The season between Halloween and New Years is an “extra sweet” time of year. While filled with fun activities, social events, and family togetherness, it can also lend to “sugar overload”. While sugary treats taste so good, children’s developing brains and immune systems can be especially sensitive to excess sugar consumption.

Children with ADHD, Autism, or immune challenges are often even more sensitive to the effects of added sugars. Sugar is the top inflammatory food and may exacerbate inflammatory health conditions and can contribute to brain inflammation and dysregulation in sensitive children. In addition, sugar can negatively impact the infection fighting blood cells of the body lowering resistance to illness. Research has indicated that consuming the sugar content of 1 can of soda pop can decrease the immune properties of the white blood cells for up to 5 hours after consumption.

The American Heart Association recommends children under 2 years of age have 0 grams of added sugar and children over 2 yrs have less than 25 grams of added sugar per day. Pediatricians estimate children are likely consuming 3 times that amount of sugar on a daily basis. How much is 25 grams of sugar? If a child has a bowl of sugar sweetened cereal and a small container of sweetened yogurt for breakfast, they most likely have exceeded the 25 grams of daily sugar. A 20 oz. bottle of Gatorade consumed by teens in sports, contains 36 grams of sugar.

How does a parent minimize their child’s sugar intake? Learning to read labels is a first great step. Reading labels on packaged foods helps to determine how much added sugar is in a food product. Added sugars are hidden in many processed food items. Choosing comparable food items that have less sugar can be a good option. However, be wary of added artificial sweeteners used as a substitute for sugar. Artificial sweeteners can actually have other negative impacts on health, so sugar is actually preferred over artificial sweeteners such as aspartame and sucralose.

When home baking, sugar can often be decreased in recipes. In addition applesauce, honey, or molasses may be used. Depending on the recipe, experimenting with decreased sugar or other natural sweeteners can lower the sugar content. There are substitution guides available online for reference.

Fresh Fruits can be used for desserts and snacks, as well as added to plain unsweetened yogurt or smoothies. Choosing unsweetened cereals and adding fresh fruits or homemade granola can be a low sugar alternative. If you are looking for a healthier, lower sugar, electrolyte sports drink replacement, Hydrate from NutriDyn is a great option for athletes when needed.

Finally, while it would be difficult to remove all added sugars from a child’s/teen’s diet, as a parent you can be “parent savvy” in decreasing added sugars by reading labels, choosing food wisely, stocking the fridge and pantry with healthy alternatives, and limiting sugary treats for occasional special times.

Interested in natural options for addressing your child’s health struggles? Wellness 4 KIDS is here to help. Contact us for a FREE Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call or learn more at Wellness4KIDS.net

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Parents often wonder if their child needs a multivitamin. Currently 90% of children do not get the required amount of vegetables on any given day, and 60% of children do not consume an adequate amount of fruit on any given day. 

According to CDC statistics, children and teens receive approximately 2/3 of their caloric intake in their diet from ultra processed foods and 1/3 of children have a fast food meal on any given day of the week. Ultra processed foods and most fast food meals simply do not contain the essential vitamins and nutrients our children need. 

Our goal as parents is first to provide as healthy of a diet we possibly can for our children using a “food first approach” for their nutrition. However, in our fast paced lifestyle at times that can be a struggle. While a multivitamin does not replace a healthy diet, a multivitamin can help supplement some of the vitamins and minerals our children need to grow, thrive, and stay healthy. 

Very few children’s vitamins on store shelves provide an adequate amount or proper balance of vitamins and minerals that growing children need. They often contain less expensive vitamin or mineral ingredients that are not well absorbed by the body and often do not contain a methylfolate or methylated vitamin B12 form. In addition, they often contain a high amount of added sugars, artificial colors, or ingredients to make them “kid friendly”. So they actually may not be benefiting your child’s health.

A good reputable children’s multivitamin will:

• Contain a powerful blend of ingredients to nourish the body at the cellular level
• Optimize health and development during critical growth phases
• Contain ingredients to enhance cellular and immune function
• Promote, healthy growth and development
• Build strong bones and teeth
• Support muscle, nerve, and cardiovascular health

When I recommend a multivitamin for children, two of my favorites are NutriDyn Kids Chewable Multi or Orthomolecular SuperNutes vitamin. These are two of the best vitamins I personally have found when comparing children’s multivitamins. Each has their distinct advantages, so I recommend based on what best meets that individual child’s particular need. The NutriDyn vitamin has the added benefit of an optimal vitamin D dosage, and is in a whole foods base. The SuperNutes vitamin has the advantage of having a small amount of iron for children that need a bit of extra iron.

With back to school busy schedules, and the need for extra support for your child’s immune system, either of these multivitamins would be a good option for your child of safe chewing age and beyond. Use as directed for age.

The NutriDyn Kids Chewable Multi is available from NutriDyn at this link. The SuperNutes multivitamin is available at this FullScript link. The SuperNutes multivitamin needs provider authorization, so you may request that within the FullScript request authorization function.​

​Wellness 4 KIDS has recommendations for good multivitamins for teens as well, which is especially important for teen girls. Need more help in choosing the right multivitamin for your individual child/teen or furthering your child’s personal wellness journey, contact us for a Free Pediatric Wellness Discovery Call.
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Reminder: For your child's safety, it is recommended to purchase products directly from the manufacturer or a healthcare professional company, not third party e-commerce sites, due to recent research and reports of products being tampered or adulterated on those sites.
Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35947382

References:
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/highly-processed-foods-form-bulk-us-youths-diets