Is Sugar Really That Big of a Deal?

I want to get back to basics and clarify the roots of why I started Naturally Sweetened Kids. I want to talk about the giant M&M in the room: Why is sugar such a big deal? Keep reading to find out why we need to be proactive in educating our children about sugar consumption.

Sugar Has Become Too Prevalent to Ignore

If you try to responsibly limit your children’s sugar intake in any shape or form, most likely you’ve been judged for it. I sure have. And there will be endless opportunities for people to question why you say “no” (however frequent or infrequent) to your child having a sweet treat.

Afterall, kids love sugar. And eating candy and treats is just a normal part of having a fun childhood, right? Everyone knows that. And that’s why everyone offers sweet treats to kids at virtually every function, get-together and outing.

Sugar is literally everywhere and is being thrown in our kids’ faces. At school. At friends’ houses. At church. At special events. At parties. At every holiday function. At playdates. At parks. At sports. At camps.

Not only that, but sugar is lurking sneakily inside of countless packaged food items that aren’t even meant to be sweet or don’t need the extra sugar! Like pizza sauce, dried fruit (who on earth decided bananas are not sweet enough?), pretzels, crackers, baby teething snacks, meats, canned goods, bread, potato salad, salsa, jam, condiments, juice and the list goes on!

Sugar has been needlessly added to so many food items that it has become exceedingly difficult to avoid giving our kids processed sugar even if we do not allow them to eat sugary desserts every day.

Sugar has simply become too big of a culprit to be ignored. 

How Much is Too Much?

Research and common sense tell us there is no health benefit to consuming processed sugar beyond isolated special circumstances (such as in the case of low blood sugar that needs to be quickly addressed for example).

And while it may not be detrimental to consume some processed sugar, the fact is, sugar can be addicting – sometimes subconsciously. Which means that consuming only some sugar is extremely difficult and many people – kids included – exceed their healthy daily limit.

According to a 2016 analysis by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), children should not consume more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day.

However, it was estimated at that time that the average child was consuming 19 teaspoons of added sugar per day. More recent reports estimate the consumption level for children to be 17 teaspoons of added sugar per day.

To put that into perspective, in a hypothetical world where only desserts contain sugar, a child consuming 17 teaspoons of sugar every day might eat a piece of birthday cake, a regular-size chocolate chip cookie and a chocolate pudding cup each day.

Or, 17 teaspoons of added sugar could also look like a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a fudge brownie, a juice popsicle and a fun-size candy bar all in one day.

Those scenarios might not sound surprising on a day when your kid has been at a birthday party all afternoon and you expected them to go a little overboard on sweets. But eating that many desserts every single day? 

I think we could all agree that is an unhealthy amount of dessert for a child to eat every single day.

Of course, that’s not what we see, because some of that added sugar is not actually in the form of desserts. A parent might only give their child one chocolate chip cookie in a day and think their doing great at maintaining a healthy balance in their child’s diet.

But by the time that child has a typical peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, he’s already consumed as much added sugar as a Chips Ahoy cookie, a half cup of Haagen Dazs ice cream or a store-bought frosted mini cupcake.

So imagine that this child has just eaten the equivalent of a dessert in his lunch and then he’s also going to get a chocolate chip cookie on top of it. And then there’s all the snacks and other meals in the day to add on!

Can You See Why This is a Problem?

The problem isn’t just about kids getting a piece of candy every other day at school (although that itself can potentially be problematic too, depending on your child’s health status and corresponding needs). 

The even bigger problem is all the hidden ways our kids are already being filled up with sugar in a typical western diet before they even touch a dessert! 

Most children probably hit their recommended limit of 6 teaspoons of added sugar per day without even consuming a food item they would consider to be a dessert. 

And then, of course, they still crave their expected post-meal sweet treat. 

Do you see the problem I’m seeing?

Now, personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with enjoying sweet treats. I myself often feel the crave for something sweet after a savory meal and I don’t blame my kids for feeling the same way.

