I forbade my children to eat sugar - that's what happened next

Sugar is a sticky topic on school doors - which is why I keep my kids away from other parents' biscuit or mini-chocolate bars after school. There is a lot of judgment around what we feed our children. Rice cakes and hummus are healthy, I know, but I think if they eat a healthy dinner it won't hurt. Everything in moderation, of course?

Still, according to new research from University College London, which shows that 80% of children are eating dangerous amounts of sugar - up to 18 teaspoons of sugar daily by the age of seven, when the recommended limit is six - I wonder if I'm too moderate.

The statistics are really alarming: Children's obesity levels are at record highs, with 4 out of 10 children being obese or overweight by the time they finish primary school. A study of 1,000 children between the ages of two and eight by the European Center for Obesity Management found that overweight children develop heart disease as early as the age of six, leading to heart failure. Are at higher risk of disease, diabetes and liver disease.

Meanwhile, the most common reason for five- to nine-year-olds to be hospitalized is a dental problem. Many people are out of school because of the pain. "Unhealthy food is killing more people than tobacco. Poor nutrition is probably the biggest cause of death for our offspring," confirmed Graham McGregor, chairman of the campaign group Action on Sugar. I called them in panic.

A closer look at the nutrition labels of my children's favorite milkshakes and snacks shows that sugar lumps increase rapidly: for example on Fridays, when we eat breakfast pains or chocolate, my six The one-year-old must have eaten his daily quota. Sugar before school and on Saturdays, if my nine-year-old persuades us to buy him coke, he will drink 10 grams more than his daily quota in a box. His favorite breakfast consists of cereal, cocoa pops, two teaspoons of sugar. Thank God they eat Weetabix during the week, which contains only half a teaspoon.

Tyzack decided to change his children's diet after using the NHS Sugar Calculator.

Tyzek decides it's time to change his children's diet after using NHS Sugar Calculator Credit: Andrew Crowley

When I refer to the NHS (basic, but eye-opening) Sugar Calculator, I am working on the fact that an eight- and nine-year-old must have used 55 teaspoons of sugar last week - Dr. 42 Understand too much. . Criminally, I try to justify my indifference to sugar: maybe it's because my kids don't go crazy when they eat it (maybe because it's too common for them). And they seem to know their limits (except for a small child, who should stop when it comes to something sweet) and never fall for it. My husband and I are not big sugar eaters, but we will have a few squares of chocolate after dinner and after a game, or in a restaurant, if it's hot - I didn't want to be one of those hypocritical parents. There are different rules for children.

Yet there is no denying the fact that, according to McGregor, a professor of cardiology, who eats too much sugar: "When a child eats better sugar, it bleeds faster. I get absorbed, which raises their blood sugar levels, "he explains. "The more they eat, the more they want. Yet it does not give a sense of relief. That is why it is a major cause of obesity."

With this information in mind, I am determined to prevent my children from eating sugar again. I prepare myself to tell them the news, but after talking to registered nutritionist Julia Woolman (@thefamilyfoodcoach), who doesn't believe in putting babies on food, I get a little angry. I'll see what happens if I remove the refined sugar (and artificial sweeteners) from their diet for two weeks.

"Don't tell anyone you do that you've cut sugar," Woolman warned. "If they know it is banned, they will determine what they are missing out on."

Simple, I think it would be easy: I could still feed them with naturally occurring sugars, such as fruit, milk and wholemeal bread. All their dinners and weekends are cooked at home. We can do without pastries and buns for two weeks, of course, and we don't tend to buy juices or smoothies, which, according to UCL research, make up the largest portion of sugar in infants and baby food. ۔

Although smoothies, juices and fruit purees do not contain excess sugar, they still raise blood sugar and insulin faster than fruits, as they pass through the intestines faster, says Woolman. Which means it's about to be the most delusional time of the year, as well. Not as healthy as I thought they were.

