Juices and Smoothies

Juices and Smoothies For Children

Every parent wants their children to be healthy, but the sweetened drink market is just confusing to parents. Added sugars increase the risk of many health issues. Labels on drinks can be sometimes misleading, causing parents to think they are providing their children a healthy drink when in actuality they are not.

Juices and Smoothies Could Be Possibly The Best Alternatives

Be it juice or smoothie, pay attention to how much your kids are drinking.

Many kids don’t like eating fruit so offering fruit juice or smoothie is one way to get your child his daily recommended servings. But how much fruit juice or smoothie should a child take?

One common understanding is that a child aged 1-6, intake of fruit juice should be limited to four to six ounces a day. For children 7-18, juice intake should be between eight and 12 ounces a day.

Juice tastes good to kids and may be their primary choice when presented with healthy drink options that also include water and low-sugar beverage options. Juice is a healthy drink because of its vitamin C content. It is easy to consume. However, drinking too much fruit juice can be a problem for kids if frequently consumed. It can lead to childhood obesity and tooth decay. Unlike whole fruit, juice contains no fiber of whole fruit.

Fiber is an important nutrient that supports digestive health. Although a small amount of fruit juice each day is fine for most children, remember that whole fruit is a better option.