Kids love fruit juice. But that tasty package of vitamins and minerals has a price. Juices is loaded with natural sugar, so drinking too much can cause obesity, stunted growth, digestive problems and tooth decay.
If children eat full meals on top of that juice, they risk obesity. If they full up only on fruit juice, failing to receive nutrients from a well balanced diet, they may face malnutrition or short stature.
Too much juice also means too much sorbitol, one of three natural sugars in most fruit juices. Our intestines can't absorb it, so it ferments in the colon, causing stomach aches, gas and sometimes diarrhea. White grape juice provides one alternative: it doesn't contain sorbitol.
Here are some tips from experts:
If children eat full meals on top of that juice, they risk obesity. If they full up only on fruit juice, failing to receive nutrients from a well balanced diet, they may face malnutrition or short stature.
Too much juice also means too much sorbitol, one of three natural sugars in most fruit juices. Our intestines can't absorb it, so it ferments in the colon, causing stomach aches, gas and sometimes diarrhea. White grape juice provides one alternative: it doesn't contain sorbitol.
Here are some tips from experts:
- Limit preschoolers to 4 to 6 ounces of juice a day - 8-12 ounces for older children and teens. Make sure what they drink is 100 percent juice, not a fruit flavored beverage.
- Dilute juice with club soda or mineral water.
- Milk and water are still excellent choices for kids. You can try spicing up water with lemon or other fruit.
- Limit carbonated drinks. By the time kids turn 13, they are drinking four times as much carbonated drinks as fruit juices.
