Natural nutritional drinks for kids can be difficult to find, and your little one’s palate can change anytime. Be sure to have various options on hand that are suitable for your children, and remember always to label them.
Kids love to eat sweets. They constantly ask for sugary drinks or baked goods, but you must guide them away from those options and towards more balanced ones.
Here Are 7 Healthy Drinks for Kids Not to Avoid
1: Water
You should always offer water first. This is because water is critical to the health and necessary for countless vital processes in your children’s nutrition drinks, including temperature regulation and organ function. Kids have greater water requirements than adults due to their high-energy metabolism and rapid growth.
One key benefit of water for kids is that it doesn’t cause them to feel full, making it easier for them to eat healthier. Because of this, a strict water diet can be very useful in some cases.
The old saying holds for many things, including drinking enough water. It can help improve your body weight, reduce your risk of a dental cavity, and even increase children’s brain function.
Dehydration can have a lot of negative health repercussions for kids – it impacts their brain function, causes constipation, and leads to fatigue.
2: Naturally Flavoured Water
It can be easy to forget how important water is for the body. Drinking enough water can prevent dehydration and keep things running smoothly in the body, so make sure your child understands that it’s an essential fluid. It’s a good idea to not only have plain water but also infuse it with fruits & herbs.
It’s easy for your child to enjoy a healthy snack no matter where you are. With a water fountain, they can choose from many options, and the fruits and vegetables make the meal more beneficial than eating with packaged beverages.
Some winning combinations include:
- Pineapple and mint.
- Cucumber and watermelon.
- Blueberries and raspberries.
- Strawberries and lemon.
- Orange and lime.
Getting your child involved by letting them choose a favorite flavor pairing and helping them to use the ingredients at home will help make their time at school more fun. Stores even sell reusable water bottles with built-in infusers.
3: Coconut Water
Although coconut water does contain calories and sugar, it can be a healthier choice than other beverages. There are even many sports drinks with a large number of calories & sugar in them!
Coconut water contains many nutrients, including vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium. This help protects your children from being deficient in these important nutrients.
However, because it contains a good amount of electrolytes too — such as potassium, magnesium, calcium & sodium — it should also provide some protection for your kids.
It’s important to rehydrate when kids get sick, so coconut water is a great healthy alternative. It has natural electrolytes and is readily available at the pharmacy and convenience stores.
However, it’s important to carefully read the label when purchasing coconut water, as some brands contain added sugars and artificial flavors.
4. Certain Smoothies
Fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods can be sneakily added into your child’s diet thanks to smoothies. While some pre-made smoothies are loaded with sugar, homemade ones — as long as they’re rich in nutritious ingredients — can make excellent choices for kids.
Going to a smoothie place can be convenient when trying to encourage picky eaters to eat healthier. They can be made by blending vegetables in your fridge (e.g., kale, spinach, cauliflower) into a sweet-tasting blend that reminds them of ice cream.
Some kid-friendly smoothie combinations include:
- Kale and pineapple.
- Spinach and blueberries.
- Peach and cauliflower.
- Strawberries and beets.
Start by mixing coconut milk, ground flaxseeds, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs before adding hemp seeds, avocados, or unsweetened non-dairy milk.
Avoid making fruit smoothies at restaurants and grocery stores. They contain too many sugars and are high in calories. As such, they are perfect for being offered as a dessert or snack with a meal.
5. Unsweetened Milk
Even though many children prefer sweetened milk drinks like chocolate or strawberry milk, plain, unsweetened milk makes the healthiest choice for kids. Plain dairy has a lot of nutrients that are critical for development and offer good health.
For example, milk contains protein, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium — essential nutrients for bone health that are especially important for growing children. Milk also provides a variety of other vitamins and minerals necessary for the human body to function properly.
People also often need to remember that rather than giving children fat-free milk, certain foods are fortified with healthy vitamins and minerals. While parents may feel it’s better to avoid all types of fat, this is only true for a few supplements.
For example, milk has a higher fat content because it provides your child with vital nutrients they would otherwise not be getting from another.
Milk can be one of the best natural nutritional drinks for kids, but if your child experiences multiple side effects from milk, it’s best to avoid their intake. Signs of dairy intolerance include bloating, diarrhea and gas.
6. Unsweetened Plant-Based Milk
Plant-based milk options are an excellent substitute for people with a dairy or lactose intolerant condition. They are usually unsweetened and can include hemp, coconut, almond, cashew, rice, or soy. You asked for unsweetened plant-based milk, which can also be loaded with added sugar and artificial sweeteners.
The beverage-making powers of unsweetened plant-based pints of milk are currently being explored. They can also be used as a base for kid-friendly smoothies, oatmeals, and soups.
Providing low-calorie drinks with meals decreases the likelihood of your kids drinking excessively and eating less nutritious foods. Moreover, many plant-based bowls of milk offer vitamins and minerals and are often fortified with nutrients like calcium, B12, and vitamins.
7. Certain Herbal Teas
Not all tea and drinks are healthy, but many herbal teas are safe and nutritious for a child’s body and mind. There is no harm in trying something new!
You can easily satisfy your craving for sugar-free beverages with herbal teas — lemongrass, mint, rooibos, and chamomile — which provide no caffeine and a pleasing taste.
Herbal teas such as chamomile & lemongrass are highly recommended for children and adults, as they provide nutritional benefits and help reduce anxiety.
Chamomile has also been proven to be a natural treatment for intestinal ailments, including nausea, gas, diarrhea, and indigestion. It can be taken by children and adults looking for relief. Chamomile is often used as an herbal tea for its soothing properties and may help reduce symptoms of some inflammatory conditions.
Having your pediatrician check over any herbal teas you give to your kid is important. If, for some reason, you’re not sure what the proper serving temperature of a traditional tea is, keep it cool.
Although kids nutrition drinks may enjoy a sweetened drink sometimes, it can be unhealthy for them to consume sugary beverages regularly.
A growing number of health experts are becoming concerned about the side effects of our favorite sweetened beverages. Not only do they cause obesity and dental cavity, but they also contribute to dehydration. The need for proper hydration increases when the body is under stress, such as during physical labor.
