How to Enjoy Sweets Without Harming Your Health - Dietitian's Recommendations 0 7

First of all, the specialist recommends adhering to established norms. According to Meshcheryakova, the daily sugar intake for children aged three to five years is 12 g, for children aged five to seven years — no more than 15 g. Teenagers are allowed to consume up to 20 g of sugar per day.

“If we translate this into the number of candies, it amounts to about three to five sweets per day. For healthy adult women, the acceptable sugar intake is up to 35-40 g per day, while for men it is from 40 to 50 g. This is equivalent to 100 g of cake or 300-400 ml of apple juice,” the dietitian added.

Meshcheryakova advises excluding sugar from the diet wherever possible. For example, it is worth avoiding sauces such as ketchup, sweet and sour sauce, and honey.

“Often, excessive amounts of sugar are found in canned products such as corn, peas, and other vegetables, as well as in fruits. Meat semi-finished products and sausages can also contain sugar. I recommend carefully studying the composition of products,” the doctor explained.

Agree with yourself and your child on the amount of sweets that can be consumed in a day. Try not to leave candies in plain sight and consume them in the second half of the day.

Additionally, the expert noted that sweets are not only pastries and cakes but also fruit pastilles, cottage cheese desserts, mousses, and marmalade. Therefore, it is important to diversify your “sweet menu.” For example, you can replace sweet soda with fruit drinks or juice without added sugar.

The doctor also emphasized the need to increase physical activity, as it directly affects the diet during the New Year holidays.

“I strongly recommend both children and adults to take frequent active walks outdoors, for at least an hour a day. This can include snowball fights, skiing, and ice skating, as well as walks in the forest. Being outdoors saturates blood cells with oxygen, reduces the manifestation of chronic hypoxia, which makes it easier to give up sweet desserts,” the dietitian concluded.