Juice

Oh man - I love apple juice! I mean drinking apple cider while pumpkin picking in the fall is a perfect combo.  And kids love it too.  But unfortunately, so does the bacteria around their teeth and gums.  As a whole, pediatricians over the past 20 years or so have soured on those sweet drinks.  Basically, juice provides a lot of “empty” calories for kids (and adults alike).  These calories are made of simple sugars which, when taken in excess, can be made into excess body fat.  It can also lead to diarrhea and dehydration due to its sugar content which draws water into the gut and away from your other organs that may need the hydration. The sugar content is also not great for teeth and can increase the likelihood of early cavities in kids.  Also, with more and more investigation, we are learning that juice, even though it is made from real fruit, does not allow nutrients to be absorbed nearly as well as they are in whole fruit form.  

Having said that, there are times when I like the use of fruit juices to help kiddos.  For instance, if we have a child with stool harder than guacamole, a few ounces of warm pear juice or prune juice is a great gentle and good tasting laxative for kids.  Similarly, warm apple juice for coughs and colds can act as a natural cough syrup.  The citric acid in apple juice is great at breaking up phlegm in the throat and the pectin sugar, when warm, can coat the throat to help protect it from inflammation from postnasal drip and coughing.   

Otherwise, kiddos are much better off eating real fruit and keeping their body’s water content for hydration by steering clear of fruit or sweetened drinks.