Can The Juice!

Whe

re would parents be without fruit juice? It tastes great, is full of vitamin C and helps children meet at least some of their daily nutritional fruit requirement. But kids these days seem to be grabbing a good thing and drinking way too much of it. Last week, for the first time, the American Academy of Pediatrics set limits on the amount of juice kids should consume. The group acted after reviewing evidence that juices are displacing other nutritious foods and may be contributing to an epidemic of obesity.

The strictest rules affect the youngest infants. "There is no reason for babies under six months of age to drink juice," says Dr. Susan Baker, a professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital of Buffalo, N.Y., who chaired the panel that issued the new recommendations. "They run the risk of being too full to get adequate breast milk or formula." Children who are one to six years old can drink as much as 6 oz. of juice a day. Those ages 7 to 18 should consume no more than 8 to 12 oz.

Part of the problem for very young children is that drinking too much juice can lead to chronic diarrhea. Their intestines just aren't ready yet to digest quite so much sugar. Also, juice doesn't fill you up the way solid foods do, making it easier to consume extra calories--and contributing to excessive weight gain later on.

The pediatricians' group isn't too fond of those "sippy" cups--no-spill containers with a bite-size spout for drinking. "They're sort of like liquid pacifiers," says Dr. William Cochran, a pediatric gastroenterologist in Danville, Pa., who served on the panel. The cups continually bathe the teeth in the juice's sugars, which can promote cavities and teach kids to turn to food for comfort.

So should parents replace juice with soda pop? "Oh gosh, no," says Dr. Baker. "Soda has absolutely nothing of any nutritional value to anyone." It lacks the calcium that's critical for the lifelong health of young bones and is full of sugar. Diet sodas are not much better, considering how much caffeine they often contain. That doesn't mean your kids can never drink soda pop. Just consider it an occasional treat rather than an everyday necessity.

Dr. Baker much prefers milk--whole milk for one-year-olds, who need the fat to help their brains grow, and reduced fat starting at age 2.

In the meantime, make the most out of your juice. Many parents concoct a sort of pseudo pop by adding a little juice to seltzer water. In an ideal world, I would drink a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice every morning. But commercially prepared O.J.s are perfectly healthy and much more convenient. As a bonus, many are now fortified with calcium or come in pulpier versions for extra fiber.

There's been some debate lately about whether young kids can absorb white grape juice better than apple juice. But as long as you stay within the pediatric panel's limits, you shouldn't have any trouble.

Whatever you do, don't forget to include whole fruits in both your and your children's diets. Whole fruits contain nutrients that don't survive the juicemaking process. You might also introduce your kids to the pleasures of a cool glass of water. On a hot summer's day or after a race around the playground, there's nothing like it.

For more on the American Academy of Pediatric's new policy on juice:
http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/mayjuice.htm
http://www.aap.org/policy/re0047.html

For more on soft drinks: http://www.nutritionaction.org/sodapop/liquid_candy.htm

You can send e-mail for Christine to gorman@time.com