Kids and Artificial Sweetners?

[mdanziger]

Hi all.  I know how family oriented the people here are so I want to get your opinions.  So far I have been cooking separately for myself and my family.  The primary reason is that I have young children (five and ten) and I am concerned about feeding them foods prepared with artificial sweeteners (Sucralose, xylitol, stevia).  I realize that feeding them sugary food isn't healthy, so I have cut their sugar intake significantly by cutting out sweets.  I am willing to switch to sweeteners for myself, but I am unsure about the safety of artificial sweeteners for them. Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.

Mark

[Andrea]

My kids are all adults but I have 4 grandchildren.  I do not feed any of them artificial sweeteners.  I don't think enough time has passed for us to know about the effects they have on growing bodies.  In my opinion, cutting back on the sweets served is the best way to deal with this issue.

My family eats the rest of the low carb stuff, but not the sweets.

Good question, Mark.

[mouseissue]

Hi Mark!

I agree with Andrea... Good question!

Since we know that avoiding high carb junk makes us healthier, the same should hold true for young children.
Their metabolisms operate much like adults, only a bit faster.

However, artificial sweeteners can be a concern.
That's why I use only FTS Zero and sometimes xylitol if I want bulk and/or a little crunch.
Both these sweeteners are 100% natural and safe.

NOTE: Xylitol is poisonous to dogs!... Do not let Fido eat any!

Sweets are supposed to be enjoyed as OCCASIONAL treats for young and old alike.
Not as daily staples.
Eating them too often can hinder weight loss progress.

So if the youngins don't eat them on a daily basis, they should be fine.

Tony

[umpa]

Xylitol is actually good for their teeth.Zero is okay too

[AliciaInTX]

I agree with the above responders. I don't like feeding the artificial sweeteners to the kids...and actually, I like to stick to the more natural ones myself, as the flavor is better, IMO. The kids know that the umpadoodles in the freezer are mom's special treat since they get to have other treats on occasion. We're not big on sugar for the kids, anyway. When our sons were much younger, we found that reducing the sugar intake (no juice or soda, sugar-free peanut butter and low sugar jelly, etc) really reduced the grumpiness and bad behavior. Not that they were rotten to begin with...but they actually got along a lot better when not all sugared up! We continue feeding them low sugar stuff during the week and o n the weekends they get treated with a Friday night movie with candy and donuts on Sunday morning. We also stay away from sugar cereals and desserts during the week, the treats on the weekend are pretty much the only time they have much of it. So....I'm agreeing with the others. We did cut way back on sugar but don't substitute it. Hopefully they'll grow up and not feel like they NEED it, which is how I felt, if they are used to not eating it during the week.