How to avoid toxic metals in your baby's food (and yours)

Released Wednesday, these final recommendations are sent to the US Department of Health and Human Services and the US Department of Agriculture, which use them to create the final 2020 to 2025 dietary guidelines that dictate much of what Americans will eat over the next five years.

The advisory group’s recommendations “are enormously influential,” said nutrition researcher Marion Nestle, who has authored numerous books on food politics and marketing, including 2015’s “Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (and Winning).”

“They govern food assistance programs, influence food industry marketing, and also influence the actual guidelines and food advice for the public,” Nestle said.

So how did this committee do, considering all the challenges of a short time frame, Covid-19 logistics and the need to add recommendations for the first two years of life?

“This is an impressive, solid, conservative review of the existing science highly consistent with previous Dietary Guidelines but with mostly stronger recommendations,” Nestle said.

“At the outset, I was concerned that the committee members might be heavily biased in favor of food industry interests, she added. “If they were, such biases do not show up in the final report. I think this committee deserves much praise for producing a report of this quality under these circumstances.”

One key message in the 2020 infant recommendations: No amount of added sugar is OK for a baby’s development.

“Avoid foods and beverages with added sugars during the first 2 years of life,” the committee stated. “The energy in such products is likely to displace energy from nutrient-dense foods, increasing the risk of nutrient inadequacies.

Aranjuez, SPAIN: A child plays with a Chupa Chups lollipop in Aranjuez, near Madrid, 27 January 2006. The European Commission opened an investigation 26 January 2006 to determine if the Spanish candy brand Chupa Chups benefited from illegal state aid. AFP PHOTO/ Pedro ARMESTRE (Photo credit should read PEDRO ARMESTRE/AFP/Getty Images)

Nearly all toddlers, and the majority of babies, eat too much added sugar in the US, study says

“Moreover, consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is linked with increased risk of overweight or obesity. ”

Added sugars are used in processed foods and beverages to sweeten, and differ from the natural sugars that are part of a piece of fruit or glass of milk.

“Apples and oranges all contain sugar but they also provide fiber and overall nutrition,” said pediatrician Dr. Steven Abrams, who chairs the American Academy of Pediatrics committee on nutrition.

“Mother’s milk has sugar in it,” Abrams said, but it’s packed full of immune boosting, infection fighting components and is the perfect combination of fats, proteins, carbohydrates and vitamins for a baby’s needs.

However, while 100% fruit juice may appear to offer the same nutritional benefit as whole fruit, in reality it does not, according to the AAP.

“Fruit juice, especially for kids in the first year of life, is a source of sugar without many nutrient benefits,” Abrams said. “So this should always be avoided.”

Half of America will be obese within 10 years, study says, unless we work together

Then between 1 and 3 years of age, kids should drink no more than 4 ounces per day of 100% fruit juice, the AAP suggests.

The committee found that “nearly 70 percent of added sugars intake comes from five food categories: sweetened beverages, desserts and sweet snacks, coffee and tea (with their additions), candy and sugars, and breakfast cereals and bars.”

On a food label, added sugars can include “brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, glucose, high-fructose corn syrup, honey, lactose, malt syrup, maltose, molasses, raw sugar, and sucrose,” according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Parents should avoid added sugar in a child’s diet, the committee recommends, because of the strong link to childhood obesity and future chronic health conditions.

Yet prior research has found that on average, infants consume a teaspoon of added sugar a day while toddlers consume about 6 teaspoons a day.

“Early life nutritional exposures have emerged as an etiological risk factor associated with later-life chronic disease risk,” the report said.

BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 08: Fresh fruits and vegetables lie on display at a Spanish producer's stand at the Fruit Logistica agricultural trade fair on February 8, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. The fair, which takes place from February 8-10, is taking place amidst poor weather and harvest conditions in Spain that have led to price increases and even rationing at supmermarkets for fresh vegetables across Europe. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Add fruit, veggies and grains to diet to reduce type 2 diabetes risk by 25%, studies say

“Every bite matters, which I think is a really good motto,” said Abrams, who directs the Dell Pediatric Research Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. “I like that a lot because it reminds you that what you’re feeding the baby really does make a difference.”

What about older children and adults? The committee dropped the recommended amount of added sugar from 10% of daily calories to 6% – for an adult on a 2,000 calorie per day diet that means that less than 120 calories should come from added sugar each day.

