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In the past year, schools in several states, especially Texas and California, have taken tough stands against soft drink companies and junk food vendors, trading cokes for 100% fruit juice, and Twinkies for trail mix. Overall, that’s great news for kids’ health.
Do keep in mind, however, that calories still count. If children are trying to shed excess pound – and given the alarming rise in childhood obesity, many are doing just that – it’s critical to know that ounce for ounce, many juices have as many and sometimes more calories and more sugar than soda, even 100% pure fruit juice with no added sugar.
Twelve ounces of Pepsi, for example, has 150 calories; 12 ounces of orange juice has 165 calories; 12 ounces of apple juice has 175.
And that’s just 12 ounces. If your child is drinking 8 ounces of orange juice at breakfast, 8 ounces of apple juice at lunch, and another 8 ounces of apple juice when she gets home from school, she’s tallied up close to 350 calories. Yes, the calories add up fast.
One single smoothie – even those made with 100% fruit juices – can contain 400 or even 500 calories. A 150-pound child (and sadly, many grade school and middle school weigh that and more) would need to jog for nearly an hour to burn off that smoothie.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises that parents limit their children’s juice intake to 4 to 6 ounces a day for kids ages 1 to 6, and 8 to 12 ounces daily for children ages 7 to 18.
So what can you give them? In addition to their daily servings of nonfat milk or soy milk, pour them the best thirst quencher there is: water. If they resist (and many kids might because they’re so accustomed to thinking that all drinks are sweet), try pouring a glass with two-thirds fruit juice and one-third water. The following week, whittle it down to half juice and half water, and so on.
If they miss the fizz of soda, try a glass that’s 50% sparkling apple juice and 50% sparkling water. That glass of apple juice just plummeted from 117 calories to less than 60 calories. Big difference.
Better yet, get kids in the habit of “eating” their water. Whole fruit provides lots of water, and more nutrients and far fewer calories than fruit juice. A medium orange, for example, has just 60 calories; a cup of orange juice; 110. Plus, the orange is more filling than the juice. For most kids, several orange slices do in fact feel like a complete snack. They’re satisfied. But with the glass of orange juice, they’ll no doubt be looking for something to “have with it,” like a bag of potato chips.
And when you have the time, spoil them a little. When they arrive home from school – or at study time – present them with a pretty platter arranged with a variety of colorful, bite-size pieces of fruit. For years, it’s worked on this writer’s sons, who are now 16 and 18. Often, I even get a “Thanks, Mom!”
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