"Sugar makes my child hyper"
What foods would you recommend for a child who seems to have a sugar allergy e.g. goes hyper after food with a high sugar content
Most dietary guidelines recommend that approximately 50% of our calories should come from carbohydrates. There are many different types of carbohydrate rich foods, such as grains, pulses, beans, fruits, vegetables and sugars. Choosing wholegrain or wholemeal versions of bread, pasta and breakfast cereals will not only provide us with carbohydrate but will also help to boost our fibre intake too.
Although the body treats all carbohydrates in the same way regardless of their source, carbohydrates are sometimes termed "complex" and "simple" carbohydrates. Complex carbohydrates that come from plants are called starch and fibres, and these are found for example in cereal grains, vegetables, breads, seeds, legumes and beans. These carbohydrates consist of long strands of many simple carbohydrates linked together.
Simple carbohydrates (sometimes called simple sugars) are found for example in table sugar, fruits, sweets, jams, soft drinks, fruit juices, sugary biscuits, jellies and syrups. In general terms we should eat less of the foods that just contain sugar and little or no vitamins and minerals or fibre. Some of these sugary foods also contain additives and colourings too.
Both complex and simple carbohydrates provide the same amount of energy (four calories per gram) and both can contribute to tooth decay, especially when oral hygiene is poor.
As parents, we should set limits on the amount of sweets and soft drinks our children are eating and drinking and instead offer more raw vegetables, fresh fruits, or whole-grain crackers and cheese as snacks.
Snack smart food list
Pick a variety of foods from these groups:
Fresh fruits and raw vegetables
- Berries
- Oranges
- Melons
- Pineapple
- Pears
- Tangerines
- Celery
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices
- Canned fruits in natural juices
Grains
- Bread
- Plain bagels
- Unsweetened cereals
- Unbuttered popcorn
- Pretzels (low-Salt)
- Plain crackers
Milk and dairy products
- Low or non-fat milk
- Low or non-fat yogurt
- Low or non-fat cheeses
- Low or non-fat cottage cheese
Meat, nuts and seeds
- Cold chicken
- Cold turkey
- Sliced meats
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Nuts
Remember
- Choose sugary foods less often
- Avoid sweets between meals
- Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after snacks and meals
Finding sugars on the food label
Glucose, fructose, sucrose, lactose. These "ose" words on the ingredient list of food labels are all different types of sugars added by the manufacturers.
"No sugar added" simply means that no sugar was added during processing. However, the food itself may contain sugar, e.g, fruit juices.
Sugar is a carbohydrate and may be listed with starches as part of the total carbohydrates listed in the Nutrition Information of some foods.
The quantity of sugars listed on a label will include the sugars naturally found in the food as well as any sugars added during processing.