To put that into perspective, one can of sugar-sweetened soda is about 150 calories.

Breast milk contains healthy micronutrients important to a baby’s development that can, for the most part, be influenced by a woman’s diet and supplement use.

Dairy (milk)

Most young children shouldn't drink plant-based milk, new health guidelines say

“The strongest evidence found was that ever being breastfed may reduce the risk of overweight or obesity, type 1 diabetes, and asthma, compared to never being breastfed,” the committee found.

In their working draft, the committee found rapid weight gain was more likely among formula-fed infants than breastfed infants, possibly due to higher protein intake with formula or overfeeding by the caregiver so as not to “waste” food.

Don’t start first foods for baby before 4 months of age, the committee said. Research shows doing so is associated with an increased risk of obesity at 2 to 12 years. That appeared to be especially true for infants who are formula fed, as they may not be able to regulate their feelings of “fullness” as well as breastfed infants.

The committee also encouraged women to more closely adhere to healthy eating recommendations before and during pregnancy.

“Though the diets of women who are pregnant or lactating are higher in key food groups, they still fall below recommendations,” the report said. “The risk of chronic disease begins early in life, with important health consequences for the fetus based on the dietary intake of the mother and subsequent feeding behaviors in infancy and early childhood.”

Close Up Of Girl holding Pill and glass of water.With Paracetamol.Nutritional Supplements.Sport,Diet Concept.Capsules Vitamin And Dietary Supplements.

Should you take a dietary supplement to prevent disease?

Eating fish high in omega-3 fatty acids is a key benefit for both pregnant women and newborns, the committee found. It may be related to reduced risk of gestational diabetes and hypertensive disorders during pregnancy, while also reducing risk of preterm birth.

Eating at least 8 to 12 ounces each week of a variety of seafood high in omega-3 and low in methlymercury – such as crab, oysters, salmon, sardines, scallops, shrimp, squid and tilapia – may also boost cognitive development and language and communication development in children.

Possible areas of nutritional concern in baby’s development revolve around iron, zinc and vitamin D. Because breast milk doesn’t contain adequate amounts of vitamin D unless the mother is supplementing at high levels, the committee followed the AAP’s guidelines: Give fully and partially breastfed babies 400 IU of vitamin D from birth until the baby is weaned and drinking vitamin D-fortified cow’s milk or infant formula.

There’s no need to go above that level, the committee said: “The existing body of evidence does not provide a basis for recommending vitamin D supplementation above 400 IU per day during infancy.”

The best country in the world to raise a child? It's not America, survey finds

Iron is important for “normal neurological development and immune function,” the committee said, adding that studies show that both iron and zinc decline in breastfed infants by six months.

Therefore, parents of breastfed babies should feed foods like meat that are rich in iron and zinc during the second six months of life, or fortify with iron-enriched foods such as infant cereals.

Be careful, however, since too much iron can also be harmful. Formula-fed babies may get a double dose of iron if they are eating cereals as well. The committee does not recommend iron supplements for babies, unless they are screened by a doctor and found to be deficient.

It’s also important to give baby adequate amounts of polyunsaturated fatty acids, the committee recommended, because of the important role they play in brain development. Key sources are fish, fish oil, vegetable oil, nuts and seeds.

The committee also found introducing peanuts and eggs, “in an age appropriate form,” after 4 months of age may reduce the risk of food allergy to these foods. While the evidence wasn’t as strong for other allergens such as nuts and seafood, there was also no harm in introducing such potentially allergic foods.

Here’s a shocker for men who drink: The committee is suggesting reducing current guidance for two drinks for men and one drink a day for women.

“Recommended limits for both men and women who drink would be 1 drink per day on days when alcohol is consumed,” the report said.

Alcoholic consumption.

No amount of alcohol is good for your overall health, global study says

Research has indicated higher average alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality, so “those who do not drink should not begin to drink because they believe alcohol would make them healthier.”

What’s missing from this analysis? The committee didn’t tackle the topic of red meat – a major supplier of saturated fat in the American diet and a huge player in the argument over food sustainability and environmental impact.

Sodium and salt and their role in the growing epidemic of hypertension and heart disease was also not part of the committee’s assignment. “The report says remarkably little about sodium beyond that it is overconsumed and people should ‘reduce sodium intake,’” Nestle said.

