Natural health drinks without harmful sugar for children

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen a lot of people discuss health drink brands, thanks to influencer Revant Himatsingka. He had posted a video denouncing a popular health drink brand and ridiculing health claims on its packaging. He says his parents are making their children “addicted to sugar” at an early age by giving them drinks, and he deleted the video after he was reportedly given legal notice from the brand. bottom. However, his video raised many questions about the nutritional value of packaged health drinks.

Health Shots reached out to Shruti Keluskar, Executive Dietitian at Cloudnine Group of Hospitals in Pune to learn more about health drinks.

health drink sugar

Experts say one brand of health drink contains sugar, cocoa solids, caramel coloring, emulsifiers to extend shelf life, and artificial flavors. It also contains liquid glucose and maltodextrin, another name for sugar. In total, she says, every 100 grams of this product contains about 37 grams of sugar.

According to the National Health Service (NHS), consuming too much sugar can lead to weight gain and tooth decay. Fruit and milk contain natural sugars, but the type of sugar we commonly overeat is free sugar. That is, sugar added to foods and beverages. From biscuits to chocolate to breakfast cereals to sodas, they all contain free sugars: a child between the ages of 7 and her 10-year-old should consume no more than 24 grams of free sugars per day, according to the NHS. should not be ingested.

Experts say that when a child eats sugar, it causes a physiological response in the body. The body produces insulin to control blood sugar levels and the brain releases dopamine. However, excessive sugar intake can cause insulin resistance and lead to diabetes.

natural healthy drinks for kids

If you’re looking to replace packaged drinks with healthier ones, go natural this summer.Here are some recipes!

1. Mango Lassi

Keluskar says it’s always good to eat seasonal fruits. So, use mango, a summer fruit favorite, along with hang curd to prepare mango lassi.

material

Mango – 1/2 cup
Hang card – 3/4 cup
• Coconut milk – 1/4 cup
• A pinch of cardamom
Chopped nuts for garnish
• Honey/Jaggery – 1 teaspoon

Method

• Add mango, hang curd, coconut milk, honey and cardamom to the blender.
• Blend until smooth and well combined.
• Pour the lassi into a glass and top with nuts.

2. Make your own malt

You can make your own fresh, healthy malts without harmful preservatives or tons of sugar.

material

• Whole chana – 1/4 cup
• Whole wheat – 1/4 cup
Sprouted Whole Moon – 1/4 cup
• Walnuts – ¼ cup
• Almonds – ¼ cup
Dried dates – ¼ cup

Method

• Whole chana, wheat and mung are dried in the sun for 2 hours.
• Then dry roast all ingredients until golden brown.
• Grind them into a dry powder and store in an airtight container.
• Fresh malts can be served with hot or cold milk.

3. Satsu Sherbet

Sattu provides energy and hydration. These are her two key concerns that a mother has regarding her child. It also supports digestion, experts say.

material

• Chana sattu – 1 cup (100 g)
• Lemon – 2
Jaggery powder – 1 tablespoon
• Fresh mint leaves – 6-7 pieces
Roasted cumin powder – 1/2 teaspoon
• Black salt – 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

Method

• Take Sattu in a bowl, add water and whisk well.
• Add 1 cup of water.
• Add black salt, powdered jaggery and lemon juice.
• Mix well and enjoy.

4. Nut shake

A simple nut and seed mix makes an energy drink.

material

• Almonds – 6-7 pieces
• Walnut – 2
Milk – 1 cup
• oats – 2 tsp
• Chia seeds – half a teaspoon
• Pumpkin seeds – half a teaspoon
• Cinnamon powder – a pinch

Method

• Add milk, almonds, walnuts, oats and cinnamon powder to a powerful blender.
• Blend this on high for 1 minute or until you have a nice creamy smoothie.
• Pour this into a glass and top with healthy seeds.

You can also give your child fresh fruit juice instead of the one in the juice box.