Nutritional Advice

Cindy Allison is our resident nutritionist. For more information on Cindy, please Click Here.

The Hidden Cost of Fruit Juice
By Cindy Allison

What could be more natural than fruit juice and children? Children have been drinking fruit juice for many years. Twenty years ago fruit juice was not an issue, along with childhood obesity and childhood diabetes. Times have changed and we must change our approach to food especially with infants and toddlers where we have the greatest chance to influence their future food choices.

Infants and toddlers learn early on that fruit juice is a sugar-loaded choice that their caregivers (and parents) will readily give in to. When you compare an 8 oz serving of apple juice with an 8 oz serving of soda, you find out that the apple juice actually has more calories and grams of sugar than the soda! Caregivers typically will not give young children soda, but fruit juice is a daily occurrence. The main value fruit juice may have (depending upon the type of fruit drink) is that it is fortified with vitamin C. 

Vitamin C is an important component of the diet that can be easily met with food. Many foods are high in vitamin C and these foods can be easily included with regular meals and snacks. Foods high in vitamin C include (with highest levels listed first, based on serving size of approximately 1 cup): broccoli, lemons, peppers (all kinds), orange, strawberries, snow peas, papaya, grapefruit, cantaloupe, tomatoes, kiwi fruit, sweet potatoes, and cabbage. Basically, in almost every fruit and vegetable vitamin C is present. I think it is interesting to note that broccoli has the more vitamin C than most fruits!

Fruit juice can also inhibit the consumption of more substantial foods, like proteins and whole grain carbohydrates. This can impact the nutritional status of very young children that do not consume a lot of calories (due to the limited size of their digestive system). If young, rapidly growing children do not consume enough nutrients to support their growth, failure to thrive can occur.

So, how do you best support your children? The guidelines for fruit juice consumption by the American Academy of Pediatrics is: no fruit juice for infants younger than 6 months, 4 to 6 oz per day for children 1 to 6 years, and 8 to 12 oz per day for children 7 to 18 years. Beyond these recommendations, we need to look at the future needs of our children. They need to be taught early on that water is the best choice for thirst and when offered readily or perhaps kept at a level accessible to older children can become a habit they will hold on to, as they grow older. Milk is the drink choice with meals, as calcium (unlike vitamin C) is not readily available in the foods they eat. Remember, better food choices mean healthier children now and in the future!