As your child grows up, you would probably need to start avoiding certain foods that can be unhealthy for his/her body. And though there are plenty of unhealthy foods out there that you need to be wary, the following food items can be considered highly dangerous and should be kept away from your kids at all costs.
Fruit Juices
Contrary to the popular notion that fruit juices are good for kids, recent studies have pointed out that excess amounts of fresh fruit juices can actually load the body with excess sugars, and contribute to weight gain. So make it a point to substitute fruit juices with milk, water or whole fruits. Opt for diluted juices wherein you mix one part of the juice with three parts of water. This would reduce the sugar content in the juice and make it healthier.
Nutella Spread
One of the easiest school snacks happens to be a few slices of bread covered the supposedly nutritious Nutella which claims to contain a healthy mix of skim milks, cocoa and hazelnuts. However, not many know that Nutella is also loaded with plenty of sugars and fats (in fact, 11 grams of fat and 21 grams of sugar for every two servings) that can add up to 200 calories at any one time. So try avoiding Nutella Spreads and opt for healthier varieties like peanut butter spreads or plain mayonnaise.
Processed Lunch Meats
What could be easier than simply reheating a processed lunch meat like sausages or hot dogs, and sending it as a school snack for your kid? However, you might want to reconsider your choice of using processed lunch meats if you come to know that they contain an abundant dose of nitrates (usually added to preserve color and flavor, and prevent bacterial growth) that can cause colon cancer with time.
Sodas
By now, you would probably realize that one of your favorite drinks as a teen contained nothing but plenty of empty calories and gas. And the time has come to pass this information down to your kids. A normal 10 ounce soda-can can contain more than 10 teaspoons of sugar that can get stored in your body for ages. So rather than treating sodas as normal beverages, consider them as occasional indulgences you can enjoy once in a while and not more than that!
Doughnuts
Most of us love to have doughnuts for breakfast. However, studies reveal that doughnuts do nothing good for the body in the nutritional and energy front, while stocking on plenty of calories in the body early on in the morning instead.
French Fries
The staple food item that can be available with every burger or pizza that you buy can in fact help you gain more weight than you think so. In addition to being extremely fatty, French fries are literally soaked in oil and contain up to 7% of sodium and 18% of fat (according to daily requirement standards). And they don’t have enough protein, calcium or dietary fiber to stock on the nutritional value.