The committee didn’t address drinking water over other beverages for hydration. Nor did they touch on the need to limit the American fascination with overly processed foods that lose nutritional value as their shelf life expands.

“Ultraprocessed” is the new way of talking about foods that should not be consumed regularly or in large amounts — tons of evidence has come in within the last five years,” Nestle said.

“The word does not appear in the report except in the references,” Nestle said. “If the committee considered this evidence, it did not spell it out explicitly.”

Those issues aren’t addressed, critics say, because the independence of the 2020 Dietary Advisory Committee was removed by the federal government.

“For the first time in the 40-year history of the Dietary Guidelines, the agencies — USDA and HHS — set the scientific agenda, not the committee,” Nestle said.

While we don’t know if the committee would have considered other topics, “sustainability, meat, sodium, and ultraprocessed foods are the hot nutrition topics these days and getting the committee’s take on these issues would have been a big help,” Nestle said.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story characterized the advisory committee’s proposed plan as guidelines.

Why kids shouldn't eat added sugar before they turn 2, according to a nutritional epidemiologist

I remember a decade ago sitting in front of my 9-month-old daughter, who was in her high chair, and trying to spoon-feed her a pureed green vegetable. It didn’t matter if it was peas, green beans or something else, because the outcome was the same: I spooned it into her mouth, and it came right back out.

Compare this with feeding her applesauce, for which she would open her mouth after each bite and almost bounce in her chair with pleasure. I nearly danced along with her. This was easier! Let’s just keep doing this! But as a nutritional epidemiologist, I knew that solely satisfying her desire for sweetness would not benefit her health in the long run.

At the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, I study the consequences of poor nutrition on the health of mothers and children. I recently served on a National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine committee that summarized guidelines on feeding infants and children up to age 2. As part of the committee, I helped to write a report about feeding young children added sugars and sugar-sweetened beverages. And – spoiler alert! – experts advise no added sugar for infants and little to no added sugar for children 12 to 24 months old.

Added sugars are sugars and syrups that are added to foods during processing or preparation or later at the table. They can be natural sugars, like honey, or artificial sweeteners, like high-fructose corn syrup. Yogurt, baby snacks, fruit drinks, desserts and sweet bakery products are the most common sources of added sugars in the diets of infants and toddlers.

Unlike sugars that naturally occur in fruits, dairy products, vegetables and bread and other grains, natural sugars and artificial sweeteners added to foods are the ones we should eliminate or limit in the diets of young children. But why?

From birth to 24 months, proper growth and development require calories and nutrients. Foods and beverages high in added sugars provide a lot of calories – referred to as “empty calories” – but not a lot of nutrients. Offering foods with added sugars to children from birth to 24 months is problematic because they eat relatively small amounts of food at this stage. To ensure healthy nutrition, the food they eat must be high in nutrients. If young kids fill up on high-calorie, sugar-laden foods or drinks, it leaves less room for nutritious foods.

Children who are fed diets high in added sugars are more likely than children with lower sugar intakes to have a number of negative health consequences as they develop, including childhood obesity, cardiovascular disease and tooth decay.

Diet from birth to 24 months also shapes long-term food preferences. People are hard-wired to crave sugar because it built up fat stores and kept our ancestors from starving when food was scarce. But kids can learn to accept bitter foods high in nutrients, like vegetables, if they are offered them repeatedly in early childhood. Setting healthy diet patterns early in life can help children maintain a healthy weight and avoid chronic disease.

Considering that about 85% of infants and toddlers in the U.S. consume added sugar daily, here are some practical tips for parents and caregivers of babies and young children for eliminating or limiting their sugar consumption:

1. Look on the food label

Check the amount of added sugars on the nutrition facts label on foods and drinks before you buy them. Labels include the amount of “Total Sugars” and, below that, the amount of “Added Sugars.” One 8-ounce serving of chocolate milk contains 15 grams of added sugar, for example, while regular cow’s milk has no added sugar.

2. Switch to healthier drinks

Swap out sugary drinks with water or milk (breast milk, formula or other milk, depending on the child’s age). Eliminate or limit sugary beverages like regular soda, flavored milks, Kool-Aid, fruit drinks, juice with less than 100% fruit, sports drinks, energy drinks and sweetened water or tea.

