Another important thing to look out for is the sugar content of the foods you buy for your toddler. Sometimes we think we are buying really healthy foods when in fact they are packed full of sugar!Too much sugar is bad for your little one’s teeth and can lead to obesity when they are older. Try and choose foods, where possible, that have ‘no added sugar’. Again this may be stated clearly on the packaging. Otherwise you can read through the list of ingredients to see if sugar is in included.And don’t be fooled!......sometimes sugar can be listed as a different name such as one of the below:
Alternative Names for Sugar on Food Labels:
- glucose
- sucrose
- maltose
- corn syrup
- honey
- hydrolysed starch
- invert sugar
- fructose
If a food does contain added sugar just make sure that it is ‘low in sugar’ by checking the nutritional information.
If a food is low in sugar it will have:
- ≤ 5g sugar per 100g solid food
- ≤ 2.5g sugar per 100ml liquids
Remember some nutritious foods contain naturally occurring sugars and will state ‘Contains naturally occurring sugars’ on the label. You do not need to avoid these for your toddler.
More questions
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