To give my dd Innocent smoothies?

[Mummylion9]

DD is 12 and has autism and sensory issues which makes eating very difficult for her. She eats no fruit or veg other than a small piece of broccoli and/or apple or cucumber which I insist on but it's difficult for her.

She does like the individual Innocent smoothies so I buy those for her, she might have one or two a day certainly no more.

But then I start to worry about the sugar and how we are supposed to be cutting down on fruit juice etc.

So good or bad in these circumstances? I give her vitamin tablets too.

Awful misogynistic company. Wouldn’t give them a penny.

I’ve already tried that as well unfortunately and DD refused it.

One a day day fine, i wouldn’t give more than one as it’s pointless as only 1 of your 5 a day can come from juice then it becomes bad for you as the sugar intake is high. I understand how worrying it is, my youngest is autistic and will only a small amount of fruit and veg, I give him a glass of apple juice every morning.

Try and do a sugar window where she has this and any other sweet things. Ideally start with a couple of hours in a day, then reduce the frequency. I ended up with one window a week, a sweets day with a two hour window. This was recommended by a dentist.

If she is drinking them with a straw then wouldnt tooth exposure to sugar be minimal?
Tbh if her eating is disordeed due her needs then as long as she is getting calories i wouldnt worry too much.

My DD18 still has a couple each week, she’s totally fruit phobic and eats very few veg.

I’ve got a child with ARFID who will now drink one type of innocent smoothie. Yes it’s high in sugar - but he doesn’t eat anything else high in sugar at all (no sweets, chocolates, cake, biscuits, fruit, jam) so I figure it isn’t the worst thing in the world. I am so thankful he has tried it and will have it alongside his 5 foods he eats. Try not to stress - you have to do what you can to help make the eating situation better.

Oh give over! My NT DD had an Innocent smoothie every day. Perfect teeth as a child and (now) adult.

Sugar spikes are perfectly normal and nothing to worry about in a non diabetic.

Honestly, the shit that's spouted on here.

Carry on as you are, but would she use a straw? At least then the smoothie is bypassing the teeth a bit more.

It's fine. There are truly far worse things she could be eating or drinking.

I would ignore all the batshit claims people have about these. True, they're not as beneficial as eating a whole piece of fruit but they aren't going to dissolve her teeth into shards either, not 1-2 a day. It might be a different story if it was the only thing she was eating at all.

Give the woman a bloody break.

Probably somewhat better than being on the way to scurvy with a mouthful of blood, teeth falling out and eventual death.

I’d give them. Obviously not as good as the actual fruit and veg, but in an autistic kid with restricted diet they can get in some vitamins and really help the bowels.

I thought you probably had, I imagine you have tried everything

That’s a good idea if she will

There are a lot of weird purists on MN who like to preach hellfire and brimstone to anyone eating anything that isn’t an organic whole food plucked directly from the ground. Sugar, salt, the dreaded UPFs…it’s a purity spiral, it’s an orthorexic mindset and it’s a hobby for some people. It’s spectacularly unhelpful and largely irrelevant when you’re trying to get calories into an autistic child. As long as she brushes her teeth it will be fine.

Water works, followed by a decent diet. Do you honestly think this is the only generation to have ND? We managed . . .

Speak to your dentist or hygienist who will explain why smoothies are a lot worse on teeth than fruit consumed in its original form.
There are children of 5 and 6 having teeth extracted because they're rotting.
Here's a useful link.

www.denplan.co.uk/the-core/your-patients/sugar-childrens-teeth

Thank you so much.
I never would have known.
I'll let dd know now.

Appreciate that.

I can't believe people on here acting like it is poison drinking a smoothie!! Plenty of fibre in a smoothie and at least it is fruit. Not perfect, but nutritious enough. Brush teeth well- plenty of us survived the 80s/90s drinking full-fat squash, concentrated orange juice and panda pop, and came out with great teeth 😁

An autistic child is not a "fussy" child and won't "just eat what you give them". A smoothie is the least of worries, I have seen kids literally living on snack cakes and sausages.

Honestly I think it is a stepping stone towards proper fruit. Try blending one fruit at a time, mine like banana mixed with milk, a touch of cinnamon. You can make that quite predictable and bland. Once one blended fruit is accepted you could try another, EG banana with strawberry. Or try the sliced banana, just one piece on the side to nibble.

i don’t think the OP is doubting that but in this case it’s not having fruit instead of the smoothie- she won’t eat the fruit so it’s smoothie or she doesn’t get the vitamins and fibre

And it takes weeks to get a vitamin C assay back from the specialist lab in Rotherham. Prevention is definitely better.

There are Innocent smoothies with no added sugar. That's what I drink.

Sigh. 'Decent diet' only works when a child is able to eat it. Which this child can't manage.

As far as I was concerned, vegetables/potatoes were my 'safe' foods. For two of my siblings, they weren't - one spent his entire lifetime eating one meal a day of one of his safe foods plus green beans and potatoes. Not the worst diet in the world, but I'm pretty sure his nutritional status could have been improved without the stubborn 'we didn't have faddy eaters in the War, you know' attitude.

My son is 18 and he's had one a week for years. No dental issues. He has it in one sitting. Limits dental issues.