Uncovering Hidden Sugars in Foods: What Every Parent Needs to Know

We all know too much sugar in our diet is not a good thing. Hidden sugars in ultra processed and fast foods are one of the greatest contributors to obesity in children. It’s getting harder to avoid, as sugar seems to be in almost everything we consume.

This article looks closely at the prevalence of hidden sugars in everyday foods and the impact these sugars can have on our children’s health.

• What are the different names for added sugar?
• What to look for on labels
• What are the health consequences for children from added sugar?
• Nine Simple ways to reduce sugar in your child’s diet

Discover practical tips for identifying hidden sugars on food labels, finding healthier alternatives, and learning ways to reduce the sugar intake in your family’s diet. Become empowered with the knowledge and tools you need to make healthier food choices for your children and prevent childhood obesity and other chronic illnesses.

What are the different names for added sugar?

Many processed food manufacturers add different sugars to food to enhance the flavour. Added sugar can also make those foods more addictive, especially for young children. The problem is recognising how much added sugar is in a particular food or drink, as sugars come under many different guises and aren’t always simply listed as “sugar” on the label. Here are some examples:

• Fructose
• Dextrose
• Brown sugar
• Corn sweetener
• Corn syrup
• Glucose
• Sucrose
• Malt syrup
• Maltose
• Molasses

As you can see, there are many different names for added sugars in food and drinks, so it’s important to be mindful of everything that is actually sugar.

What to look for on labels

When grocery shopping, always carefully read the labels on each product before purchasing. Now that you know what ingredients are added sugars, you’ll have a good idea of what’s healthy and what to avoid.

Take note of what sugars are in the ingredients, plus the level of total sugars, usually represented in grams. Some products contain loads of sugar, while others may only have a small amount of added sugar. Ideally, avoid purchasing anything that contains more than 10 grams of added sugar as a general guide.

It’s suggested that sugar makes up 17% of what children consume daily. That’s a lot of sugar. Most of it comes from added sugars in food and drinks. This figure needs reducing in a major way for children to grow up healthy and maintain an ideal weight.

What are the health consequences for children from added sugar?

When a child’s daily caloric intake includes 10% or more of sugar, this leads to high cholesterol levels, including higher levels of LDL cholesterol, higher triglycerides, and lower heart-protective HDL cholesterol. This puts children at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and also contributes to weight gain and possible obesity.

Diabetes becomes a chronic and debilitating illness over time and obesity can lead to other health issues down the track, such as heart and liver disease. These conditions are largely preventable with the right diet and regular exercise. Therefore, it’s imperative to reduce sugar intake at an early age for ongoing good health.

Nine simple ways to reduce sugar in your child’s diet

You’re likely wondering what you can do to reduce those sugar levels, so we’ve provided some simple and handy tips to set you on the right path.

1. Serve water or milk

The best drink you can give to your child is plain old water.  If the water is ice cold and flavoured with lime or lemon pieces, it will be more thirst quenching. Add some fun fruit ice cubes to the glass from your freezer to encourage your kid to drink more water e.g. blueberries or strawberries! It’s the healthiest. While milk does contain natural sugars such as lactose, it’s also loaded with nutrients that every child needs for bone and muscle development and general good health. Calcium, protein and Vitamin D are just some of the nutritional benefits that milk delivers.

2.  Avoid sweetened drinks

Refrain from serving your children soft drinks, processed fruit juices, flavoured milk, sweetened coffee and tea, and anything else that obviously contains added sugar. You can offer these drinks as a treat now and then but avoid having a ready supply that children can drink daily.

3. Opt for freshly squeezed fruit juice

If you create your own fruit juices instead of buying prepackaged ones off the supermarket shelf, you’ll know exactly what’s in them. Children love simple freshly squeezed juices like orange or pineapple juice.  Lemon juice is very good for them, but it’s too bitter for most children.  Rather than adding sugar to a glass of lemon juice to take the edge off the tartness, try combining the lemon juice with orange juice or pineapple juice to naturally sweeten it up. While fruit is extremely healthy, it does contain quite high doses of natural sugars, so it’s wise to limit even freshly squeezed juices to keep the overall sugar intake down.

4. Avoid processed foods as much as possible

While added sugar is the main focus of this article, processed foods also contain other nasty ingredients you’ll want to avoid, such as preservatives, and artificial colours and flavours. Unfortunately, processed foods generally contain large amounts of added sugar, so avoid them as much as possible. This also includes many cereals on the market. Be sure to read the labels on cereal boxes.

5.  Encourage kids to eat more vegetables

Consuming more vegetables has so many health benefits aside from being low in or free of sugar. It’s not always easy to get kids to eat their veggies, but with a little imagination and some simple searches on the internet, you’ll discover ways to make eating vegetables fun and tasty. For example, you can combine cauliflower and broccoli with chicken to bake a delicious pie. That’s just one idea out of many possibilities.

6. Cook at home more often

When you cook at home, using fresh ingredients, you’ll know exactly what your children are eating. Better yet, get the kids involved in preparing and cooking the meals. When they are more hands-on, they’ll appreciate the food more too. At the same time, they’ll be learning valuable life skills.

7.  Plan ahead when eating out

If you’re going out for a family dinner, choose healthy food choices and be mindful of portion sizes. Choose restaurants that focus on fresh ingredients and avoid fast food. It may surprise you how much added sugar fast food contains, not to mention the array of unhealthy drink choices.

8. Take snacks when out and about

Rather than taking the easy way out and buying something for yourself and the kids while on the go, pack some healthy snacks and take them with you. Include fruit and vegetable snacks, some nuts, and sandwiches made with wholemeal bread. Fill up flasks with freshly squeezed juices and you’re good to go.

9. Watch those spreads

Chocolate spreads and most jams contain loads of added sugar. It’s best to avoid these and replace them with peanut butter, Vegemite, and reduced sugar jam.