When the First Tooth is a Sweet Tooth

The new normal is not sweet! We feed ourselves - and our kids - too much sugar. This fact, though unsettling, is not surprising. But why, then, do we have so much trouble adjusting our diets - not to mention our kids' diets - so that we can fuel ourselves more healthfully?

It's because sugar is a stealth ingredient tucked away in many of our staple foods. We consume it without even realizing we are eating something that has been sweetened.

I fully believe that parents are not trying to ply their kids with sugar, but rather they do so inadvertently, a side effect of the fact that sugar has quietly been added to more and more of the foods on grocery shelves. As babies become toddlers and they start eating more solids, the sugar consumption jumps. One solution: more whole foods. By definition, they don't have added sugar. Another option: start reading labels. But in order to do so effectively, you'll have to know all of the synonyms for sweeteners.

Want to know more sugar stats? Read about them here.