Nestle: How to keep your baby away from sugar? Here are a few helpful tips

Processed sugar is bad for both kids and adults. Recently, a study revealed that Nestle adds sugar to its baby products like Cerelac in Asian countries including India. Swiss investigative organisation, Public eye and International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) tested Nestle’s baby-food products sold in Asia, Africa and Latin America in a Belgian laboratory. Researchers found that sugar in the form of sucrose or honey was found in Nido and Cerelac.

While the report is being studied, let us look at some ways we can keep our babies away from sugar.

How to keep babies away from sugar?

Breastfeeding

If you can, ensure your baby has breast milk for the first six months. Breast milk has all the necessary nutrients without added sugars. This also helps in shaping a baby's taste preferences towards natural flavours.

Switch to healthy drinks

Replace sugary drinks with water or milk (breast milk or formula milk). Do not let them indulge in regular soda, flavoured milks, kool aid drinks, sweetened juices, sports drink, energy drinks and tea.

Beware of other names for sugar

Some packaged foods literally have "sweetened" in their name, such as sweetened apple sauces or sweetened peaches. Foods we do not expect to have sugar may also have added sugars, like yogurt. Added sugars go by many different names, such as high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrates, cane sugar, corn sweetener, lactose, glucose, sucrose and maple syrup.

Make sure to always check the ingredient list.

Be insistent

Does your child hate greens and often pukes it out? It is time to get insistent! Offer your child healthy foods like

Offer children bitter foods like vegetables over and over. Young children need to be exposed to foods 30 or so times before they learn to like them!

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends limiting the consumption of added sugars for all age groups, including babies and young children. In 2019, WHO issued guidelines specifically targeting added sugar in baby food products.

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