Naturally sweet baby, no need to add sugar!

Some people may think I am crazy or neurotic because of my "guidelines" about what the Monkey Girl can or can't eat.  I have always wanted her to eat all organic foods.  Now that Monkey Girl is eating more finger foods, not only do I have to keep an eye on her foods being organic, but also that they do not contain added sugar.  I have the most wonderful daycare provider who works with me and my dietary guidelines, doesn't tell me I am crazy, and never complains!!



When the issue of added sugar came up, I knew I had to find a way to make it simple...in this day in age, sugar comes in so many forms, it is hard to keep up with the nutritional labels.  The guidelines I gave my daycare provider was nothing with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).  Now that I am doing more research, I really think I should add, nothing with added sugar.  I buy bread and ketchup that advertise "no HFCS" however, they just substitute in sugar!



As I was working on this post, I picked up my What To Expect the First Year and started reading the 9 month chapter.  There was a section on babies and sugar and this is what it said: "Banning sugar from your baby's diet entirely- at least for the first year, and preferably for the first two- is actually a lot easier than trying to moderate sugar intake.  If you allow sugar sweetened sweets from the start, it will be difficult to restrict them later.  It's better to forbid all such dubious treats until your baby understands such concepts as "just one" and "special occasion."  Such a restriction will have two important benefits.  First, it will modify his or her taste for sugar later - studies show babies who were exposed to sugar early developed a significantly stronger taste for it than those who weren't.  And second, it will provide the chance for developing a taste for treats that are nutritionally sound."



I started to look into the subject more and turned to Dr. Weil.  In the past, my sister and I made fun of my mom, because any health or medical discussion began with "Dr. Weil says..."  However, now that I am a mom and looking to raise my daughter as "naturally" as possible, I find myself on his website very frequently!  He has written many articles on added sugar and HFCS including this one titled "Too Sweet To Eat".



I for one am going to try to keep my daughter away from all added sugars (but especially HFCS) as long as possible.  What about you?