Raising children is difficult. And one of the things that parents worry the most is what to feed them; I mean, you prep them for a lifetime of eating habits. It can be difficult to make the right decision when the advertising of baby food is so aggressive. Either they don’t tell you the whole truth or they draw the kids in through colorful cartoons and fun jingles.
It goes without saying that there are many so-called ‘kid-friendly’ foods that are very bad for your little one’s health, but here we’ve rounded up the worst and most often misunderstood so you don’t fall for it. the trap.
Read on to find out what they are!
7. Sweet drinks
Sugar is children’s cocaine; once they hang on to it, it’s a tough trip home and it’s very, very bad for them. From tooth decay and an increased risk of obesity to a host of behavioral problems, sugar can be linked to many of them.
But when you’re into anything marketed for kids, like sports drinks, soda, and even fruit juices, it’s important to be vigilant. Even 100% fruit juice is not the healthiest option, as mixed fruit can tend to lose its nutritional properties as fiber and end up with only the remaining sugar.
6. Breakfast cereals
Breakfast cereals aren’t the healthiest way to start the day. In fact, it offers nothing but a large number of calories and carbohydrates. Most breakfast cereals are made from refined white flour, which itself contains no nutrients. Like sugar, the body tries to burn it off through exercise. What is left becomes abdominal fat.
To top it off, most breakfast cereals are loaded with preservatives, artificial flavors and colors; These have been linked to many health problems in children. And let’s not start by knowing that they are also full of sugar!
5. Processed meat
One type of processed meat that is often packaged as “kid-friendly” is a hot dog. Children may like to eat them, but they will pay the price later. Processed meats such as hot dogs, sausages, pepperoni, ham, cold cuts, etc. they are loaded with preservatives, unhealthy fats and an inexcusable amount of salt.
Did you know that nitrates have been linked to cancer (yes, even organic?).
Also, these types of processed meats are often served in some kind of refined white flour product, the disadvantages of which we have already mentioned.
4. Fried sandwiches
Including chicken nuggets, fish sticks, mozzarella sticks, etc., fried sandwiches can be like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Fried foods aren’t always bad – when made at home with good quality ingredients, you should be able to enjoy them every now and then. But for most of us, these foods always come out of a frozen package or a fast food chain.
In these cases, they are made with a lot of poor quality ingredients, which then require a lot of preservatives and artificial flavors to make them taste great. For example, a chicken nugget can contain more than 20 ingredients, most of which are not chicken, or even natural! They’re covered in a refined flour coating, deep-fried in hydrogenated oils filled with trans fat, and served with a garnish of gravy high in sugar and preservatives!
3. Canned Mac ‘n’ Cheese
It’s one of everyone’s favorite baby foods, but was the result worth the risk? Boxed mac and cheese contain a pasta made from refined white flour and cheese that is not actually cheese. It contains sodium, preservatives and even some non-food additives. None of these things provide nutrition for your child.
Another particularly scary aspect of canned mac and cheese is a by-product of the manufacturing process called phthalates. It is a substance that is prohibited for use in baby toys because it has been linked to learning and behavior problems in children.
2. Packed lunches
Packed lunches may seem like a practical option for a busy mom, but it’s definitely worth doing something fresh that one of them. For starters, most packaged lunches have a lot of offenders that we talked about before, such as cold cuts, cheese, juices, crackers, etc. Most of the time, they contain foods made with white flour, sugar, additives, sodium, chemicals and unnatural ingredients.
1. Children’s meals
A child’s meal may seem like the best option for a picky little kid or busy parent, but most of them contain more calories than even an adult is recommended to eat. On top of that, none of the foods in a child’s meal are primarily what they claim to be.
Let’s look at the contents of a normal kid’s meal: a burger or some type of sandwich that includes white bread and artificial “cheese”, refined flour and processed potatoes disguised as “fries” and a drink that is essentially colored sugar and chemical water. .
Does all of this sound like something you would like to feed your child?