Doctors say fruit juice is not good for your kids

primalclaws1974

primalclaws1974

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I have been told for years now that fruit juice is barely a step above soda pop. Although 100% juice is all natural and serves up some vitamins, it is sugar nonetheless, and the better alternative is to eat the fruit. Do you serve your kids juice or something else? My kids will drink milk but they are much more fond of juice.
 
My kids do have 100% juice, but they get about 1/4 cup of juice and the rest is water. Their dad is a type 2 diabetic so we are pretty cautious about how much sugar that they are allowed to have. We don't keep them in a bubble or anything but we make a big deal about making healthy choices.
 
Natural fresh juice is high in acid and is very bad for childrens teeth. Getting children to use a straw is a good idea, but too much juice isn't good for children or adults.
 
Juice isn't bad nutritionally, but too much of anything can be. Too much juice can cause too much acid in the body, thus heartburn and indigestion and also the acids can cause acid erosion on the enamel of teeth, for adults and children.
 
My understanding was that the problem with fruit juice war that the fibre had been removed from the fruit, thus the sugar from the fruit juice was absorbed by the body way too quickly giving a sugar rush similar to drinking a can of pop. Also the high sugar content is bad for your teeth, not to mention making you constipated from too much sugar without the fibre to balance it. smoothies using the whole fruit are better for you in this instance
 
I don't have kids, but I don't drink juice myself. It has way too much sugar and not a whole lot in the way of vitamins. It's been such a long time that since I had any. The last time I tried it, it was far too sweet. I had to water it down half and half.
 
primalclaws1974 said:
I have been told for years now that fruit juice is barely a step above soda pop. Although 100% juice is all natural and serves up some vitamins, it is sugar nonetheless, and the better alternative is to eat the fruit. Do you serve your kids juice or something else? My kids will drink milk but they are much more fond of juice.
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I guess that what the doctors are trying to protect the kids from is the sugar. Sugar, although virtually craved by all, is probably the most dangerous yet widely used ingredient in our food today. All you can really do is try and manage your consumption by reading labels and becoming more aware of it. Sugar is in just about everything, even fruit juice.
 
primalclaws1974 said:
I have been told for years now that fruit juice is barely a step above soda pop. Although 100% juice is all natural and serves up some vitamins, it is sugar nonetheless, and the better alternative is to eat the fruit. Do you serve your kids juice or something else? My kids will drink milk but they are much more fond of juice.
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I have the same question. When it comes to the 100% juices we are being told that it's really not as natural as we think. My son is a young man now but of course when he was a kid I thought I was doing such a good thing giving his juices to provide him with the necessary vitamins. Sometimes just trying to decide what doing "the right things" is can be so confusing. It's like no label can be fully trusted and we have to prepare what we know is best for us from scratch.

The only thing most tend to agree on is that the sugar is what's really harming use and it's just about everywhere.
 
Personally, I watch bad fats more than anything else. I probably eat more sugar (natural or otherwise) than I should. The kids rarely get to drink soda or Kool-Aid, but we always have juice on hand. My 3-year-old is a little heavier than she should be, but doesn't eat that much. The only answer is the juice. I don't want to take it from her, because I still believe it is better than most alternatives.
 
Oh good the people in white coats triumph again. Let's all drink rainwater and eat grass. Red meat is bad - dairy products are bad - well cooked vegetables are bad - alcohol is bad - salt is bad - don't eat too much - don't live too long and be a burden on the state. As Scrooge would say - Bah Humbug.
 
sidevalve said:
Oh good the people in white coats triumph again. Let's all drink rainwater and eat grass. Red meat is bad - dairy products are bad - well cooked vegetables are bad - alcohol is bad - salt is bad - don't eat too much - don't live too long and be a burden on the state. As Scrooge would say - Bah Humbug.
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Is someone having a bad start to the week? :wink:
 
As always, the key is moderation. A varied diet, including 'a little of what you fancy', is the best way.

Even 'good' stuff like fruit juice, or oily fish, can be bad if you have too much, as they can trigger gout. (as Night Train found out very painfully a few years ago).
 
Arch said:
Even 'good' stuff like fruit juice, or oily fish, can be bad if you have too much, as they can trigger gout. (as Night Train found out very painfully a few years ago).
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Yeah, Gout!

You really don't want gout. That is so painful, probably the most painful thing I have experienced including root canal drilling without anaesthetic!:blackeye:
 
I have read about gout. I worry about that since I drink a lot of beer. I suppose if I ever get it, that will be the end of my drinking days. As for the juice not being healthy, I probably wouldn't say it isn't healthy, but the sugar trade-off may not be worth it for some people. Although it has the highest calories of any juice, orange is probably the most nutritious. But a lot of people (especially kids) don't like the taste. The fact that 100% juice is so expensive (over $5.00 a gallon in most places), may keep people from drinking it too.
 
Pure juice can always be watered down a bit, to make it go further and to dilute the sugar, so you can still quench thirst, but have less sugar in your drink.

Water it down with sparkling water, and you get a cool fizzy drink too!
 
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