Sugar is a sneaky sneaky ingredient. It is ASTONISHING what you can learn about the amount of sugar in certain foods. Things that are supposed to be healthy can contain LOADS of sugar, more so than things that are even considered not so healthy, such as but not limited to: Yogurt, Peanut Butter, Applesauce, jams, etc.
Yesterday when I was shopping, I picked up the little containers of applesauce for my kids. I was going to get the organic package, as I have switched alot of our food to organic (a whole nother post). The organic applesauce was not unsweetened, but the store brand was all natural unsweetened. Kids do not need added sugar in applesauce at all. I looked at the amount of sugar on the back and was in SHOCK!! The store brand "All natural unsweetened" applesauce contained 8 grams per-serving. The "organic" applesauce contained...are you ready? 28 grams of sugar per-serving! I couldn't believe my eyes. This means: The unsweetened applesauce contained 8 grams of "natural" sugar per-serving, while the organic applesauce contained 8 grams PLUS another 20 grams that are NOT natural. The added 20 grams of sugar is chemically processed, added sugar even though the applesauce containers were the same serving size. So, though I am a huge supporter of organic foods, you need to make sure to read the back if you do not want your child loaded with sugar when eating their "healthy" snack. Fruit already contains natural sugars, so unless you're feeding your child dessert, the extra sugar is not needed and not healthy.
Next: Peanut butter. Peanut butter can be a great source of protein, but you have to make sure and find the peanut butter without added hydrogenated oils (that aren't needed), and extra sugar (that isn't needed). Here is an example: An all natural brand of peanut butter, such as Laura Scudder's, contains the following ingredients: Peanuts and less than 1% of salt. The only oil it contains is natural oil, which is why it all settles at the top (and is a pain to stir sometimes). This peanut butter contains 1 gram of natural sugar. A more popular peanut butter brand contains the following in the ingredients: Sugar (added), molasses (more added sugar), and 3 hydrogenated oils that aren't good for you and aren't needed. The more popular brand also contains 3 grams of sugar due to the "added" sugars and 150 mg of salt instead of 104 mg of salt.
Yogurt. People think yogurt is good for them....some can be. Yogurt (popular brands such as Yoplait) are LOADED with sugar. Most of them contain HFCS, but even the ones that don't are loaded with extra sugar. Buying yogurt with fruit one the bottom is not doing you any good. That "fruit" is mixed with high sugar syrups so that it tastes better. You're better off getting plain yogurt and adding fresh fruit or honey.
I am in no way against sugar. My kids get desserts, sucker sometimes, ice cream, etc. I don't think kids should be deprived of any of this in any way. But alot of parents aren't aware that when they packed their child's school lunch with peanut butter and jelly, a yogurt (such as those kid portable kinds), a container of peaches in syrup, and a few cookies as the "treat", those cookies were not the only extra sugar they got. The child just got a school lunch packed with extra sugar which will make them sluggish, hyper, and likely less able to concentrate the rest of the school day. Oh and don't forget the Capri Sun and Sunny D which is loaded with sugar. Sugar is a necessary part of our diets, but it is better when it is the natural sugars vs. the chemically processed sugars that have no health benefits, weaken the child's immune system, and do a ton of other damage.
To avoid these things, you can make healthy desserts, snacks, and treats homemade, that way you know how much sugar is going into it. I could name hundreds of other foods that we run in to the same problem with, but I would be here all day. My point is, if you tell your child "You just had a cupcake, you can have a yogurt cup instead", that yogurt may contain just as much sugar as the serving of one cupcake. Therefore, you might as well have given them another cupcake.
I didn't mention soda since that's a given. Diet is just as if not WORSE for you than regular.
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