Fruit

[pablopatito]

Continuing today's food related theme, I've a question that I've been unable to find an answer to on google. How much is too much fruit in a toddler's diet? DS is 18 months and loves fruit. This is obviously a good thing, because fruit is good for you. But I sometimes worry he's eating too much, I worry about sugar and acidity levels.

Also, he started getting spots on his chin which I suspect may be caused by the juice that pours everywhere when he eats a satsuma. So we've stopped giving him satsumas and the spots have cleared up mostly.

I've search Google, but that just warns of the dangers of fruit juice. But a fruit is full of juice so does the same apply? And what about fruit puree? I mean, a glass of orange juice is not much different from an orange.

So how much is too much? I can see a crazy scenario where I start saying "No, you can't have another banana, here's a cake instead."

I don't know how much is 'too much', but I do know that the worry about fruit juice is that you're not getting any of the fibre with it, and it can be pretty high in sugar. Also children can drink a lot of juice where they wouldn't eat, say, 4 oranges in a sitting. Not sure that helps...

Can you get him to eat raw veg as well, to give a less sugary but still healthy variation? Carrots, peppers, mangetout, that sort of thing?

I'm pretty sure DS would eat 4 oranges in a sitting if I let him. I have tried many times to get him to eat raw veg but all without success. And he'll only eat cooked veg if its hidden in a pasta sauce.

I figure he likes the sweetness of fruit, but we've had satsumas that I find painfully tart, but he's loved them, so I dunno.

pp, i have the same concern with my dd (13 mnths). part of me thinks i should be delighted that she loves fruit rather than jelly babies or something but i think there are dangers, particularly regarding teeth and decay. a dentist friend of mine told me to eat a bit of cheese after eating lots of citrus fruits so this could be an idea.

can't tell you how much is too much though..

I guess you'll just have to give him as much variety as possible then? Might that help? Try some of the more exotic fruits