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Original poster

Do you think we all go overboard in analysing every packet in the supermarket for the demon that is sugar?

48 replies

oliveoil · 30/08/2005 13:16

Tesco's on Saturday, looking at cereal packets with dh. Dd1 has decreed that she will not eat Weetabix and Ready Brek anymore (and she has had them every day for years, bless) so we wanted to get something different.

We were frowning and umming and harrumphing at the ingredients and then thought HANG ON! I grew up on Sugar Puffs/Frosties etc etc and I do not resemble a heart attack waiting to happen. AND I didn't have a filling until I was 20 (ooer).

So we got some Rice Krispies and thought to hell with it.

Anyone else? Or am I a baaaaaaad mum?

OP posts:
soapbox · 30/08/2005 21:16

I go for full fat full sugar everytime - would much rather that than the dreaded aspartime and hydrogenated fats.

I have started only buying organic biscuits much to my children's pissed offness as they don't put hydrogenated fats into organic food. It seems impossible to find many non-organic ones which don't have hydrogenated fats in them.

The children think its a bit poncy to have Duchy Originals lemon shortcake biscuits rather than jammy dogers

Gobbledigook · 30/08/2005 21:16

katymac - same here. I don't care how 'full fat' it is, it's better than sweetners. As long as you eat 'fat' in moderation and have an otherwise healthy diet and lifestyle there are no worries imo.

The big thing I think is to be active - there's no substitute for exercise.

moondog · 30/08/2005 21:18

I agree. Low fat yoghurt-bleuuuurghhh! Lowfat spreads-baaaarf!!! I love butter!

Janh · 30/08/2005 21:20

When it's up to me we have butter, sugar and full fat everything.

The kids seem to like things like aspartame and utterly butterly

What I was amazed about the other day though was that Frosted Shreddies have less sugar than Coco Shreddies. Have stopped buying CS except as major treat now staples are Weetabix and plain Shreddies.

morningpaper · 31/08/2005 10:49

Soapbox: I was in my local farm shop a couple of weeks ago and noticed that the organic biscuits DID contains hydrogentated fats!!!!!! I was HORRIFIED!

Duchy Originals ARE good but soooo pricey!

MMmmmm now I'm in the mood for making some shortbread....

Original poster
oliveoil · 31/08/2005 11:08

OldieMum - how old are your children? I thought of bitesize Shredded Wheat but didn't think dd1 would go for them - she is 2yrs 10m.

Agree with others on here re lowfat/sweeteners etc, what a load of crap. Ingredient lists go on for ever.

We don't have fizzy drinks in our house EVER but I am sure she will realise they exist when at school.

I am having to start making cakes etc as dd1 has a peanut allergy so that is a pain in itself searching for ingredients all the time.

OP posts:
OldieMum · 31/08/2005 12:37

Oliveoil - DD is almost 2.8. She has been eating Shredded Wheat Bitesize since sometime last autumn, when she finally refused to eat baby cereals any longer. We were already eating it, after lots of cereal-packet reading revealed that it is so lacking in nasties. It is pretty boring, but she usually accepts it and enjoys having a 'combi-ation' of cereal and fruit.

Original poster
oliveoil · 31/08/2005 12:41

thank you, think I will have a go at that. Just thought they may be a bit hard and straw like for a toddler!

x

OP posts:
Chandra · 31/08/2005 12:48

I have already enough problems trying to get suitable food for a child allergic to nuts, tomatoes, intolerant to glutten, milk, and many vegetables as to worry also for sugar. IMO if we really want our children to eat perfectly healthy food we may need to go back to the basics and cook it ourselves.

PeachyClair · 31/08/2005 14:06

ASDA magazine (only Mag I could afford this week!) has a very sensible article that says a bit here and there is absolutely fine, and I really do think if you make an issue of it you're going to have bigger problems as your kids grow up. Chances are, they're already going to see alcohol, fast driving, and possibly smoking as glam, do you really want to add junk foods to the list? Coz unless you are Kate MOss (and probably even if you are), as a parent you are automatically uncool and anything you decree is automatically wrong. If you ban it they'll want it.

My kids get sweets once a week, when we go to tesco anyway. Sometimes their cereal has sugar, sometimes not. They don't get squash, but that's a colourings issue for DS1 who reacts to it. All my kids are on the lower half of the centile range, and healthy as can be.

Hausfrau · 31/08/2005 14:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Firefox · 31/08/2005 14:35

Can someone tell me what is so bad about sweetners?

katymac · 31/08/2005 19:24

Artifical sweetners (esp asparteme) are labelled in the USA - they are beleived to be carcenogenic(sp) In this country this is ingnored as it is a food rather than a chemical

In me it causes raging Diohorrea (sp again) for upto a week after a tiny bit

aloha · 31/08/2005 19:26

I like sugar. hate aspartame etc.

expatinscotland · 31/08/2005 19:29

I buy full-fat sugar, full-fat everything. Today I almost bought a 'light' juice drink by mistake. Had a look at the ingredients. Asparatame AND sacharine?! WTF?! WHY? The only thing worse would be if they threw that awful Splenda rubbish in it.

Seona1973 · 31/08/2005 19:48

if you google for the side effects of aspartame it makes some scary reading. This is the info from just one site I found

marthamoo · 31/08/2005 19:50

When I was little we used to have things like Frosties and put sugar on them!

On holiday with my parents the other week my two were having Weetabix and my Dad asked if they wanted sugar on. They just looked at him blankly but when we were children we always put sugar on cereal.

nikkie · 31/08/2005 21:13

Very scary reading on Aspartame,Sugar everytime!

PeachyClair · 31/08/2005 21:15

My ds1 who has special needs anyway goes completely whacko at Aspartame! He will run arouns in circles, screech, and as he is violent anyway, this becomes exaccerbated. If it does that to him, it's no good imho. Sugar is an age old foodstuff, we know what it is, and we know how to keep within sensible limits if we wish to.

PeachyClair · 31/08/2005 21:15

My ds1 who has special needs anyway goes completely whacko at Aspartame! He will run arouns in circles, screech, and as he is violent anyway, this becomes exaccerbated. If it does that to him, it's no good imho. Sugar is an age old foodstuff, we know what it is, and we know how to keep within sensible limits if we wish to.

fqueenzebra · 31/08/2005 21:25

That's weird, Soapbox. I have no trouble finding biscuits without hydrog. fat. All of the McVite range should be ok (nowadays). Anything that says "all butter". Jaffa cakes. Quite a lot sold in LIDL are ok, too.

soapbox · 31/08/2005 21:45

Zebra- thats weird- I had heard that McVities were gradually phasing out hydrogenated fats so checked all the packets in Waitrose last weekend and they were all still in.

I wouldn't have thought that Waitrose would be holding particularly old stock, but now you've made me wonder!!

fqueenzebra · 31/08/2005 22:03

That is funny, all the ones I checked in our local Sainsbury's were ok .. that was months ago.
Maybe Waitrose has more of a backstock?

But i guess it's one you still have to read the labels carefully.
Am pretty sure that their Cheddars are ok, though, have been for a long time.

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