Healthier Drink Alternatives for Kids You Can Prepare at Home
There is a crackdown on sugar and sugar-laden drinks all over the world because of the onset of diabetes. Millions of people, both young and old, are being affected by this lifestyle disease that can have debilitating side effects if not treated or managed immediately. In the UK, one in every 16 people has diabetes. That’s roughly four million citizens, and the number is expected to rise to five million by the year 2025. This number is alarming. The continuing sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits of residents are contributing to the steep rise in the prevalence of the illness.
Making better food choices
Numerous campaigns have been initiated to reform the eating habits of adults and youngsters, starting with drastically minimizing the amount of sugar they consume per day. According to experts, children between the ages of seven and 10 should not consume more than six sugar cubes or 24 grams of sugar per day. Younger children should only have 19 grams of sugar, while adults are allotted 30 grams of free sugar a day.
The problem is that children and adults take in so much free sugar without even knowing it. A small can of soda already has nine sugar cubes, and there are people who drink more than one can of soda a day. This doesn’t even include the iced tea, milk tea, and coffee mixes they drink all in one day. When added together, the sugar from beverages accounts for a big chunk of the excess sugar in people’s diets. This is something that must be addressed seriously to prevent more children from developing diabetes and other lifestyle diseases.
Choosing food with lower carbohydrates can help lower blood sugar. People are also encouraged to read labels carefully and pick out items that contain the least added sugar in them. When it comes to breakfast food, it is smarter to choose whole grain bread and oats rather than cereals that are packed with empty calories and a lot of sugar.
Healthy drinking
Cutting down on added sugar doesn’t mean depriving yourself and your kids of the sweet taste. Natural is always better. Instead of powdered fruit drinks, you can choose real, ripe fruits and serve your kids all-natural fruit juice. Choosing the ones in season means they are ripe and sweet and more palatable for kids.
For a bit of excitement, you can try using a commercial slush machine to turn natural fruit juice into slush. Not only do these drinks contain no added sugar, but you’re also sure that there are no preservatives or chemicals in them. Compared to buying commercially available slush, making your own assures you that you’re serving your kids only the good stuff!
When entertaining at home, you can also serve guests cocktails using this slush machine. Of course, there’s added alcohol in the drinks, but there will be real fruit juice in them, too, so that somewhat makes the beverages lean toward the healthy side.
Going the extra mile when serving food and drinks to family and friends can have positive long-term effects on their health. Cutting back on fast food in favor of fresh, home-cooked meals means fewer preservatives and chemicals and less sodium, fat, and cholesterol in your daily meals. You can even pack these fresh fruit juice and slush in takeaway containers and tumblers so that you can drink them anytime.
