Intro: India is one of the largest consumer markets for malt-based drinks in the world. Malt-based products are marketed as ‘health drinks’ and are specifically targeted at children, and their parents. They are often marketed as an essential product that provides holistic nutrition to the child, which is required for optimum growth. Take a look – One of the health drink powders claim that drinking of its powder added to milk can help your child grow taller, stronger, and sharper; another claims that it is “clinically proven” that its product aids “2x faster growth” in children. Yet another says the product contains “inner strength formula” that can help develop the brain, bones and muscles of the body. However, expert opinion is that these drinks don’t really deserve the ‘healthy’ tag, and contrary to their claims, may not even be the right supplements for children. Read this article to know more.

Richa Pande

Health drink powders have been designed to meet the nutritional needs of a child. They gained popularity in India due to India’s struggle with malnutrition and the country’s food and nutrition insecurity. The food insufficiency led to the development of protein-energy malnutrition in the country.  Also, young children hardly finish the meal they are served. It becomes convenient for parents and caretakers to add a premix containing essential nutrients to the meals of the young ones assuring optimum nutrition intake. But these days, India is not just dealing with child undernutrition but also overnutrition. Evidence suggests that there is a significant increase in childhood obesity and overweight in most of the Indian states in the past decade. The problem with these health drink premixes is that they have fewer amounts of protein, minerals and vitamins as they claim they have. And also, they are loaded with sugar, which is a concern. 

For example, if you add three teaspoons, i.e. one tablespoon of 15g of health drink A (real name not disclosed) to a glass of milk, you add 12 g of sugar and just 2grams of protein 100 mcg of calcium to your child’s meal. If parents add 1-2 teaspoons of sugar in the milk, you are giving 22 grams of sugar to your child in one meal, when the child is just supposed to have 30 grams of added sugar in a day (maximum). The sugar in this meal is too high! A child needs 700 mcg of calcium in a day, and the powder provides 100 mcg, and a single glass of plain milk provides about 300 mcg of calcium. So, with just 2-3 portions of dairy in your child meal, which could include milk, curd, paneer, etc., you could meet your child’s calcium requirements. Like calcium, other micronutrients in these drinks are in minuscule amounts. Micronutrients are essential in small quantities as they enable the human body to perform and enhance several physiological functions.

Despite the claims, the reality is that these drinks do not provide sufficient micronutrients to the child considering the amount of powder added to the milk, as discussed above. When you add them to your child’s milk glass, you are not adding HEALTH/ NUTRIENTS to it; you are simply adding TASTE in milk. Parents can smartly deal with the taste and milk acceptability issue in consultation with a diet expert.

Why added sugar is to be avoided?

When your children fill up on sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, they may have little room left for the nutritious options that growing bodies need, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, dairy, meat, & poultry. Moreover, sugar is addictive, plus too much sugar can also lead to weight gain and increase the risk of your child developing dental cavities. Too much sugar during childhood may lead to unhealthy cravings as kids grow older. In excess, sugar can lead to obesity, which puts a child at risk of developing high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels and type 2 diabetes.

Reading food labels can help you pick a better brand/ or enable you to choose whether you want to give these health drink powders to your child or not. Check nutritive values and the recommended serving size by the brand. If a brand recommended serving size is 20g to meet the nutritional requirements claimed on the pack, one serving would contain about 9-18 grams of sugar. Compare the values, and then make a choice. Check the protein levels and micronutrient levels in your brand.

Check the ingredient list

As with most packaged food products, the ingredients list of the malt-based drinks is quite revealing. While the primary ingredient is malt, the following item is almost always sugar. If you don’t find this on the list, look for maltodextrin. If you find it, the health drink isn’t good for your child.

No Sugar, but does it contain maltodextrin?

Maltodextrin has no nutritional value. However, it is a very easy-to-digest carbohydrate and can provide energy rapidly. Due to this, manufacturers add this powder to many sports drinks and snacks. It can impact the gut microbiota of your child’s gut and could adversely impact her health. Maltodextrin has an even higher glycemic index (GI) than table sugar. It means that maltodextrin can cause a sharp increase or spike in an individual’s blood sugar levels shortly after eating foods that contain it. Some children can also be allergic to maltodextrin. It can cause allergic reactions, weight gain, gas, flatulence, and bloating.

So, what is the alternative?

Give your children malts prepared at home if feasible with minimally added sugar or avoid added sugar altogether. Malt beverages can be a good source of energy and protein for your child. You can always speak to a diet expert to guide you about preparing the malt mixes with less sugar and more protein, calcium and other micronutrients. If it’s not feasible for you to prepare these mixes at home, there are other ways to enhance the taste of the milk, like adding cardamom or saffron to the milk. To meet the micronutrients needs, encourage your child to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Add fruit shakes to your child’s diet, if possible, without added sugar. Children may take shakes with added sugar may be taken two-three times a week.

It is increasingly becoming apparent that high consumption of salt, sugar and fat is one of the prime reasons behind the risk of developing lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, etc writes Shri Arun Singhal, CEO, FSSAI.

Not all fats are bad. Unsaturated fats found in vegetable oils, seeds, nuts, avocado are in fact essential for good health. However, saturated fats and trans fats found in highly processed foods, bakery products, commercially fried foods and desserts are harmful for health. In fact, trans-fats are especially dangerous because they are the worst kind of fats. They increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Similarly, added sugar, particularly refined white sugar is also bad for health. It adds only extra calories without providing any nutrients. Moreover, it is highly addictive. Found in sweets, desserts and sweetened beverages, it can really load up the calories and increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart diseases.

Last but not the least, high amounts of sodium can be dangerous for health. It can increase the risk of hypertension, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Sodium is present in salt. Therefore, it is important to limit the intake of salt to maximum 5 gm per person per day, as recommended by the World Health Organization.

