As parents we always wish to provide the most nutritious and healthy food to our children to ensure their all-round physical and mental growth. Some questions always plague the mind of all parents in regards with what food to give and what to avoid in the child’s diet. Though a healthy diet is a must but a limited number of cheat days are also allowed to keep the children motivated and satisfied. Bagels are one of the most sought after food product available at every nook and corner. A good diet is one which has the right amount of carbohydrates, vitamins and proteins. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day the fuels the body to produce the required amount of energy for the day. Therefore it is extremely essential that what we eat as the first meal of the day contains all that the body demands.

Bagels generally are a moulded form of bread available in the shape of a ring traditionally made out of yeasted bread. It is a baked item now offered in different flavours like cream cheese bagel, pizza bagel and toast bagel making them as a filling breakfast option. Bagels are stored in both frozen and fresh form making its servings both fresh and warm. Though the discovery of bagels is chalked back to Jewish country of Poland yet now it is one of the hottest selling bakery products across countries like USA and UK. A normal bagel contains in itself a total of 260-300 calories often topped with sodium or coated in melted sugar.

For every mother, mornings brings with them a lot of confusions and dilemma as to what to make for breakfast that day which should be both healthy and tasty .Parents now consider bagels as a ready option for their children as well as themselves before going to school or office. Bagels are now so common that some have a plain bagel for breakfast and a toasted or flavoured one for lunch. But what many of the consumers tend to ignore is the nutritional chart of a bagel or how much healthy supplements does it enrich the body with. Each serving of a bagel contains high level of carbohydrates, potassium, iron but negligible amount of fibre and calcium. Bagels are ideally low in saturated fat and have no cholesterol or sugar in them. They are regarded as a good source of thiamine. Each food item has its own benefit and disadvantages as well. But for a bagel the negativities far outweigh the positivity’s. Some of the major disadvantages of consuming bagels for all age groups are;

Disadvantages of Bagels for Child

• Bagels are a source of refined carbohydrates. That is the whole grains essential for the production of a bagel are highly processed that eventually removes any form of dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. Nutritionist and doctors always suggest having a monitored consumption of refined fibres as they provide no health assistance to the body. It is easy to distinguish refined carbohydrates from the unrefined because of the special label borne by all products that have refined carbohydrates as a major ingredient.
• Wheat flour is another prime ingredient in a bagel. The biggest disadvantage of the same is the high amount of phytic acid that grains generate in the body after consumption. It blocks the body’s ability to absorb calcium one of the most essential mineral for healthy bone structure.
• Bagels which are made out of white flour are extremely harmful for health since the chalky colour is achieved after thorough bleaching process. Chlorine oxide, benzoyl peroxide all then become a part of the bagel which we consume. Such products are dangerous for the health of young ones and can cause digestive troubles or recurring aches.
• As we all know many food items require the chemical intervention to acquire taste and right consistency. The processes white flour of the bagel is not only dipped in bleaching agents but also has traces of chemical alloxan while breaking uric acid in factories. It is alarming to note how alloxan is only used in laboratories because of its toxic nature to induce diabetes in rats. The simple fact and the knowledge of induced diabetes is alarming enough to discourage the consumption of bagels.
• The quality of wheat used for the production of bagels is high in gluten concentration. Some people are known to be gluten intolerant and have severe allergic reaction from the same. Thus parents must steer clear from any bagel stalls to avoid possible allergic reaction in their children.
• Bagels that is available in the market now days contain excess amount of processed sweeteners increasing the net fats in the bagel. They ultimately make the consumer prone to weight gain and make them walk on the path of obesity. If parents wish for their children to remain healthy yet enjoy occasional delicacies like bagels, they must ensure that the toppings they serve with the bagel are not laden with sugary or cheesy products.
• The traditional bagel serving size was restricted to a three diameter circle yet now such restrictions have gone down the drain increasing the risk of diabetes as well as obesity. The jumbo sizes available in the market and the major children attraction in the form of cream cheese are highly dangerous for healthy growth of growing kids.

Thus it won’t be wrong to say that though bagels make an easy option for parents to serve their children as breakfast yet the nutritional facts and the disadvantages makes bagel to less unhealthy than a large pizza. Once in a week consumption of bagels is still acceptable by nutritionist yet exceeding the limit may directly increase the risk of obesity even in young children. The correct choice and selection of an appropriate bagel with minimized amount of calories is the best suitable for kids.