3. Ditch sugar during food prep

Prepare foods for your young child at home without adding sugar.

4. Be aware of the different names for sugar

Some packaged foods literally have “sweetened” in their name, such as sweetened applesauces or sweetened peaches. But sugar is not always so easy to spot. Often foods we don’t expect to contain added sugars do, like yogurts. Added sugars go by many different names, such as high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, cane sugar, corn sweetener, lactose, glucose, sucrose and maple syrup. So always check the ingredient list.

5. Be mindful of sugar lurking in packaged or store-made foods

If you offer your child packaged or store-prepared foods and beverages, such as dry cereal, fruit pouches or jars of baby food, they should contain little to no added sugars.

6. Try again and often

Offer children bitter foods like vegetables over and over. Young children need to be exposed to foods 30 or so times before they learn to like them!

[Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world. Sign up today.]

As a registered dietitian and licensed nutritionist who has counseled families – but also as a mother to three children – I have learned that reducing added sugar is not as easy as we professionals often make it seem. In fact, it may be infeasible for many people because of limited access to or the higher price of healthy foods. Some people have pressing needs that may take priority over a healthful diet. And fast-food restaurants and convenience stores seem to be everywhere you look.

So don’t try to make all of these changes with your child at once. Choose one that seems most feasible, and try that first. Gradually add another. Remember that falling off a healthy habit is normal. The important thing is getting back on the horse and trying again.

This article is part of a series examining sugar’s effects on human health and culture. You can read the articles on theconversation.com.

Sugar in a child's diet: how much, what is useful and what to do with food in the kindergarten

Nutritionists believe that 5 teaspoons of sugar for a child a day is the maximum allowable rate. But they remind you that sugar can be found in sauces, ketchup, cereals, instant cereals, tomato juice, muesli bars. Therefore, it is also important to read the composition and control the nutrition of the whole family.

“If your child is already used to drinking tea with sweets at night, and you want to change this tradition, start with yourself,” advises Natalia Nefyodova. - Set new rules, set an example and change the habits of the child and the whole family step by step. It is important to do this without edification. You can even talk in a playful way about the benefits of certain products, cook together, tell what happens in the body, in terms accessible to the child.

Of course, all the efforts of parents to reduce the amount of sugar they consume can be nullified by meals in kindergartens and schools. If a child tells that he drank sweet tea with sugar cookies and ate sweet porridge, this completely changes the picture. And if the school can still operate parental committees to control school meals, then kindergartens remain “abandoned” in matters of nutrition control. On the website of the Russian Public Initiative, a petition was published by specialists from the DocDeti clinic and a nutritionist, UNICEF-certified child nutrition specialist Victoria Vishnyakova. The essence of the proposal is to make the nutrition of children in kindergartens healthy and balanced, to reduce the amount of sugar consumed.

The authors of the petition propose fairly simple measures that can really improve the nutrition of preschool children and preserve their health. Here is what is enough to change in the norms according to which the kindergarten menu is built:

1. Set the upper limit of free sugars to 15 g / day.

2. Remove all drinks with added sugars from the menu. The best drink for children is water.

3. Reduce the amount of salt to 2-3 g/day.

4. Do not replace fruits and vegetables in the diet with juices.

5. Achieve the recommended amount of fiber per day. To do this, enter the breakdown of carbohydrates into free sugars and fiber in the menu and indicate it on the menu along with calories, proteins and fats.

6. Enter the required minimum of vegetable protein sources.

7. Exclude industrial sweets and ultra-processed foods from the menu of kindergartens.

8. Increase the amount of fish - at least 2 servings of 30 g per week.

9. Reconsider the allowance for orphans - keep the amount of sugar at an acceptable level, and increase the calorie content through foods with high nutritional value.

If you doubt that the petition can affect the organization of food in kindergartens, we hasten to object: not everything is so simple. Thanks to one of these petitions, it was possible to solve the problem of nutrition of children with allergies. Tatyana Zvereva, director of the Russian Association of Allergy and Atopic People, shared her experience with us.