Without the boxes of cereal on the table for Monday breakfast, not even their usual vita box, and instead of the choice of boiled eggs and soldiers or plain yogurt and fruit, I expect the boys to smell of rats. Will come, but they do not. The eldest goes to the club early in the morning, during which time I usually take others to the local cafe, where they are allowed a small chocolate chip bun (9 grams of sugar). Fortunately, it is sunny today and they are happy to play on the playground without breakfast. When I get home, I email the boys' teachers about the experience - by this time the boys have eaten breakfast, a piece of brew (3 grams of sugar). Her teachers promise to keep her away from the milkshake, even though the hot pastel de nata (9 grams of sugar) is served with the melon. I have never felt so happy.

However, the downside of the sugar-free system is that I'm not ashamed to open my own Bento box for after-school breakfast on the playground: strap bread; Pieces of cheese; According to Blueberry McGregor, the time between finishing school and children's meals is the time of sugar witching, in which many children place a heavy burden on junk food, due to the amount of junk food commercials on television. Continues with age. The Internet "is completely immoral," he says. "Advertisers are constantly replacing new junk food with no idea what the implications are." The government's plan to introduce a ban on multi-by-junk food promotions has been postponed until 2023, and its 9pm watershed to promote junk food has been postponed until 2024.

Thus it is up to the parents to lay the foundation for healthy snacking when their children are young. We've developed a culture where snacks come in shiny, coarse paper, but now we have to get back to the basics of snacking, says Woolman, when breakfast is a small meal, a sandwich and a slice of fruit, oatmeal. There were biscuits and cheese. "It doesn't take a lot of hard work to get salty foods, but you do have to plan: with mini raps, hummus or cream cheese, or with strap and hummus," she says.

Yet my children look down on a healthy breakfast box. "I don't feel beaten," complains the eight-year-old. "And I don't like blueberries." The ingredients aren't eaten much and I feel like I've left them down - but they eat all their peppers and an apple for dinner, which is a good result. At bedtime, a six-year-old boy asks me to read his favorite book, Arnie the Donut, and I wonder if he suffers from diabetes, but they all fall asleep.

As of Wednesday, the boys, miraculously, have not yet banned sugar, although the teachers have clearly given up, as all three told me they had red pop for the pudding. When I check the menu I find that they contain organic lollipops with 100% pure fruit juice, although when I take a closer look at the nutritional information I find that they contain 11.9 grams of sugar. Is. That's how the food industry confuses parents, says McGregor: The concentration of so-called healthy snacks, baby food pouches and fruit in yogurt is still high in sugar, which quickly builds up in the blood. Will be absorbed However, Woolman told me not to be obsessed with counting grams: while lollipops are not as healthy as fresh fruit pieces, as they are made from liquefied fruit, at least sugar comes from the fruit. , Which contains antioxidants and vitamins

Anna Tyzak's son

Parents' job is to educate their children about nutrition and to give them a rainbow of different foods - but it is unreasonable to expect them to eat healthy all the time. Credit: Andrew Crowley

"Don't go straight to the nutrition label, look at the ingredients - if the food contains fruit or milk, the sugar will be from fructose or lactose, a form of sugar that lowers blood sugar." Explains "You can also reduce sugar absorption by offering a piece of cheese or other protein with fruit sugar. When I give my kids a smooth carton after school, I'll give them some bread sticks." "

As of Friday, my husband is convinced that the children are doing well. I didn't notice much difference, though maybe a little less emotional. When I look at the effects of sugar on behavior, I find it interesting to read that there is really no scientific research to prove that sugar makes children hyperactive (more likely due to environmental conditions or lack of sleep). However, McGregor points out that nutrition studies are difficult to perform. Many scientists believe that some children are more susceptible to diabetes - in particular, the rapid rise and fall of blood sugar - compared to others, many parents have the same view.

What is certain is that the government without sugar makes me feel like a better mother: there is no sweet cereal or yogurt for breakfast. Kheer is bearing fresh fruit every day. And I've skipped breakfast after school altogether, as I've worked to make them more hungry for dinner without them.

"Often, just a few changes in routine and times can lead to healthy eating habits," says Woolman.