Eat Right India Movement

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched ‘Eat Right India’ Movement which is a multi-sectoral effort to nudge citizens to eat right. One of its key initiatives is focused on reducing intake of salt, sugar, fat, phasing-out trans-fats from our diets. On one side, through the regulatory measures, we are updating our regulations to limit the fat, sugar and salt content in foods, and eliminate Trans Fatty Acids (TFAs); on the other hand, through the Eat Right initiative and awareness programmes, we are trying to generate awareness among consumers to limit the consumption of foods containing high levels of fat, sugar and salt. FSSAI is committed to trans-fat elimination from food supply chain by 2022 and is actively working with industry, associations, scientists and researchers as well as public health institutes to bring the best technology as well as share global experiences to eliminate transfat from the food supply chain.

To kick-start and popularise the movement, a powerful infotainment campaign through a short video starring National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao was launched with a simple yet memorable tagline ‘Aaj Se, Thoda Kam’. As the main face of the campaign, Rao officially launched the, “The Eat Right Movement” on July 10, 2018 in Mumbai and offered his support to spread the message of ‘#Aaj Se Thoda Kam’ across possible formats.

Endorsing the Eat Right India Movement, Rao suggests all his fans to take small steps. In the words of Rao, “Health is a matter of the head winning over the heart. While our heart wants tasty treats, our head can think of ways to control or avoid these indulgent tendencies through simple behaviour change strategies. The head understands what’s at stake because ultimately these tasty treats can make us so ill that we might have to give them up altogether. He goes on to recommend gradually reducing salt, sugar and fat in the daily diet by following the mantra – Aaj Se Thoda Kam.”

Efforts are being made on both demand and supply side. On the demand side, the ‘Eat Right India’ movement focuses on empowering citizens to make the right food choices. On the supply side, it nudges food businesses to reformulate their products, provide better nutritional information to consumers and make investments in healthy food. FSSAI has also initiated the Eat Right awards to recognize the contribution of food companies who are working tirelessly to reformulate their products for healthier options.

Heart Attack Rewind

To create awareness about the adverse health effects of trans fat, FSSAI launched another campaign ‘Heart Attack Rewind’, a 30 second Trans Fat Public Service Announcement (PSA). FSSAI is aggressively working towards bringing down the trans fat content in fats and oils from the current level of not more than 5 per cent by weight in four categories of fats and oils (vanaspati, bakery shortening, bakery and industrial margarine and interesterified vegetable fat) to not more than 2 per cent by weight of all fats and oils by January 2022; a year ahead of WHO’s target. Thus, moving closer to its motto “Achieving Freedom from Tarns Fat; India @75”. Further, FSSAI has recently released Trans Fat free logo in July, 2019 to encourage food establishments like bakeries, sweet shops and other catering establishments to use healthier fat/oil options, thereby reducing the trans fat content in the foods. The food establishments which use trans-fat free fats/oil and do not have industrial trans-fat more than 0.2g per 100 g of the food, in compliance with the regulation on claims and advertisements, 2018 can voluntarily display ‘Trans Fat Free’ logo in their outlets and on their food products. 

To further enhance the effectiveness of the message, ‘Aaj Se Thoda Kam’ and ‘+F Symbol’, FSSAI also launched an online campaign with Ace Cricketer and Indian Cricket term caption Shri Virat Kohli. Kohli joined this movement by urging citizens to follow the simple “Plus-Minus” formula. In the words of Kohli, “We need to “minus” or minimize salt, sugar and fat and “plus” or add fortified foods…. Eat Right, Stay Fit….Tabhi India, Super Hit.”

Easy steps to follow

Reduced intake of salt, sugar & fat is need of the hour as we as individuals can do some basic thing. A few of them are:

SALT: Salt is the main source of sodium in our diet. Sodium consumption above WHO recommended limit of 5g a day predisposes an individual to heart problems. 

• Instead of sprinkling salt on salad, cut fruits, cooked vegetables or curd, enjoy their natural taste.

• Reduce salt quantity in cooking. From lesser to least. 

• Soy sauce, salad dressings, ketchup, pickles, and papads also has sodium. Use these foods moderately in your daily diet.

• Baking soda, baking powder, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) also contains high sodium: Avoid using these in your daily cooking.

• Do not add salt in dough for chapati or rice.

SUGAR: Sugar provides only calories and no other nutrient to our body. High intake of sugar is a risk factor for obesity and predisposes the individual to diabetes and other diseases.

• Prefer using naturally sweet ingredients than refined sugars. 

• Restrict foods such as cakes, pastries, confectionery and sweets as they often have high amounts of fat, sugar, or salt, prepared with refined cereals. 

• Limit the consumption of foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugars (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages, sugary snacks, etc).

• Prefer whole fruits instead of fruit juices.  Eat a piece of fresh fruit. 

• Do not overindulge in sugar-preserved foods like jams, jellies and marmalades.

 FAT: Excess of fat intake is a risk factor for obesity and diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular ailments etc. 

• While cooking, prefer boiling, steaming, roasting, grilling or baking rather than frying.

• Measure cooking oil with a spoon rather than pouring freely from the bottle, or use spray for oil.

• Restrict your intake of bakery foods or processed foods.

• In your routine cooking, use fats and oils in moderation and consume varieties of foods. 

 TRANS FATS: These are bad fats which should be completely avoided. 

• Avoid using vanaspati, bakery shortenings, margarine etc as they are the major sources of trans fats.

• Limit consumption of bakery products, fried foods to avoid consumption of trans fats. 

• Do not repeatedly re-heat the oil or re-use the same oil for frying as it can lead to formation of trans fats.