Junk food: Cereals for children
Junk food: Cereals for children
All studies and reports confirm it: children are more obese every day. Some say it's because they do not move. Maybe they have some reason, but I think that above all is what they eat. Food increasingly processed, more refined, more based on carbohydrates and sugars.
My child always has breakfast cereal ... it sounds good, right? For bad news: The cereals sold in these precious packages (and often include attractive gifts) often boast of having added vitamins and minerals, which in principle is positive but whose effectiveness is yet to be proven (from some studies it could be inferred that it is even better to avoid them). But analyzing its components, they are little more than starch and sugar. A lot of sugar. Too much sugar. And they look very similar to "real" cereals.
For example, these are the basic nutritional macro-components (per 100 g of product) of the Choco Krispis, Frosties, Smacks and Honey Pops, taken from the Kelloggs website (click to enlarge):
In the best of cases, a third of what they are eating is sugar and the rest is starch! A pump for the pancreas and insulin in torrents running through his bloodstream, so that mid-morning comes the drop. And tooth decay for the teeth. .
And these are the ingredients of three of them (Choco Krispis, Frosties and Smacks, respectively) as indicated in their boxes:
As you can see, in addition to the cereal (which, on the other hand, is super-refined, that is, the fiber has been removed to make it whiter and turn it into pure starch), they all have glucose syrup and sugar. And apparently in the nutritional information, in very important quantities. Comparing them with cereals "for adults" (which are also not for leaps of joy), instead of being even healthier (we are talking about growing children), they are simply more striking and much sweeter. If in addition we consider that in many occasions they add more sugar to them when taking them with milk, it is possible that in the breakfast they are getting between chest and back between 20 and 40 grams of sugar only with the cereals.
What is my advice? The ideal would be a breakfast consisting of a dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), a piece of fruit (varied, not boring), and a toast of wholemeal bread, even with jam and butter. From time to time the toast could be replaced by some cookie ... although few are saved. It would be advisable to complete it with some protein and fat (scrambled eggs, omelette). And I'm sure that you can come up with other solutions that are equally tasty and nutritious, and much less "synthetic". Sure, it's more work. Prepare it, serve it, convince them to eat it ... A simple remedy: Get up a quarter of an hour early and urge them to participate in the preparation. It works, really.
All studies and reports confirm it: children are more obese every day. Some say it's because they do not move. Maybe they have some reason, but I think that above all is what they eat. Food increasingly processed, more refined, more based on carbohydrates and sugars.
My child always has breakfast cereal ... it sounds good, right? For bad news: The cereals sold in these precious packages (and often include attractive gifts) often boast of having added vitamins and minerals, which in principle is positive but whose effectiveness is yet to be proven (from some studies it could be inferred that it is even better to avoid them). But analyzing its components, they are little more than starch and sugar. A lot of sugar. Too much sugar. And they look very similar to "real" cereals.
For example, these are the basic nutritional macro-components (per 100 g of product) of the Choco Krispis, Frosties, Smacks and Honey Pops, taken from the Kelloggs website (click to enlarge):
In the best of cases, a third of what they are eating is sugar and the rest is starch! A pump for the pancreas and insulin in torrents running through his bloodstream, so that mid-morning comes the drop. And tooth decay for the teeth. .
And these are the ingredients of three of them (Choco Krispis, Frosties and Smacks, respectively) as indicated in their boxes:
As you can see, in addition to the cereal (which, on the other hand, is super-refined, that is, the fiber has been removed to make it whiter and turn it into pure starch), they all have glucose syrup and sugar. And apparently in the nutritional information, in very important quantities. Comparing them with cereals "for adults" (which are also not for leaps of joy), instead of being even healthier (we are talking about growing children), they are simply more striking and much sweeter. If in addition we consider that in many occasions they add more sugar to them when taking them with milk, it is possible that in the breakfast they are getting between chest and back between 20 and 40 grams of sugar only with the cereals.
What is my advice? The ideal would be a breakfast consisting of a dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese), a piece of fruit (varied, not boring), and a toast of wholemeal bread, even with jam and butter. From time to time the toast could be replaced by some cookie ... although few are saved. It would be advisable to complete it with some protein and fat (scrambled eggs, omelette). And I'm sure that you can come up with other solutions that are equally tasty and nutritious, and much less "synthetic". Sure, it's more work. Prepare it, serve it, convince them to eat it ... A simple remedy: Get up a quarter of an hour early and urge them to participate in the preparation. It works, really.
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