But now we have a problem: my eldest is going to a friend's house, which will inevitably include better Chinese food, and then we are going to visit his grandparents, and my mother told me that She made chocolate cake. I go against Wolman's advice and admit to him that he is halfway through the sugar experiment without two weeks, hopefully this will motivate him to continue this weekend. Not a bit of it. Instead of rejoicing over their achievements, the three begin to panic and protest. "But next Tuesday we're taking Oreo cookies on our field trip," cried the eldest. "And what happens when we go to grandma and grandpa?" Her younger brother asks: "Does that mean we can have extra sugar next week?"

Woolman warned me that this would happen. The boys weren't thinking about sugar, and now they're determined to get it next time. "This is proof that a complete ban on sugar is not feasible," she said. "You can only control the things that you can control - in your case what your children eat at home. If you try to control what they eat outside of it, You will cause friction and stress. "

But what if your child is obese? If the boys were overweight, I would be even more anxious to lower their sugar levels. Despite this, Woolman insists that no matter what the child's weight status, she will not ban sugar.

She says, "Allowing children to enjoy 'junk' as part of a regular meal or breakfast means that it is not overly desirable, and children do not feel bad about eating it. Goes, "she says. Parents should be careful to model positive eating habits on their own and encourage exercise and activities, less screen time and more sleep. "The more principled we become about what our children eat, the more we define certain foods as good and bad, healthy and unhealthy, the more negative associations we have," says Woolman. Produce. " "We cannot avoid statistics and medical evidence. They are frightening and shocking, and the natural response is to eliminate things. But from an emotional and psychological point of view, there is a different body of research that suggests that children But they eat more.

She says that if school, nanny and grandparents regularly put too much sugar in your eyes, you need to talk to them about what you think is a good breakfast or dessert. "We are all overwhelmed by the variety of cheap convenience foods available in supermarkets - we need to get back to basics." Yet when we talk to our children about food, we should adopt a "diet neutrality" where no food is good or bad, it's just that our bodies need certain food groups. More than others.

Dr. Holly Simmons, a medical psychologist at Family (isingraising_eq), says, "Parents who try to control their diet often face the biggest battles - and the worst with self-eating. Have a relationship. " "Talk to your child about food as 'fuel': how it feeds the intestines and the gut feeds the brain, and don't be tempted to use snacks as bribes or emotional support. Saying things like 'you're sad, here's a biscuit and you'll feel better' creates a cycle of finding peace in Chinese.

I am definitely to blame. And now I feel like a failure, too, because Hector is obsessed with giving his cookies to a friend. Simons urges me not to be so hard on myself. Many parents who see her feel as they try to control their child's diet and eliminate things. "You start to see what your kids eat is a sign of how successful parents you are, and it's not healthy for anyone," she says. She goes on to say that it is the parents' job to educate their children about nutrition and to offer them a rainbow of different foods - but it is unreasonable to expect them to eat healthy at all times.

With that in mind, I'm not going to launch my new sugar campaign again. The boys suspect that I have forgotten (like every threat I make), but I quietly continue it until the fifteen days are over, giving them fruit and cheese for breakfast instead of sweets and I offer the strap, while I see how much extra sugar they get. The other way.

It's not as bad as I thought. In addition to a piece (or three) of my mother's chocolate cakes, cookies and school puddings (usually no more than half a teaspoon of sugar), surprisingly little refined sugar is available. If I don't make it. It is available at home.

When they grow up, however, and go home from school themselves, how can I make sure they buy something healthy from the corner store? Dr. Simons says that if you lay good foundations, your children will not go far, although she admits that she recently found a wrapper of a whole packet of cookies in her son's school bag. "Until that happens every day, I think it's great for kids to learn about self-discipline and make their own choices," she says. "A child who eats all sweets is a child who does not know when he will see sweets again."

I know my goal is not to calculate, but I can't help it: when I return to the NHS Sugar Calculator at the end of two weeks, I find that the older boys have made about 26 cubes during that time. I ate sugar. Weekend (this includes fizzy drinks, weekend cakes and at least one sweet pudding daily at school) - about half a drop. It feels like a huge success, especially considering how little they have complained about.

I intend to keep this more moderate approach to better sugar: not banning it, but definitely buying very little of it. According to McGregor, their taste receptors will regenerate within six to eight weeks, which means they will find the taste of sweets and fizzy drinks much sweeter. Let's see about it.