If your kids (and you!) have a sweet tooth, you'll be glad to know that sugar can be an enjoyable part of a healthy, well-balanced diet.¹

U.S. health authorities haven't recommended an amount of sugar that's okay to eat because there isn't evidence that a certain amount is good or bad.

But a good guideline is to make sure that most of the sugar-sweetened foods you choose for your family supply nutrients such as fiber, vitamins and minerals. Save less-nutritious sweet foods such as candy and regular soft drinks for occasional treats.

Here's how to pack good nutrition into sweet choices:

• Use a little sugar to attract breakfast-eaters. Kids who'd rather grab a sweet roll or skip breakfast altogether might gladly sit down for a nutritious bowl of presweetened cereal. Presweetened cereal offers B-vitamins, iron, zinc and more. Many are a good source of fiber, too (at least 3 grams of fiber, or 10% Daily Value, per serving). Complete the meal with calcium-rich fat-free milk and everyone's favorite fruit.
• Help the dairy go down. Some kids who balk at drinking plain milk will happily drink flavored milk sweetened with some sugar. Research shows that kids who drink flavored milk get more of important nutrients such as bone-building calcium than kids who don't drink milk. The flavored milk drinkers' BMIs (body mass index, a measure of body fatness) were similar or lower compared to non-milk drinkers, too.²

Here's how you and your family can make room for special sweet treats:

• Trim some to spend some. Offer foods with less sugar to make room for the occasional less-nutritious sweet treat such as candy or dessert. Some sugar-trimming tips: use naturally-sweet fruit canned in water instead of heavy syrup or serve Kellogg's Frosted Flakes® Reduced Sugar cereal.*
• Teach kids to savor less-nutritious sweets in small amounts. Provide reasonable portion sizes such as one frozen fruit pop or "fun" size candy bar. Treat yourself to a luscious chocolate truffle, too — and enjoy every bite.

* Not a reduced-calorie food.

References:
¹ American Dietetic Association. Position paper. Use of nutritive and nonnutritive sweeteners. J Am Dietetic Assoc. 2004;104:255-275.
² Murphy MM, Douglass JS, Johnson RK, Spence LA. Drinking flavored or plain milk is positively associated with nutrient intake and is not associated with adverse effects on weight status in US children and adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:631-9.