Is It Possible To Eat Too Much Fruit?

Here it is.  The final blog post on our sugar series.  We've learned a lot about sugar, but one last question remains.  Fruit contains natural sugars.  Is it possible for kids to eat too much of it?  We go through a ridiculous amount of fruit in our house each week.  Could we be doing more harm than good?  

Our HKI Dietitian, Sarah Sturgill, gives great advice on this topic:

She says fruit is such a healthy option for children that the question of “too much?” rarely crosses a parent’s mind.  However, there are some circumstances where children may be eating too much fruit.

To be clear, fruit comprise a very healthy and vital food group.  Fruit are generally high in nutritive value since they contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidant flavinoids, and a number of other beneficial phytochemicals.  These nutrients can help ward off chronic disease, such as cancer, heart disease and other degenerative conditions, as well as promote normal growth and development. 

With benefits such as these, we certainly don’t want to discourage your children from including a variety of fruits in their meals and snacks.

The misconception exists that fruit is not healthy because it contains a high amount of sugar.  

As we explained in our previous blog, there are multiple forms of sugar.  Of the six types of sugar—sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose, galactose—fructose is the form found in fruit.   Research has shown that naturally occurring fructose does not have the harmful effects of table sugar and that it is actually beneficial.  Antioxidant flavinoids are one of the main reasons that fruit intake can help prevent chronic disease.  However, without fructose, these flavinoids are poorly absorbed into the bloodstream.   Fructose stimulates the production of uric acid, which increases the capacity of our blood to absorb the antioxidant flavinoids.   

The danger in eating too much fruit comes when that is the only (or one of the only) food a child is served.  

Children need to be offered a variety of foods because it is impossible to get all of our daily nutrition from just one food group.

Fruit should be included every day, but it should never replace other foods like whole grains, vegetables, and high protein foods like lean meat, beans or legumes. 

So that's it in a nutshell. We have officially tackled sugar this month.  What an eye opening experience.  We hope you and your family are able to put some of the tips we've talked about into practice at your home.

Best of Luck.  We'll see you again next week.  

Sugary Drinks - The Numbers May Startle You

Last week we shocked you with the “added sugar” recommended limits for kids- 12 grams/day.  Yikes!  It’s easy to see how some of our foods can contribute two and three times that daily recommended limit.  

Well, if you think the foods we eat are bad, you're in for another shocker when you see the sugar in the drinks we consume.  

Check this out.

12 oz can of Coca Cola	39 grams of sugar
20 oz bottle of Mountain Dew	77 grams of sugar
8 oz Glass of Simply Orange Juice	23 grams of sugar
McDonald’s 6.8 fl oz Minute Maid 100% juice box	22 grams
McDonald’s Medium Sweet Tea	45 grams
Gatorade	14 grams

It’s easy to see why obesity is so prevalent in our society.  One bottle of Mountain Dew has 6 times the daily sugar recommendations, not to mention the foods we're consuming throughout the day to further add to the totals.    

This is one of the most important areas that we, as parents, can focus on to really help our children. 

If you're overwhelmed and confused about what's acceptable to drink, here are a few tips to help you on your next trip to the store.  

One important note:  these rules should apply to the entire family.  We can't expect our kids to make a change when we're still indulging in our sweet drinks.  

• Water,Water, Water. The largest source of sugar comes from our drinks, even those that contain nutrients like Vitamin C.  Buy a trendy thermos, make flavored ice cubes, purchase mini bottles…do whatever it takes to get your family drinking water. 

• 4 ounces of juice per day.  Yep, that's it.  The great news though, is that you can count any sugar coming from a 4-oz serving of 100% juice as a freebie since it can count as one serving of fruit for the day.  Even for this serving of juice, look for juice that’s lower in sugar, which is usually orange juice.       

• Choose 100% juice.   So look for small juice boxes that contain 100% juice.  

• Use water (not sports drinks) for hydration.  For older & more active kids, it’s important that they know that water is sufficient to keep the body hydrated. Sports drinks are only necessary when a person is engaging in continuous (non-stop) vigorous physical activity for more than one hour.   Running and cycling are good examples of continuous, vigorous physical activity.  Most children do not exercise at this level.  Even little league soccer and football do not count as “continuous” physical activity because children are given frequent breaks during practice and even during the game.  Water is sufficient for hydrating children and doesn’t contain all of the added sugars found in sports drinks.  

