Kids Vitamins: Should It Include Monk Fruit Instead of Sugar?
  /   Dr. John Snow

Kids Vitamins: Should It Include Monk Fruit Instead of Sugar?

With kids and parents busier than ever, it can be difficult for parents to ensure their kids are eating balanced meals each and every day. Sometimes, life just gets too hectic. 

Fortunately, having a quality kids vitamin on hand can help parents ensure their children are getting adequate amounts of the most vital vitamins kids need for optimal growth.

While there are plenty of vitamins formulated specifically for children, it can be difficult to find a vitamin your child wants to take each day that does not contain high amounts of sugar. Most children do not know how to swallow pills, which means chewable vitamins are the only ones that will work. The downside is that chewable vitamins often come loaded with sugar, too, as vitamins on their own typically have a bitter taste. And unfortunately, added sugar is known to lead to a variety of health problems.  

As a result, it is imperative to buy children’s vitamins made with a healthy sugar alternative, such as monk fruit, to ensure they are as healthy as possible.

Are There Vitamins For Kids?

There are absolutely vitamins made just for kids!

Kids’ bodies change and grow rapidly every day. As a result, it is extremely important for children to get proper nutrients each and every day. If kids are not able to get the right amount and types of nutrients, they risk not developing properly. 

In addition, the amount of different vitamins that children require are different from what adults need. As a result, kids need a different kind of vitamin than adults do, which is why you should always trust a vitamin made specifically for kids.

One vitamin that contains kids’ essential dietary needs is ideal!

Why Should Kids Take Vitamins? 

Ideally, children should receive proper nutrition directly from the foods they eat. A well balanced diet will help kids to grow strong and healthy during one of the most important developmental periods in their lives. 

However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than 1 in 10 children eat the proper amount of vegetables and only 4 in 10 children eat the proper amount of fruit. 

Fruits and vegetables are two of the most robust sources of essential vitamins and minerals. However, because so few children are consuming enough of these foods, whether it be because they do not like the taste or because they simply do not eat enough, many children are suffering from some type of vitamin deficiency.

While getting all of a child’s nutrients from food is ideal, if that is not possible for whatever reason, multivitamins are the next best option. 

Poor nutrition can lead to everything from mental impairment and central nervous system issues, to expensive diseases later on in life such as obesity and heart disease. Kid specific multivitamins can ensure children are getting the proper nutrition they need, even if their diets are lacking. 

This is absolutely necessary during this important developmental time.

Do All Kids Vitamins Contain Sugar? 

While a child-specific multivitamin sounds amazing, many children’s multivitamins contain a shocking amount of added sugar. 

In fact, the average children’s multivitamin is simply candy in disguise. Kids may love taking them, however, they are often ironically unhealthy for your child. When you look at the label of most multivitamins for kids, you will find at least a teaspoon of sugar, artificial ingredients with names you cannot pronounce, and various other additives contained in gummy candy that can lead to tooth decay and cavities over time. 

As a result, many parents end up steering clear of kids vitamins altogether. But, there are products out there like Hiya’s Kids Vitamin that are not full of sugar (and in fact have 0g of sugar!), contain only the essentials, and are made with a variety of organic fruits and veggies!

Fortunately, vitamins like Hiya’s do not contain copious amounts of processed sugar. The goal of vitamins is to mimic healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables. While these foods do contain sugar, it is natural sugar, not processed sugar. 

When children take and enjoy sugary multivitamins and associate it with health, it can set an unhealthy tone for the rest of their lives. However, vitamins like Hiya taste good and will have your children excited to take them, despite containing zero added sugar. One of the secrets? Monk fruit.

What is Monk Fruit? 

It is no surprise that vitamins on their own do not taste good. Most vitamins, like medications, have a bitter taste that children refuse to take on their own. Children can be picky, and as a result, it is important for kids vitamin companies to make multivitamins that children actually want to take. 

Otherwise, parents will not continue to buy them because they don’t want to have to fight their kids to give them the nutrition they need. As a result, vitamin companies must find some kind of healthy alternative to processed sugar that makes multivitamins taste good, but is also healthy for kids and will not lead to all the health problems caused by excess sugar. .

Monk fruit is one of the best kept secrets in the vitamin and overall health and wellness world. 

Children’s vitamins that contain monk fruit not only taste delicious but technically they don’t contain any added sugar. 

Monk fruit is considered a super fruit and has been used for years as a natural sweetener. It was discovered in the highlands of China, and is a small round fruit that belongs to the gourd family. 

Monk fruit is unique in that its sweet flavor comes from antioxidants versus processed or refined sugar. It has a glycemic index of zero, meaning it does not cause a rise in blood glucose after consuming it. With all its benefits, its prevalence has been growing significantly!

This fruit is turned into a sweetener by removing the seeds and skin of the fruit, crushing it to collect the juice, and then drying and concentrating the juice into a powder. Monk fruit is an excellent sugar alternative for children’s multivitamins!

What is The Benefit of Monk Fruit Over Sugar? 

 It is a well known fact that processed sugar is generally awful for our health. This is especially true for children who are in the most important developmental stage of their lives. Feeding children sugar-filled gummy vitamins can lead to sugar addiction later on down the road. 

Processed sugar has been called the “smoking” of the current generation due to its addictive potential. That’s why monk fruit is much more beneficial as a sweetener in kids vitamins over sugar.

Kids multivitamins that contain sugar are basically candy disguised as something healthy. As a result, many parents end up buying these vitamins thinking they are doing something healthy for their kids when in reality they are doing the opposite. 

Summary 

Vitamins that contain monk fruit can provide your children with antioxidants and other healthful benefits while making the vitamins taste good, too! 

In addition, monk fruit sweetener is all-natural, includes zero calories, ands 100-250 times sweeter than normal sugar. Monk fruit vitamins actually taste better than sugar-filled while avoiding the downsides of added sugar, giving your kids that tasty boost they need to be healthy and strong in their important developmental years!

Sources: 

https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/about-nutrition/why-it-matters.html 

https://www.lakanto.com/pages/monk-fruit 

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/monk-fruit-sweetener#what-it-is

https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/monk-fruit-vs-stevia