And an article on juice...
Feb. 22nd, 2005 12:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
conuly
I think the moral of this story is "water down your juice or don't drink it at all"
Doctors Say Kids Should Skip Juices
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:12 p.m. ET
Soda in a sippy cup? Most parents wouldn't dream of it. But researchers say that when a baby's bottle or cup is filled with juice -- even the 100 percent, all-natural, no-sugar-added stuff -- parents might as well be pouring Pepsi.
A growing body of science is linking sweet drinks, natural or otherwise, to a host of child health concerns, everything from bulging bellies to tooth decay.
``All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent sugar,'' Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's Hospital Boston, said recently. ``Juice is only minimally better than soda.''
The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink consumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to the beverage's good-for-you image.
But that image can be overstated. Though healthy in moderation, juice essentially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 calories.
The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between its products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say sugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care.
Overuse of juice is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the rise of soda, juice and other sweetened drinks during the latter half of the 20th century, water and milk were children's primary beverages.
In a nation where nearly a third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, health officials now say high-calorie beverages have little place in a young child's diet.
``With the possible exception of milk, children do not need any calorie containing beverages,'' Ludwig says. ``What is needed to replace fluid loss and satisfy thirst is the same beverage we've been drinking for millions of years, and that's water.''
The danger of juice is that too much can throw off the balance of calories and nutrients children need, according to Dr. Terrill Bravender, director of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical Center.
In very young children, too much juice cuts the appetite for nutritionally superior breast milk or formula. In older children, it often supplements other foods, potentially adding hundreds of excess calories.
Part of the problem is that the calories in juice are so concentrated. Just half a cup (4 ounces) of apple juice has 60 calories, the same as a whole apple, but without the fiber that makes fruit filling.
In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines saying fruit juice should not be given to children younger than 6 months, and that there is no nutritional reason to give it to them before their first birthday.
After that, juice is optional, though the group favors whole produce and urges parents to limit juice to 4 to 6 ounces a day for children up to 6 years old, and to no more than 8 to 12 ounces for older children. Experts say pudgy children should avoid juice altogether.
Those guidelines concern the juice industry, which markets 6 3/4-ounce juice boxes and bags to kids. Children drink about a quarter of all juice consumed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Carol Freysinger, executive director of the Juice Products Association, says some producers have felt an impact since the pediatrics guidelines were released, but she wouldn't elaborate.
She is critical of doctors telling parents to eliminate juice, saying it gives a bad name to a healthy beverage and could prevent people from getting important nutrients juice offers.
Despite the guidelines, 60 percent of 1-year-olds drink juice, averaging 11 1/2 ounces a day, according to 2002 USDA data. That's up from 57 percent less than a decade before.
The USDA also found that more children younger than 1 are drinking juice, up from 35 percent to 39 percent, though they are drinking less of it.
While juice can be a healthy way to occasionally get picky children to consume more fruit, researchers say using it too often can exacerbate bad eating habits by training kids to prefer -- and hold out for -- something sweet.
Dr. William Dietz, with the division of nutrition and physical activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says parents need to be firm -- thirst is satisfied with water, hunger with solid foods. Caloric beverages can blur that line.
Kimberly Kwitkiwski, a mother of twin 2-year-old girls, has found a middle ground. She is careful about her daughters' sugar intake, but since Jade and Jillian won't drink straight water, she spikes it with a few ounces of low-sugar juice.
Over the course of a day, the Hooksett, N.H., woman's children get only about 4 or 5 ounces of light juice.
Despite her vigilance, Kwitkiwski says it's easy to be confused by mixed messages, especially on product labels. She wonders how many parents realize ``no added sugar'' doesn't mean ``low sugar.''
Ludwig also is critical of juice marketing efforts, saying parents are easily misled into thinking they are making healthy choices. He was particularly critical of one bagged juice beverage's claim that it ``hydrates kids better than water.''
``This is an example of how children's diets can be perverted by the unbridled actions of the food industry when it places private profit ahead of public health,'' he says
Doctors Say Kids Should Skip Juices
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:12 p.m. ET
Soda in a sippy cup? Most parents wouldn't dream of it. But researchers say that when a baby's bottle or cup is filled with juice -- even the 100 percent, all-natural, no-sugar-added stuff -- parents might as well be pouring Pepsi.
A growing body of science is linking sweet drinks, natural or otherwise, to a host of child health concerns, everything from bulging bellies to tooth decay.
``All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent sugar,'' Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's Hospital Boston, said recently. ``Juice is only minimally better than soda.''
The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink consumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to the beverage's good-for-you image.
But that image can be overstated. Though healthy in moderation, juice essentially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 calories.
The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between its products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say sugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care.
Overuse of juice is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the rise of soda, juice and other sweetened drinks during the latter half of the 20th century, water and milk were children's primary beverages.
In a nation where nearly a third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, health officials now say high-calorie beverages have little place in a young child's diet.
``With the possible exception of milk, children do not need any calorie containing beverages,'' Ludwig says. ``What is needed to replace fluid loss and satisfy thirst is the same beverage we've been drinking for millions of years, and that's water.''
The danger of juice is that too much can throw off the balance of calories and nutrients children need, according to Dr. Terrill Bravender, director of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical Center.
In very young children, too much juice cuts the appetite for nutritionally superior breast milk or formula. In older children, it often supplements other foods, potentially adding hundreds of excess calories.
Part of the problem is that the calories in juice are so concentrated. Just half a cup (4 ounces) of apple juice has 60 calories, the same as a whole apple, but without the fiber that makes fruit filling.
In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines saying fruit juice should not be given to children younger than 6 months, and that there is no nutritional reason to give it to them before their first birthday.
