Are Artificial Sweeteners Recommended for Kids?

If you're concerned about the amount of sugar in your child's diet, you might be wondering if sugar-free sweeteners are a smart alternative.

When it comes to beverages, at least, recommendations are clear: Sugar-sweetened beverages and those sweetened with low- and no-calorie sweeteners are not recommended for children and adolescents. Instead, choices such as water and plain, pasteurized milk — or, in some cases, unsweetened, calcium-fortified soy milk — should be offered.

However, beverages aren’t the only place sweeteners may appear. Sugar-free sweeteners may appear in foods such as “lite” or “diet” yogurts, frozen desserts, jams, snacks and products marketed as “low calorie.”

Safety and Alternatives

Current research on the use of low- and no- calorie sweeteners in humans suggests they are safe to use. While emerging studies suggest there may be an association between certain no-calorie sweeteners and cancer risk, research is currently limited.

However, there are some groups of children who should avoid specific sugar-free sweeteners. For example, children with phenylketonuria, or PKU, aren’t able to metabolize phenylalanine, an amino acid found in aspartame. Additionally, some children may be sensitive to sugar alcohols, such as xylitol and sorbitol, that are present in many low-calorie foods.

If you choose to give foods with no- or low-calorie sweeteners to your child, remember that many of these foods — such as sugar-free ice cream and cookies — aren't nutritious choices and can still fill kids up with empty calories. Make sure you're offering a wide variety of fruits for kids to satisfy their sweet cravings. For instance, sweeten plain yogurt with berries and add chopped fruit to hot or cold cereal. You also can make a homemade trail mix with a combination of dried fruit, nuts and seeds.

Here are some recipes that use less added sugar by focusing on fruit for sweetness:

• Grilled Fruit Kebabs
  
• Breakfast Bulgur with Fruit and Nuts
• Tropical Fruit Yogurt Smoothie
• Apple Pie Fruit Leather
• Whole-Grain Fruit and Nut Dessert Bars
• Apple-Blueberry Crumble
• Cranberry-Almond Breakfast Cereal
• Baked Bananas in an Orange-Cinnamon Sauce
• Rainbow Yogurt Trifle Cups
• Juicy Mango Gelatin
• Blue Banana Smoothie
• Pear-Berry Breakfast Crisp