However, there are two problems with how we often handle sugar cravings in our kids:

• What are we teaching our kids about how to choose their food if we are giving them a breakfast, snack and lunch that are already full of sugar and then adding a dessert to top it off?

We are teaching them and their bodies that they always need to have sugar in their mouths and in their systems. And we are feeding diseases that will manifest in their bodies as adults if not as children and teenagers.

• We give them refined sugar that is nothing but empty calories instead of the good stuff that actually has some health benefits and nutrients.

When we give our kids a packaged cookie for dessert, there is usually no health benefit, but they will get the negative effects of having consumed simple, processed sugar.

If we can offer them a sweet treat that is still delicious and craveable but also offers some nutrition and vitamins, their bodies will accept it better as a balanced whole food instead of being shocked by a sudden blood sugar spike.

I Have the Solution

I don’t know if I can ever break my kids of their sweet tooth and I don’t know if I even need to. Because I have healthier ways to feed their sweet cravings now.

I don’t feel guilty about giving my kids snacks that are sweet as long as they are naturally sweetened and thoughtfully paired with some protein, fiber, and other nutrients.

And as far as desserts go, anything that is homemade and sweetened with a natural, unprocessed sweetener is going to be ten times better than a packaged, highly processed dessert.

That is not to say that there doesn’t still need to be balance or that sugar in every snack and food item is fine as long as it’s natural. But when you are using things like dates to sweeten your kids’ snacks, it’s not even considered added sugar because it’s just fruit.

And raw honey and maple syrup are natural sugars that contain antimicrobial properties, nutrients and benefits to gut health – things refined sugar is clearly lacking.

So, from my perspective, we have two jobs when it comes to guiding our kids’ beliefs about sugar and sweet treats:

• Teach them moderation. Regardless of the sugar type, our kids need to know when their sweets intake is too much.

• Teach them the difference between refined, processed sugar that has been stripped of nutrition and natural sweeteners that come straight from nature with nutritious benefits intact.

We need to be educating our kids on how to have balance and how to make wise choices with what they put into their bodies.

But having said all of that, no parent can keep their child’s diet perfect all the time. So give yourself grace too. Don’t beat yourself up because your kids have been having a lot of processed sugar this week.

Look, I know how hard it is to try to change your kids’ diet and your own mindset. I know how overwhelming it is to try to get rid of all the prepackaged, added-sugar foods. But don’t try to do it all at once (unless you feel like you can do that – in that case, go for it and more power to you!).

Just find one small step you can take to get them closer to nature with their diets. If you are doing that, you are making positive change that will impact their minds and bodies for the better 😀

Here’s your assignment for right now: Go pick one of the recipes on this blog to replace just one of your kids’ processed treats this week as a way to start or restart a less sugary diet for them. Here are some simple recipe ideas to get you started:

• Blueberry Pancake Muffins: Whip up a pancake breakfast for your kids that you don’t have to stand at the stove for a half hour to cook. Just toss them in the oven and come back when the timer goes off.

• Strawberry Jam: Start making your kids’ PB&J with no-added-sugar peanut butter and a naturally sweetened jam. If you need to in order to make the switch, add a little honey to the peanut butter to help your kids’ sweet taste buds adjust.

• Rice Krispie Treats: How about some healthy rice Krispie treats that can actually pass as a snack? These are easy to make and, unlike the pre-packaged kind, actually contain some protein and fiber.

• Homemade Healthy Chocolate: Switch out your kids’ typical chocolate treats with this super easy, honey-sweetened chocolate recipe. Use fun-shaped candy molds to make it into “real” looking chocolate candies and your kids won’t even know it’s healthy.

And then, I would love to hear all about how it goes, so shoot me an email or tag @NaturallySweetenedKids on social media.

The journey towards healthier eating often is not easy or straight-forward for kids or adults. But any step in the right direction is worth celebrating 🙂

Happy Treat-Making!