After that, juice is optional, though the group favors whole produce and urges parents to limit juice to 4 to 6 ounces a day for children up to 6 years old, and to no more than 8 to 12 ounces for older children. Experts say pudgy children should avoid juice altogether.
Those guidelines concern the juice industry, which markets 6 3/4-ounce juice boxes and bags to kids. Children drink about a quarter of all juice consumed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Carol Freysinger, executive director of the Juice Products Association, says some producers have felt an impact since the pediatrics guidelines were released, but she wouldn't elaborate.
She is critical of doctors telling parents to eliminate juice, saying it gives a bad name to a healthy beverage and could prevent people from getting important nutrients juice offers.
Despite the guidelines, 60 percent of 1-year-olds drink juice, averaging 11 1/2 ounces a day, according to 2002 USDA data. That's up from 57 percent less than a decade before.
The USDA also found that more children younger than 1 are drinking juice, up from 35 percent to 39 percent, though they are drinking less of it.
While juice can be a healthy way to occasionally get picky children to consume more fruit, researchers say using it too often can exacerbate bad eating habits by training kids to prefer -- and hold out for -- something sweet.
Dr. William Dietz, with the division of nutrition and physical activity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says parents need to be firm -- thirst is satisfied with water, hunger with solid foods. Caloric beverages can blur that line.
Kimberly Kwitkiwski, a mother of twin 2-year-old girls, has found a middle ground. She is careful about her daughters' sugar intake, but since Jade and Jillian won't drink straight water, she spikes it with a few ounces of low-sugar juice.
Over the course of a day, the Hooksett, N.H., woman's children get only about 4 or 5 ounces of light juice.
Despite her vigilance, Kwitkiwski says it's easy to be confused by mixed messages, especially on product labels. She wonders how many parents realize ``no added sugar'' doesn't mean ``low sugar.''
Ludwig also is critical of juice marketing efforts, saying parents are easily misled into thinking they are making healthy choices. He was particularly critical of one bagged juice beverage's claim that it ``hydrates kids better than water.''
``This is an example of how children's diets can be perverted by the unbridled actions of the food industry when it places private profit ahead of public health,'' he says
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no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:01 pm (UTC)Um, right. Should be doing hw. haha.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:17 pm (UTC)My son has never been allowed to drink "diet" drinks. He can drink regular pop in moderation, no caffiene after 5pm on school nights, and that is that.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:23 pm (UTC)Hee hee. :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 09:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:05 pm (UTC)I see nothing wrong with water...
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:23 pm (UTC)I have NEVER understood a statement like this. Seriously, you're telling me that your kid had breastmilk, started solids eventually, and just NEVER would drink the water you offered him with his oatmeal? I mean, Ana didn't take to water right away either - she didn't take to FOOD right away, it doesn't mean we gave up and said "Oh, she just won't drink water." And breastmilk is plenty sweet. She loves her milk and likes water too. I just don't get it. *le sigh*
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:28 pm (UTC)I'm not sure what you're talking about here...? Are you talking about the soda vs. juice comparison? If so, I think their point is, soda bad, juice no better. And as far as watching a toddlers weight, due to many reasons (likely including the many parents who do give their kids soda at that young age, as well as juice, and other factors such as TV replacing playing tag) the unfortunate fact is the many toddlers in the US are already on their way to being overweight. I can pull some links for you tomorrrow if you like.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:47 pm (UTC)Of course, it's surprising to me to start that parents need to be told that sugar in large amounts can cause weight gain and tooth decay.
I hope this doesn't sound brusque. I certainly don't mean it that way.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:55 pm (UTC)Try finding a children's vitamin without some nasty sugar substitutes added (on top of the unavoidble colours, etc.). It is really difficult!
Thank goodness my son can swallow pills!
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 10:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 11:06 pm (UTC)Stupid people....
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 11:11 pm (UTC):-)
no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 11:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-21 11:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-22 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-22 06:52 am (UTC)*shrugs* I agree with you that it's not healthy for parents to begin monitoring their kids weight so early, however as suprising as it is to you re: the sugar, it is as suprising to me that parents not only miss the sugar thing, but also the whole nutrition, eat your vegetables thing, plus the run around and cut down (or out) the TV thing. I feel strongly that natuarally almost all toddlers would be at a healthy weight if only they generally eat well and play as toddlers should. It is a serious DUH! moment for me.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-22 07:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-02-22 09:54 am (UTC)Check the link list. Notmilk.org, despite the obviously biased nature, has some very good resources and links.
Besides, think logically. No other mammal drinks milk past infancy. Humans, if they stop drinking milk for even a couple of weeks, will lose their tolerance for lactose. This is already an indication that we're not supposed to drink milk past weaning.
Additionally, no other mammal drinks the milk of another species, a species with different nutritional needs than our own. Cows milk is perfectly designed to help calves grow. It is not very well designed to help adult humans. It has a number of componants which are harmful for most humans (for example, casein, which many people are allergic to even without their knowledge) and a lot of things in it which, while good for calves and children, aren't very good for adults. For example, the high amount of fat and lactose.
Also, the much-touted calcium in milk isn't very bioavailable. Instead of integrating with our bones, it seems to just form a veneer over them. You're better off going to the source - dark leafy greens, such as spinach, most types of lettuce (not iceberg), kale. Protein (which, as we all know, is found in animal products such as milk) actually will take calcium out of our system. It doesn't make much sense to eat protein while eating calcium.
There have been multiple studies showing that calcium requirements are much lower than the FDA reccommends, if you're taking a very ready source of calcium. There have been more studies showing that the rate of osteoporosis is lower in areas where people get their calcium from sources other than milk than in the US. Take from this what you will. I take from it that milk = not good.
no subject
Date: 2005-02-25 09:17 pm (UTC)I go through about a gallon of milk a week, myself. (Which probably reveals something or other about my otherwise-unknown genetic background.)