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Pediatricians advise parents not to give their children fruit juice before they turn 1
STATES CHRONICLE – A recent report published in the journal Pediatrics revises the guidelines concerning fruit juice consumption in infants and children. The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that babies younger than 1 should keep away from juice. Instead, they should drink more water and milk, and eat whole fruits rather than drink their juice.
Fruit juice might lead to teeth problems and childhood obesity
Until now, the guidelines advised parents to start giving fruit juice to their babies starting with six months of age. However, researchers discovered that introducing the children so quickly with the juice puts them at risk of developing childhood obesity and tooth decay.
Pediatricians say that, one children get to taste fruit juice, they get used to the sugar and refuse to drink water. Also, parents should not offer their kids juice in sippy cups. Most of them tend to keep the cups in their mouths all day, thus consuming more calories than it is advisable. Also, this is not good for the teeth either.
New guidelines concerning juice consumption
Therefore, pediatricians revised the fruit juice guidelines for the first time since 2001. This beverage is a good source of vitamin C, calcium, and an additional source of water. The drink has always been regarded as healthy, but it might come with some harmful effects as well.
Fruit juice is rich in calories, but it lacks fiber and protein. Since these substances are absent, children might gain either too much weight, or not enough. Also, their teeth might have to suffer. Therefore, juice consumed in inappropriate quantities is bad.
Children have always been the top juice drinkers, but parents need to know how much they should be allowed to consume. The most recent guidelines are the following. Children younger than 1 should not drink fruit juice at all. Between 1 and 3 years, 4 ounces are recommended.
Children aged between 4 and 6 should drink between 4 and 6 ounces, while children older than 7 should only drink 1 cup, or 8 ounces of juice. This is less than the previous guidelines indicated. Fruit juice does not necessarily lead to further problems, but it is a risk factor and it should not be consumed excessively.
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