Tips for parents to reduce the risk of sugars on the health of their children

Damascus-Sana

Some parents give their children sweets and sugars as a reward or a snack or a way to pass the time without disturbing them at a time when doctors warn against eating too much because of its harm to the health of the young.

Excessive intake of sugar, according to pediatrician Dr. Rasha Al-Dagestani, increases the risk of obesity in children and the body's preparedness for diabetes, in addition to its effect on the absorption of important minerals such as calcium and magnesium, which causes damage to bone health, caries, dental caries and loss of appetite as well as affects the efficiency of the functioning of the digestive system.

Excessive intake of sugar affects, as Dr. Dagestani explains to Sana, on the child's neurological aspect, and there are experiments that show the feasibility of stopping sugar in the effectiveness of treating ADHD, although there is no study proving that sugar is the main cause of the syndrome.

The amount of sugar allowed for children to eat ranges from 4 to 6 teaspoons, which is approximately 24 grams of sugar, according to Dr. Dagestani, who points out the importance of the Week Without Sugar Challenge campaign launched by the Ministry of Health in raising the family's awareness of the harms of white sugar.

In the event that parents wish to provide sugars to their children, pediatrician Dr. Rana Farhood recommended reducing the amount of sugars and presenting them in limited and studied quantities and mixing them with protein, healthy fats or fibers, which helps reduce harm to the child and replace sugars and soft drinks with nutrients that contain natural sugars and high nutritional value such as dates. Honey.

Rama Rashidi