What To Do If Your Child is Addicted to Sugar

Most people are aware that consuming a lot of sugar isn’t good for their health, but what many people do not understand is how dangerous being addicted to sugar can be. Research has shown that sugar is directly linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in children.

Sugar is so addictive that it is rare that you give a child a cookie and they are satisfied with just one, so soon after the first, they sure will ask for another. This creates unhealthy habits that follow them all the way into adulthood. As a parent, nothing gives you greater joy than to see your children happy, so the reasoning behind parents giving their children candy, cakes, and ice cream is not farfetched. Children and adolescents naturally have a craving for sugar.

Most parents know how sugar affects the body and that eating processed sugar is bad and to a great extent, addictive but many parents are of the belief that since the child is young it’s no big deal.

It is not uncommon for a parent to hand out rewards to their kids in form of cookies and ice cream, I have no problem with the reward process, but I believe we shouldn’t be boosting the self-esteem of our kids and damaging their health at the same time.

How to Tell if Your Child is Addicted to Sugar

Every parent has witnessed the scene that follows after giving a child something with high sugar content; they usually get hyperactive and jump around the house, and in the process, make a big mess. Then they fall asleep or become very moody, which you mistaken for fatigue from all the running and jumping, so you send them to bed. Trust me it’s hard to pinpoint the characteristics of a child addicted to sugar.

When you are looking at a child’s behavior to see if they are addicted to sugar, many factors come into play. Chances are that they:

• Have difficulty with focusing and paying attention
• They are constantly hungry
• Stay up late
• Experience frequent mood swings and at regular intervals eat large amounts of sugar.

Ways Sugar Addiction Negatively Affects Your Child

1. A cough

Most children who have recurrent episodes of what looks like a cough, even after they go to bed seemingly healthy, might have taken too much sugar. These children wake up during the night with a cough and trouble breathing. This may be as a result of the combination of dairy and sugar which takes longer to digest and is highly acidic. This means that food comes back up through the esophagus and touches the vocal cord which in turn causes a laryngospasm.

2. Weak immune system

Micro biome in the body is made up of trillions of good bacteria that help with digestion of food, protect it from germs and disease and also produce vitamins. But when children consume too much sugar, it may alter the balance between good and bad bacteria and therefore weaken their immune systems leading to a chronic runny nose, excessive mucus, cough and some symptoms of sinus infection.

3. Cavities

Refined sugar encourages the growth of bacteria that cause cavities. The bacteria causes cavities to feed on the sugar that your child consumes. It then goes further to create acids that deplete the tooth enamel.

4. Affects the nervous system

Refined sugar, when ingested, uses the body’s store of vitamin B, calcium and magnesium for its digestion. This will eventually lead to depletion of the body’s stores of these nutrients. With lesser B vitamins in the body, the nervous system suffers. This leads to your child experiencing fatigue, depression, and anxiety.

5. Increase in blood sugar level

Your child indulging in the consumption excess refined sugar will lead to a rise in his blood sugar (which most parents refer to as the sugar rush), therefore causing them to be hyperactive and may even in some cases cause kids to exhibit aggressive behavior. Thereafter, the body then responds by producing an excessive amount of insulin which takes the sugar from the blood and transfers them into body cells. The blood sugar level will then take a quick drive which will cause your child’s mood to change from hyper to sluggish.

6. Insulin resistance

Glucose is very essential to the body, but too much of it can be disastrous. It leads to insulin resistance which in turn causes the cells to become resistant to insulin, thereby causing type 2 diabetes.

7. Fatty liver

Fructose is a type of sugar that can only be metabolized by the liver up to a certain amount. If your source of sugar is from fruits, there won’t be any problem or if you only eat just a little bit. If you eat excess refined sugar, the fructose level increases and overloads the liver. The fructose is then converted into unhealthy fat. When this keeps happening on a regular basis, this will lead to fatty liver and liver diseases.

How to Curb Sugar Addiction in Kids

When you think about what the average child eats for breakfast alone, usually they start their day with cereal, and possibly some orange juice all of which contain a high amount of sugar. This might be a bit difficult to change considering the fact that it has been the norm in households for a very long time. Research has shown that sixteen percent of our children’s daily calorie consumption comes from added sugar, and at this rate, it can only get worst.

Here are ways to help you curb sugar addiction in kids:

1. Give alternatives

Teach your kids not to indulge their sweet tooth. Resist the urge of giving them cookies, candy bars, cakes, and the likes. Introduce them to healthier snack alternatives. For example, have them munch on healthy nuts. Or you can offer pieces of fruit if they’re craving for something sweet.

2. Cut down on sugar treats

Depriving your children completely of sugar would be extreme. In fact, I doubt that will go down well with them. Permit them to enjoy their favorite candy bar or ice cream, but do not make it a habit. They can have their favorite sweet treats maybe once a week. Also, see to it they eat small portions, not large ones. Stock up on those mini candy bars and limit ice cream to one scoop. Be sure to keep their sugar intake moderate.

3. Give them fewer juice boxes

Cut down on the number of juice boxes your kids consume on a daily basis. Even if “100 percent fruit juice” or “organic” is inscribed on the box, there’s no guarantee it is true. Most of them still have quite a tremendous amount of refined sugars. In fact, a typical box of fruit juice has around 22 grams of sugar. Offer water to your kids instead. You can even put in some berries or lemon slices for some taste. Or you can make your own healthy juices that you know are healthy.

4. Lead by example

Children learn most of the things they know, from their parents. So, if you want your child to have a proper eating habit, form one yourself. Take steps for yourself to be the model of healthy eating.

Being conscious of your child’s health start from little things like cutting down on sugar intake.