What is wrong with juice?

Mrs. XYZ

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 3:34 pm

I always hear people saying that juice is "junk" "empty calories" .... Why? I am not talking about the ones with added sugar, I'm talking about 100% fruit juice. An orange is healthy, right? So if I squeeze out an orange and drink it, why is it not healthy? Just because it is missing the pulp? does the pulp have all of the nutrients? I'm not saying that you should stuff your kids with juice, but what is wrong a little juice every day?

AlwaysGrateful

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 3:39 pm

Juice is not empty calories. Soda is. Fruit punch. Fruit "drinks." But 100% juice isn't bad for you, per se. It's just not as good for you as eating a fruit. Squeezing the fruit takes out the fiber (which makes you full). Fruits also have a lot of sugar in them. While I don't give my ds juice (he's about 1 1/2 now), if he refused to eat fruits, I wouldn't think a bit of juice instead would be horrible. Just not as good as the real thing.

The thing is, a lot of kids drink a lot of juice and then don't have an appetite for other healthy foods. (I have a kid relative like that, just drinks all day and never eats.) If your kids drink a small amount of juice each day and do eat other healthy foods, I can't imagine it would be considered unhealthy.

I guess one other thing people might be saying is that you're getting kids used to sweet drinks, so they won't just drink water anymore. Again, if that's not an issue for your kids, then ignore them Wink

Raisin

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 3:40 pm

I think it is good to get kids used to the taste of water. I don't keep much juice in the house, maybe for shabbos and when we are out. I must've put on a million pounds from oj alone I was so addicted to it at one point, so I want my kids to enjoy water.

probably a cup or so a day is fine...but kids tend to want more then that.

when the food pyramids say 5 servings of fruit only one of those can be juice.

clew

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 3:43 pm

Juice is a food not a drink.
It's better to eat your fruit (fiber, etc.) than to drink it.
Water is the only drink.
We use water to wash our insides.
We wouldn't use juice to wash our hands, floor, etc.
That being said: if a child won't eat fruit, a little bit (4-6 oz) of pure fruit juice would be good.
My kids love juice and we use it as an occasional treat.

mimivan

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 3:59 pm

Some people have serious complaints about Juice...

http://www.facebook.com/photo......08023 Web Page Name

Last edited by mimivan on Wed, Oct 21 2009, 4:00 pm; edited 1 time in total

chocolate moose

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 4:00 pm

you can get more bang for your buck than by drinking your fruit in the form of juice. if you eat the fruit you get more vitamins, fiber, etc. and you're fuller.

lizard8

Wed, Oct 21 2009, 4:24 pm

besides for losing the nutrients in production, there are a whole bunch of apples in one cup of juice. So the nutrients go and the sugar stays...its kinda like eating 'natural' candy

Annie

Thu, Oct 22 2009, 12:32 am

It's basically like drinking sugar water, especially apple juice. no, it's not as bad as soda, but it still processes through your body much like sugar water. Most of the beneficial parts of the fruit have been taken out in the juice making process. The AAP advises no more than 6-8oz a day for children.

We have juice on shabbos (one cup) when it's around, and for yom tov/chol hamoed as a treat.

B'H my kids never had it when they were little, so they drink a lot of water, milk and tea. At least with their tea (iced usually, made from tea bags) I control how much sugar is in it.

alpidarkomama

Thu, Oct 22 2009, 2:27 am

The fiber in the whole fruit also slows down how quickly the sugar hits your bloodstream. It powers you up more evenly if you eat the whole fruit. Smile

drumjj

Thu, Oct 22 2009, 3:24 am

I give juice to my baby dialuted because im trying to get her to go to the toilet.she is very constipated. if anyone has any other suggestions I would really like them as I would prefer she have water.
juice is also bad for the teeth