• Use Caution with drinks claiming to be low in sugar.  Drinks promoting reduced sugar often contain artificial sweeteners.  While no research conclusively points to any physically harmful effects of artificial sweeteners, they still may present a danger to your child’s balanced diet.  First, many soft drinks made with artificial sweeteners also contain high levels of caffeine. In both children and adults, too much caffeine can lead to nervousness, upset stomach, headaches, difficulty concentrating, difficulty sleeping, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure.  It doesn't take a lot of caffeine to produce these effects in children.  Second, artificial sweeteners are sometimes as much as 600 times as sweet as sugar.  Regular intake can increase our threshold for the sweet taste making it harder to satisfy a craving for “sweet” with healthful alternatives like fruit.  Some studies even suggest that artificial sweeteners increase our appetite for foods high in sugar and refined carbohydrates (i.e. white bread).

This sounds incredibly strict, but it's for good reason.  My friend recently suggested I check out some videos by Dr. Robert Lustig about the harmful effects of sugar.  If you're still not ready to ditch the sugar, check out this video to see firsthand the startling impact of sugar on our body.


Still one last blog in our sugar series.  Stay tuned next week for more information.  

How Much Sugar Can Kids Consume- You'll be Shocked!

Sugar gets a bad rap, and for good reason.  It is killing our bodies and contributing to numerous diseases.  It's hard to avoid sugar in our diets, especially when it comes to kid-favorite foods. Cereals, fruit drinks, ice cream, breads, flavored yogurts, ketchup, canned soups...the list goes on and on, and they are all full of sugar.

Here are the shock-and-awe stats that will have you rethinking your next trip to the grocery store.

It is recommended that children limit “added” sugar to 12 grams per day.  I know! Sounds nearly impossible, right?  Well before you throw your hands up in frustration, let me also note that not all sugars are created equal.

Added sugars (those that we should limit to 12 grams/day) should be considered separate from natural sugars.  Added sugars contribute no nutritional value and increase our sugar intake beyond what is healthy for our bodies.

Naturally occurring sugar found in food products like skim milk or fruit contribute to a healthy balanced meal because these foods provide a variety of nutritional benefits.  

Perhaps this guide will help you even more.  Here are just a few foods that hit the "added" sugar list:

Foods to avoid or limit (they contain “added” sugar-  and remember your limit is 12g/day)
1 cup Fruit Loops	12 grams of sugar
2 Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Pop Tarts	30 grams of sugar
1 Strawberry NutriGrain Bar	11 grams of sugar
McDonald’s fruit & maple Oatmeal with brown sugar	32 grams of sugar
Turkey & Cheese Lunchable with Capri Sun and Reeses Peanut Butter Cup	28 grams of sugar

  

Now you can see why I waited so long to tackle this subject.  Added Sugar thrives in kid-favorite food  (and we haven’t even approached drinks yet).  What's a mom to do when everything we see on the grocery shelves is jam packed with sugar?  Here is a list of foods that are fine to eat because they contain natural sugars.  

Foods with natural sugars (ok to eat)

100% whole grain bread is good.   Bread needs sugar in order to rise, so even the "sugar-free" breads include a sugar substitute.   One of the better brands is Nature's Own 100% whole wheat.  100% whole grain is also good.  Buy whole grain/wheat with 2g of sugar or less (anything more counts in the added sugar total)

Milk (no flavor added)

Cheese

Plain Yogurt

Whole grain products. Whole oats, brown rice, whole grain pasta, whole grain couscous- any whole grain product sold uncooked with no sauce or flavoring.

Fruits & Vegetables In their natural form.  Frozen fruits and vegetables (with no sauce) are ok. Steer clear of anything canned.

So keep this guide in mind during your next trip to the grocery store.  And don't worry, we're not done talking about sugar.  There are still a lot of unanswered questions like- how does juice factor into all of this, can I successfully limit our diets to 12 grams sugar/day, and is there such a thing as too much fruit? 

Lots of great info to come.  See you back again next week.