Is Fruit Juice Good For Children Below One Year?

Fruit juices are coming to the market with various labels. Some say “100% fruit juice” some others say “no added sugar”. But really is fruit juice good for children? The term fruit juice coined a few years back when the Television channels started to glorify the nutrients provided by fruit juices. But what is the actual scenario related to fruit juice? Are we getting wrong information? Have a look at this blog post.

Is Fruit Juice Good For Children Below 1 year

Be It Store Bought Or Home-Made. Is Fruit Juice Good For Children?

As parent we all want to feed our children with good food. We know that fruit juices are a vital part of our day to day intakes. We need to consume fruits with fibre in order to get maximum benefit out of it. But it is a wrong concept when we think about children below 1 years the same way. According to the latest studies it is found that fruit juices are not good for our children especially below 1 years.

In the past doctors advised children below six months not take any fruit juice whether diluted or concentrated. But now they say no juice until the age of one year because the juice does not offer any nutritional benefits needed for the baby. At the same time it deprives them of  breast milk which is the most needed thing for them during that time.

However, after three months if your baby is drinking it heavily diluted once in a while it should be fine because it helps with digestion.

Recommended Intake Level Of Fruit Juice

We can use the fruit juices in a recommended amount. And we need to control the fruit juice intakes in children. The American Academy of Pediatrics(AAP) recommends the following level of fruit juice intake:

For children below 1 year, they recommend not to give fruit juices. In that age children must get the breast milk.

For children between 1-3 years, they can have 4 ounces of fruit juice every day. For children up to 6 years, can have 4 to 6 ounces of fruit juice. And up to the 18th year, they can have 8 ounces of fruit juices.

Problems Of Packaged Juices

Even though fruit juices provided by various companies help parents reduce work in the kitchen there are certain problems. We are not sure about the fruit juice that we get from the market.

Too may Preservatives: Packaged juices are packed with sugar, preservatives, colouring agents.

Causes Tooth Decay: The fruit juices that we get from the market contains the fruit essences and there is a chance of organic sugar compounds present in the juice. As we all know the sugar content that present in the mouth after each food intake will help the bacteria to build their army in our mouth. And later it will start to attack our gums and at last our teeth. Here are Tips To Prevent Tooth Decay In Toddlers.

Tips On Getting Started With Fruit Juice

  • “Happiness is Home-made”. Do make fruit juices at home for your children. This way you have control over the amount of sugar you put in your child’s drink.
  • It is best if you do not add any sugar content. Fruits have natural sweetness. So from an early age accustom your child’s taste bud with a no sugar diet.
  • Give juice in a cup with straw. This makes your child’s teeth less prone to tooth decay because the juice is not touching the surface of the teeth.
  • Encourage them to have whole fruits when they start to take solids. Slice them into small pieces and let them devour on it. It gives them the fibre and helps in digestion.
  • Resort to juicing only if your child is unwilling to eat whole fruits.
  • Make a habit of eating one fruit a day. Not less not more.

 

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