Today is Halloween, and I am on an anti-sugar campaign! We know that our kids are getting sugar when eating candy, but do you consider what your child is drinking?
I don’t allow sugary drinks in our home. We drink mostly water. The kids sometimes have juice. On rare occasion, there are natural sodas as treats…but that’s just it. Sugary drinks are treats. They are just like candy bars or other junk food you might allow your child on occasions like Halloween.
Mostly what I fear are the artificial, chemical, and manufactured sugars like aspartame and high fructose corn syrup. These are surely the ingredients that will lead us to a zombie apocalypse! Just yesterday, my daughter hid a tea drink from me she bought after school that contained corn syrup. She argued it was not “high” fructose corn syrup. I said I didn’t care. Call it corn sugar…it’s still not good for you.
Just how does that sugar add up in beverages?
Juice boxes count as sugary drinks too so don’t be fooled. One soda has ten teaspoons of sugar. One juice box has eight teaspoons of sugar. That is not much difference! Can you imagine sitting your child down and spoon-feeding them eight to ten spoonfuls of sugar? It makes me feel sick just thinking about it!
Water..it’s what our bodies need. We need to hydrate. We don’t need sugar. Our kids don’t need sugar.
The statistics are staggering. The average American child drinks six sodas a week! Coupled with the sugary cereals and snacks they eat, there is definitely a sugar overload amongst our youth.
Please don’t buy sugary drinks for your children!
This post is sponsored by Brita
Across America, the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages consumed by children and adolescents has declined significantly – by as much as 42 percent according to research published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. What’s contributing to this decline? For one thing, today there is a wide range of beverages available (including low-calorie) options, and calorie information is easily accessible to help consumers of all ages make informed choices. And one last important point: the number of beverage calories available in schools today has been cut by 90%. This dramatic decline is due to the beverage industry’s voluntary efforts, implementing national School Beverage Guidelines, and swapping full-calorie beverages with low-calorie options in smaller portion sizes. – Maureen at the American Beverage Association