Article: Doctors Say Kids Should Skip Juices

[Guest guest]

Our family's holistic anthroposophic MD always says that the store

bought juice is just pasteurized clarified sugar water (even the 100%

juice stuff) and if we want to give anymore than just a little of that

kind of juice then it should be freshly juiced fruit and veggies AND

should be given after 3PM, but not too close to bed time (like after

supper is a good cut off time). That is pretty much the general rule on

how all sweet things should be eaten by kids and grown ups too.

 

Part of the reasoning for that is it keeps us from having too much

sugary stuff in our diets throughout the day and we will eat more

nutritional substance foods that way. All around it keeps the diet

healthier and less taxing on the liver. If we start the day off with

sweet sugary foods and drinks we'll have more of a craving for them

throughout the day and eat more of them, thus causing more blood sugar

swings, more empty calorie intake, etc ...

 

*Smile*

Chris (list mom)

http://www.alittleolfactory.com

 

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http://apnews.excite.com/article/20050211/D886A1B80.html

 

 

 

Doctors Say Kids Should Skip Juices

Feb 11, 7:10 AM (ET)

 

By J.M. HIRSCH

 

 

 

Soda in a sippy cup? Most parents wouldn't dream of it. But researchers

say that when a baby's bottle or cup is filled with juice - even the 100

percent, all-natural, no-sugar-added stuff - parents might as well be

pouring Pepsi.

 

 

A growing body of science is linking sweet drinks, natural or otherwise,

to a host of child health concerns, everything from bulging bellies to

tooth decay.

 

 

" All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent

sugar, " Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's

Hospital Boston, said recently. " Juice is only minimally better than

soda. "

 

 

The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink

consumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to

the beverage's good-for-you image.

 

 

 

 

But that image can be overstated. Though healthy in moderation, juice

essentially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda

has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228

calories.

 

The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between

its products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say

sugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care.

 

 

 

Overuse of juice is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the rise of

soda, juice and other sweetened drinks during the latter half of the

20th century, water and milk were children's primary beverages.

 

 

In a nation where nearly a third of children are either overweight or at

risk of becoming overweight, health officials now say high-calorie

beverages have little place in a young child's diet.

 

 

" With the possible exception of milk, children do not need any calorie

containing beverages, " Ludwig says. " What is needed to replace fluid

loss and satisfy thirst is the same beverage we've been drinking for

millions of years, and that's water. "

 

 

The danger of juice is that too much can throw off the balance of

calories and nutrients children need, according to Dr. Terrill

Bravender, director of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical

Center.

 

 

In very young children, too much juice cuts the appetite for

nutritionally superior breast milk or formula. In older children, it

often supplements other foods, potentially adding hundreds of excess

calories.

 

 

Part of the problem is that the calories in juice are so concentrated.

Just half a cup (4 ounces) of apple juice has 60 calories, the same as a

whole apple, but without the fiber that makes fruit filling.

 

 

In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines saying

fruit juice should not be given to children younger than 6 months, and

that there is no nutritional reason to give it to them before their

first birthday.

 

 

After that, juice is optional, though the group favors whole produce and

urges parents to limit juice to 4 to 6 ounces a day for children up to 6

years old, and to no more than 8 to 12 ounces for older children.

Experts say pudgy children should avoid juice altogether.

 

 

Those guidelines concern the juice industry, which markets 6 3/4-ounce

juice boxes and bags to kids. Children drink about a quarter of all

juice consumed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

 

 

Carol Freysinger, executive director of the Juice Products Association,

says some producers have felt an impact since the pediatrics guidelines

were released, but she wouldn't elaborate.

 

 

She is critical of doctors telling parents to eliminate juice, saying it

gives a bad name to a healthy beverage and could prevent people from

getting important nutrients juice offers.

 

 

Despite the guidelines, 60 percent of 1-year-olds drink juice, averaging

11 1/2 ounces a day, according to 2002 USDA data. That's up from 57

percent less than a decade before.

 

 

The USDA also found that more children younger than 1 are drinking

juice, up from 35 percent to 39 percent, though they are drinking less

of it.

 

 

While juice can be a healthy way to occasionally get picky children to

consume more fruit, researchers say using it too often can exacerbate

bad eating habits by training kids to prefer - and hold out for -

something sweet.

 

 

Dr. William Dietz, with the division of nutrition and physical activity

at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says parents need to

be firm - thirst is satisfied with water, hunger with solid foods.

Caloric beverages can blur that line.

 

 

Kimberly Kwitkiwski, a mother of twin 2-year-old girls, has found a

middle ground. She is careful about her daughters' sugar intake, but

since Jade and Jillian won't drink straight water, she spikes it with a

few ounces of low-sugar juice.

 

 

Over the course of a day, the Hooksett, N.H., woman's children get only

about 4 or 5 ounces of light juice.

 

 

Despite her vigilance, Kwitkiwski says it's easy to be confused by mixed

messages, especially on product labels. She wonders how many parents

realize " no added sugar " doesn't mean " low sugar. "

 

 

Ludwig also is critical of juice marketing efforts, saying parents are

easily misled into thinking they are making healthy choices. He was

particularly critical of one bagged juice beverage's claim that it

" hydrates kids better than water. "

 

 

" This is an example of how children's diets can be perverted by the

unbridled actions of the food industry when it places private profit

ahead of public health, " he says.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Thank you, Chris!

 

I'd appreciate feedback about juicers. Which make/model would you

recommend? Which would you not recommend?

 

Do you have a recipe for the type of 'juiced' juice your kids will drink?

 

Thanks much!

Lisa