“We are working to ensure that children with allergies and other food intolerances can eat fully in schools and kindergartens and, in principle, attend them,” says Tatyana Zvereva. “I can’t say that all officials are open to dialogue, but in the last few years they have been ready to hear us. I express my deep gratitude to Rospotrebnadzor and subordinate institutions that heard us, whose specialists come to round tables and try to understand our problems. They made a very important point in the SanPin norms that you can carry food with you. Previously, this was not possible. I am sure that gradually these departments will meet halfway in matters of the composition of preschool and school meals, including the amount of sugar.

If you would like to sign a petition to reduce sugar in preschool meals, please click here.

Sugar for children: benefits and harms

Almost all children are delighted with sweets. It so happened historically that all kinds of candies, chocolates, ice cream become invariable companions of childhood. Is it so harmless, as it seems to many parents, and how harmful sugar is to the body, we understand in this article.

Currently, the world community of pediatricians is seriously concerned about the increase in the incidence of diabetes and obesity among children. One of the reasons is the excessive content of foods rich in sugar in the children's diet. Refined sugar does not contain useful elements - there are no vitamins, enzymes and minerals necessary for the body. This is a simple carbohydrate that is very quickly absorbed and has a high calorie content - about four kilocalories per gram.

Harm of excessive sugar consumption

• increases the risk of developing diabetes. The ingestion of sugar into the body causes a sharp increase in blood glucose, as a result of which the pancreas suffers from an excessive load in the process of producing insulin. Such jumps are very harmful, and especially for a child;

• an increased risk of obesity. Food with a high sugar content is very high in calories, so its excessive consumption, especially along with a sedentary lifestyle, causes the appearance of excess weight, the development of atherosclerosis, and cardiovascular diseases. Which is very important in our time, when often a child’s leisure is associated with eating sweets while sitting at gadgets;

• refined sugar interferes with the absorption of beneficial elements and removes them from the body. Due to sweet food, calcium is washed out, which is very necessary for the health of teeth, bone tissue, blood vessels, normal metabolism and blood formation, as well as B vitamins. In addition, the use of sugar leads to a decrease in chromium reserves in the body, as a result of which metabolic problems;

• sugary foods can cause cavities. In the mouth, the process of reproduction of bacteria begins due to the sweet environment, as a result of which tooth enamel is damaged, and especially fragile, children's enamel on milk teeth;

• excessive consumption of sugar leads to disruption of the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, problems with stools, gas formation, dysbacteriosis in a child, as well as allergic reactions, the appearance of candidiasis. Often there are failures in carbohydrate and protein metabolism, immunity decreases;

• the child has eating disorders. The expression “sugar needle” is actually very true - you start to want more and more sweets, ordinary unsweetened food seems insipid and tasteless, the child refuses to drink plain water, which the body really needs;

• Excess sugar in the children's diet causes hyperactivity, irritability, aggressive behavior, irritability, sleep problems, hysteria.

Does sugar have any benefits

Yes, but rather conditional. Sweet delights the child, improves mood, causes an increase in strength and an increase in energy for physical activity, a number of processes are activated in the body. Also, sugar can help the brain cope with mental stress - a chocolate bar eaten before an exam at school will bring a positive effect. But if sweets are eaten in large quantities daily, the connection between brain cells, on the contrary, will worsen, and performance, memory and concentration will decrease.

Sugar norms for children

According to experts, it is preferable for a person without health problems to consume no more than ten grams of sugar per day. For children, this amount is recommended to be reduced three times (previously the norms were higher, but after modern research they were revised). Sugar is found in a huge number of products, even in very healthy ones at first glance, so you should study the data on the package before buying to understand how much sugar you actually consume per day.

Doctors advise as much as possible to delay the start of the use of sucrose by the child. The best option is a diet rich in fruits, but not fruit juices, which do not carry any benefit and contain a large amount of sugar (including natural origin). You can also sometimes treat your child with marshmallows, marshmallows, marmalade with a natural composition, or make healthy sweets yourself at home with your baby. When choosing between white and brown sugar, give preference to brown cane sugar - it is not as "empty" as white, and due to the lower degree of purification, contains some minerals and vitamins.

Learn more

• 
  How do i register my child in kindergarten
• 
  How to know when your due date is
• 
  Urinary infection for babies
• 
  How to born male child
• 
  How to control adhd child
• 
  How to report missed child support payments
• 
  When your pregnant do you spot
• 
  Sugar and babies
• 
  How do i register my child in kindergarten
• 
  How to know when your due date is
• 
  Urinary infection for babies