1. What do you want to see in the snack ingredient list?
1. Remember the names of some sweet additives. "Sugar", "honey" and "sweet" are basically sweeteners, such as aspartame, acesulfame, saccharin sodium and so on. High sugar content will increase infants' dependence on sweetness, easily lead to dental caries and make children obese. The ingredient list is sorted according to the quantity of raw materials. The higher the ranking, the more ingredients. If sucrose (or white sugar) ranks high, it can basically be judged as a high-sugar snack.
2. Colored characters are usually pigments. Such as sunset yellow, carmine, bright blue and so on. These food pigments can make snacks look more attractive. However, studies have shown that excessive intake of food pigments may lead to asthma and rubella, and may also induce ADHD. Therefore, it is best to eat less.
3. Most of the words with "glue" are thickeners. For example, carrageenan and xanthan gum are not easy to digest and are not good for children.
4. The focus is on sodium content. Sodium, our salt. Eating too much can easily make the baby form a heavy-tasting diet preference, increase the burden on the kidneys and pose a risk to health.
Second, in real life, what snacks can children eat more and what snacks can they eat less?
The Guide to Snack Consumption for Children and Adolescents issued by China provides a very detailed reference for parents. The Guide classifies snacks into three levels: regular consumption, moderate consumption and restricted consumption.
Ordinary snacks: you can eat normally every day. Generally, it is a non-staple food with low fat, low salt and low sugar, such as oats, yogurt, milk, fresh fruit and whole wheat bread.
Appropriate snacks: It is recommended to eat this kind of food once or twice a week. This kind of food is moderate in fat, salt and sugar, and contains some elements needed by human body, such as iron, protein and vitamins. But eating too much will lead to the loss of physical substances, such as obesity and calcium in the body, such as cheese, chocolate, dried fruits, potato chips, sugary drinks and so on.
Fasting: it is best not to exceed once a month, mainly referring to foods with high sugar, high salt, high calorie and high fat, such as canned fruit, candied fruit and condensed milk.
Of course, to choose the right snacks, we need to take correct measures between dinner and snacks, and don't turn snacks into rewards and punishments, so as to "get along harmoniously" with children.