Can children eat chocolate? At what age can they eat chocolate?

Many parents like to eat chocolate themselves and have a lot of chocolate at home. When their children see it, they will inevitably want to eat it. At this time, parents are very conflicted about whether to give it to their children. Can children so young eat chocolate? Is it not okay to eat a little? Can children eat chocolate? Let me tell you.

Can children eat chocolate?

Chocolate candies, chocolate cookies, chocolate milk, chocolate bread…many desserts and cakes that children love to eat contain caffeine, sugar, artificial colors…these are ingredients that can affect children’s health. The purer the chocolate, the higher the caffeine content. Relatively impure chocolate contains relatively high amounts of sugar, fat, and coloring. And most children prefer sweet taste. Chocolate has a low protein content and a high fat content. It does not contain cellulose that can stimulate gastrointestinal motility, which will affect the digestion and absorption function of the gastrointestinal tract. Children have different metabolic rates of caffeine depending on the degree of renal metabolism, generally between 7 and 30 hours. Chocolate generally contains a certain amount of oxalic acid. If it is only paired with milk, oxalic acid will combine with calcium ions to form water-insoluble calcium oxalate, so it will interfere with the body's absorption of calcium and affect the baby's bone growth. Although there is no formal research report on whether breastfeeding mothers will indirectly ingest caffeine if they eat chocolate, it has been determined medically that the younger the child, the lower the metabolic rate of caffeine. Therefore, to be on the safe side, breastfeeding mothers and infants under 3 years old should avoid eating chocolate.

Effects of eating chocolate on babies

1. Eating chocolate affects digestion

Chocolate is high in fat, but does not contain cellulose which can stimulate normal gastrointestinal motility, thus affecting the digestion and absorption function of the gastrointestinal tract.

2. Eating chocolate affects your appetite

Chocolate has a low protein content, a high fat content, and a relatively high sugar content. Excessive consumption before meals will produce a feeling of fullness, thus affecting appetite, but children will soon feel hungry again after meals. This cycle repeats over and over again, disrupting normal life patterns and dining habits, which will inevitably affect physical health.

3. Eating chocolate can cause tooth decay

Many babies cannot brush their teeth properly, and eating too much chocolate can easily cause tooth decay and increase intestinal gas, leading to abdominal pain.

4. Eating chocolate affects children’s sleep

Chocolate contains substances that can excite the nervous system. Eating too much chocolate can easily cause children to become overly excited and have difficulty falling asleep.

Chocolate and Enuresis

As chocolate has been found to have a variety of health functions (such as protecting the heart, preventing cancer, losing weight, and boosting mood), it has attracted more and more attention and advocacy from health experts, and has gradually become a fashionable food. However, babies should be properly restricted, otherwise they are prone to enuresis. This is because chocolate can cause an allergic reaction in the baby's body, causing the bladder wall to swell, the capacity to decrease, and the smooth muscle to become rough, thus causing bladder spasms. At the same time, this allergic reaction makes the baby sleep too deeply, so that they cannot wake up in time when the urine is full, and they always wet the bed. Eventually, enuresis occurs.

Chocolate and milk cannot be eaten together

In addition, milk and chocolate should not be eaten together. In order to increase nutrition for their children, some parents often put some melted chocolate in milk or give their children chocolate after feeding. This is unscientific because calcium in milk combines with oxalic acid in chocolate to form calcium oxalate, which is insoluble in water. If consumed for a long time, it is easy to make children's hair dry and dull, and also cause economic diarrhea, calcium deficiency and slow development.