Even though as Indonesians, we don’t go out ‘trick or treat’-ing, there are many ways Halloween can feel close to us after all. Room decorations, stationeries, and sweet snacks. Donuts, candies, pastries, ice cream are crafted according to adorably scary movie characters making it irresistible especially from the reach of children.
What sugar does to your sleep
According to a study from Columbia University via the Men’s Health website, consuming lots of sugar can pull us out of the deep sleep phase due to sleep arousal without actually waking us up. This will exhaust us the next day because when we go back to sleep, the sleep phase is lighter and less refreshing.
Sweets and the kids
Reported on the Republika website, relatively high sugar intake in children will raise the risk of heart disease, obesity, and high blood pressure. Even worse, the child becomes immune to insulin, making them susceptible to type-2 diabetes.
Quoting from Detik website, the World Health Organization recommends the correct sugar intake for children. Children aged 1-3 years, is better to consume as much as 4-5 teaspoons and children aged 4-6 years as much as 5-8 teaspoons of sugar.
Limiting
For a better quality life, there are a few tips from Liputan6 that parents can follow to provide healthy sugar intake to children. When your child asks for ice cream, take them to have frozen yogurt instead and give them various choice of fruit toppings. Instead of buying packaged juice, juice your own fruits at home to avoid unhealthy sugar content. While we’re at the topic of packaged goods, it’s time to start getting used to checking the labels printed on the packaging and be more aware of what we consume.
A healthy lifestyle doesn’t just appear on its own, nor does it have to wait for something terrible to happen. Therefore, to achieve this amazing goal, start ‘em young!
