5 Kids Foods That Arent As Healthy As They Seem

When was the last time your kid voluntarily chomped down a whole plate of greens? This is why we love all the companies who try to help us by making deceptive foods. Trick foods look and taste yummy but are also healthy so you don’t have to chase your diaper-clad mini-me all around the house before he finally eats that veggie.

1. Juice/Sports Drinks

Kids generally spend a lot of time out in the sun, engaged in a lot of physical activity. So it’s only natural to assume that they need something to keep their energy levels up, keep them hydrated and ensure that they don’t lose too much body salt. However, juices contain a lot of sugar or other artificial sweeteners which are unhealthy for children in those quantities. Similarly, sports drinks contain a lot of unhealthy substances like sugar and food colouring. It also increases the chances of developing obesity. Limit the amount of juice and sports drinks consumed by your kid.

2. Granola Bars

This one took me by surprise too. I mean, it’s a bar of cereal. How can that be unhealthy? Well, the cold hard truth is that most granola and cereal bars these days are filled with sugar, It an attempt to make them tastier, manufacturers have taken to adding chocolate and other sugary substances. Another problem is that they use substances like corn syrup, to hold them together which can be quite unhealthy in large quantities. The ‘fruits’ the use are often dry fruits which have lost most of their nutritive factors.

3. Fruit Snacks / Dry Fruits

The names themselves tend to be quite misleading. As is the problem with most foods these days, the main problem with fruit snacks is that they’re full of sugar. What’s more is that generally use fruit concentrate which contains very little fruit nutrients and are primarily just for taste. The problem with dry fruits is that the sugar is not concentrated as the water is extracted from the fruits and because they’re so small, kids tend to eat more of them, thus leading to excess sugar consumption.

4. Yogurt

The funniest part about this being not as healthy as it seems is that many kids don’t even like it. The problem isn’t with all yogurt in general, rather it’s with KIDS yogurt. The problem is, again, that kid specific yogurt contains a lot of added sugar and artificial flavouring which can be quite unhealthy. Give them normal yogurt. It’s healthy for them too as it provides calcium and probiotics.

5. Crackers & Bread

Crackers and bread sound much healthier that other snacks right? Very low chances of too much sugar? WRONG. A lot of crackers for kids are made with artificial sweeteners and refined flour. The problem with this is that, firstly, sugar (again), and secondly, it isn’t providing much nutrition. Similarly, the problem with white bread that it doesn’t provide much nutrition. A better option would be giving your kid whole-wheat crackers and bread, but be sure to check the ingredients to ensure that what you get is actually healthy.There are a lot of foods out there that are quite deceptive. Make sure to check the ingredients of whatever you’re getting to ensure that the sugar content isn’t too high and that it will actually provide some kind of nutrition to your little one.