cheerios and sugar...

[becj86]

Yeah, froot loops are scary! Cheerios in Australia are essentially those without the neon colours...

Katy, I think even these have something on the pack that says "source of fibre" as some kind of proclamation that they're healthy... it's on every cereal packet here!

[amayzie]

hmm... i might have to get some cheerios... they sound yummy ;P

[deb]

Ah, yes, love how the manufacturers slap "Made with Healthy Whole Grains!" on the label and you come to find out there's at least as much sugar as doughnuts in there.   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/6431776/Breakfast-cereals-contain-more-sugar-than-a-jam-doughnut.html  Yes, the doughnuts contain more fat, as the industry spokesperson pointed out, but no child needs that much sugar. And the coloring.... UGH, the coloring!  Josie's teachers at school were giving her a  hard time about her knowledge of food coloring when she would turn down treats at school; one teacher even told her she should be careful before making claims like most food colorings in the US are derived from coal tar, so I did some research and wrote her up a blog post to refer the teachers to. (http://crunchyprogressiveparenting.blogspot.com/2012/01/color-my-world-on-second-thought-please.html

Frankly, I'd go ahead and let the kids load up on veg and fruit (especially veg - fruit juices and some fruits are surprisingly high in sugar http://dsc.discovery.com/life/sodas-evil-twin-the-dangers-of-fruit-drinks-infographic.html) for carbs, maybe get them used to a homemade porridge - we made one with soaked mixed grains like millet and barley and rice and added just enough maple syrup to make it barely palatable LOL before we ended up going gluten-free - instead of the Cheerios at all. Kids can still use other foods as finger foods. JMHO

[CCCmom27]

It's scary in the US how many parents give their kids cereals like fruit loops and lucky charms without even thinking about all the sugar and food colorings that are in it!  My MIL says all the time how dark sodas cause cancer and then gives my nephew cereals, popsicles, etc with all kinds of artificial colors in them.  Not sure why she doesn't think red cereal would be bad?!?!

[MissyD]

Oh wow, I never realized how much sugar was in Cherrios.  I would have never known just by the taste!  And to think... I used to eat lucky charms, frosted flakes, honey combs everyday!!   No wonder my mom said I was "super active"...

[becj86]

Thanks, Deb. Makes a lot of sense when you say it like that... I think of what I feed DS and realise that most of his carbs are fruit/veges rather than what one typically thinks of as carbs - rice, pasta, bread. I make an oat porridge which he devours quite happily, even eats around the sultanas I put in

[Lemonthyme]

Btw that salt case, here's another link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/404667.stm

And here was the response from the makers of ready brek:

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/home/ready-brek-acts-to-clear-death-salt-charges/2052321.article

Tbh from a nutritional point of view after 6 months I think ready brek and the own brand versions are really good for kids.  It's fortified with no added sugar or salt.  I can see why they got distressed about it as a company.  I mean take a look at this thread!

http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/children-parenting-190/general-parenting-192/515205-ready-brek-responsible-death-baby-so-why-did-my-hv-recommend.html

Anyway, I take it all with a pinch of salt (lol, sorry, couldn't resist the gag!)  I try to offer minimal processed foods, minimal salt and minimal sugar even now my son is 21 months old.  I see some parents of toddlers my age giving their kids chocolate.  If you're even bothered to look at the nutritional panel of a breakfast cereal you're doing better than most of the population!

I reckon if you give a cereal which does have some added sugar or salt, then just be careful about what other foods you give in the day. 

[*Ali*]

Thanks LT, I looked for a link about them challenging the comment after your last post but couldn't find one. I guess that comment has done them some damage since all these years later so many mums still think twice about using it due to the presumed salt content.

[becj86]

All good points, Lemonthyme.

We have a fruit gel product here which is a baby jar food marketed to munchkins from 6months and the 110g jar contains 12.9g sugar. Granted, its mostly from fruit and I'd be interested to see what is fructose and what is glucose...

If they the ingredients on the label and it specifically says 'sugar' as an ingredient, I would take that to mean added glucose rather than that being fructose from the fruits in the product. Would that be right?

[deb]

If by "sugar" they mean basic table sugar, as an ingredient, that would be sucrose, which is half glucose and half fructose. But since it's in nutrition information on a jar of fruit product, I'd venture to guess that unless they actually added MORE sugar to it, most would be fructose.

[Mashi]

If sugar is an ingredient on the list then it is added.  However in the nutrition label, under sugars, that will be total sugars per serving/package, and that is a total of what is in the fruit and what additional sugar they have added.

[amayzie]

soooo if i;m looking at a product... say canned fruit (just an example...) and it doesn't say 'sugar' in the ingredient list then it's ok to give it to my guy as the 'sugars' listed on the nutritional panel include the natural sugars that are in the fruit?

[Mashi]

That's sort of a 'how long is a piece of string' question....  Just because it does not say sugar does not mean there is no added sugar as there are dozens of other names for sugar iyswim.   Also it depends on how the fruit is packed - packed in water, syrup, juice, own juices, etc.  Different things are better/worse.  So I would look for a product that has been packed in own juices or in water, with nothing else at all added. 

[amayzie]

YEah.. most of the stuff i look at for him at the moment only has a few ingredients, so it's easy to see if any sugar has been added... but will be on the look out for those other sneaky ways.. (just looked at the sultana bran- has 'invert syrup'.. sounds sugary to me...)

[Lemonthyme]

Yep invert syrup is made from sugar.