For a long time now, parents have become paranoid about giving their young children juice. There’s been so much hype in the media - largely because of the low carb fads, I think - about how “bad” juice is. There is, after all, so much SUGAR in that stuff! Even if it’s 100% unsweetened juice, it’s potentially deadly. It’s a diabetes inflicting, fat kid maker. Isn’t it?
A new study that reviewed nine contradictory studies has shown there is little evidence to support this theory that drinking juice (again, I am talking about pure fruit juice here) will result in fat children.
Upon examination, many of those studies showed faulty methodology in coming to the conclusion that fruit juice could lead to obesity, the review said. Several studies used too small or too remote of a sampling pool to be considered scientifically significant. Another study looked only at the influence of apple juice, and another only at the effect of juice on children who were already overweight.
So, let’s get this straight. Parents have been panic-stricken over the thought of letting their kids have pure fruit juice based on crappy, biased research. It’s not a big shocker, considering how “out to get fat people” most of these sorts of studies seem to be, but it is disturbing when you consider the trend that has grown as a result of 100% juice being considered “bad.”
What trend is that, you ask? The increased popularity of sucralose in drinks that are popping up in the juice aisle. I just happen to hate sucralose. It’s not that I think it’s “bad” like some people do, though with how much artificial crap kids are already eating, I see no reason to add more via something that is better pure, like fruit juices. What’s next? We genetically design sucralose infused fruits? I mean, diets like Atkins will tell ya how bad fruit is on the sugar front.
I personally find the taste of sucralose gross. Also, the people at Splenda really pissed me off with their “made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar” ad campaign (which I believe they’ve since been ordered to pull). Why? Well, yes, it’s made from sugar… but it’s so processed that the chemical structure is altered to a point where the human body can’t even break it down, and it passes through the body virtually unchanged. Whereas, aspartame, while not derived from a “natural source,” is comprised of an amino acid the body already recognizes and breaks down just fine (and actually, this is why people who have the genetic disorder PKU can’t consume aspartame - it’s the same amino acid that causes problems for them). I just know people who’d never give their kids aspartame, and yet give them sucralose. It’s in all sorts of products marketed at children now, including frozen juice pops (which in the past have been 100% juice!).
Obviously, as the article I linked to points out, if you can get kids to eat fruit, that’s far more ideal. Eating is certainly more satisfying than drinking, which helps to allow kids to retain their natural ability to eat intuitively. I also recommend cutting juice with water for any child under 2, but that’s just because I’ve seen the diapers of children drinking pure fruit juice, and it often ain’t pretty. I worked with young children long enough to know that kids are better off if they wait until about 3 to have 100% juice, but I only recommend cutting it with water because of the potential for diarrhea (which then turns into a diaper rash risk). Not because I am afraid it will make your kid fat.
Seriously, though, with so many messages out there that aren’t accurate, how are our children ever to have a healthy relationship with food? If they grow up thinking pure fruit juice is “bad” for them, but that artificially sweetened products are “good,” that’s a pretty sad sign of how twisted we’ve become as a society.
xoxo,
Juliet
I was an orange juice fanatic when I was a kid. I’m not talking about 50 oz a day, but I loved it and would have a glass a day. My parents never worried about it, since I didn’t over due it, but actually my doctors always said it was good that I drank a lot of it because I HATE milk and oj was giving me plenty of calcium.
What I resent about Sucralose being in lots of things, is that often it’s something I wouldn’t expect it to be in. My body doesn’t like artificial sweeteners At. All. I get vicious headaches from Sucralose in particular.
I’m not on a diet anymore, why should I have to read labels still looking for crap crap oh and artificial CRAP in the ingredients? On supposedly “natural” products like juice especially. For kids? Hello they need natural sugar and fat, as do we.
And HFCS, lets not even get started on that! 5 years after moving to this country my body is still adjusting to HFCS.
It’s never about the welfare of the population anyway, it’s all about the bottom dollar for the companies. It’s so much cheaper to add a few drops of Sucralose/HFCS to stuff, than gobs of that expensive natural ingredient; sugar.
Kada, when it comes to fruit based products, I want no sugar added or natural sugars that are minimally processed. I had that sucralose has been put into everything. I am always checking labels.
I (thankfully) don’t get headaches, but I can taste it immediately, even if it’s way down on the list of ingredients, and I just find it vile. Blech.
The one thing that I’ve tried to steer Dominic clear from is chemicals. Although everything is processed lately so it’s hard to avoid.
I’m a huge water drinker so I’ve always incouraged D (and Eric) to drink water and now he’ll ask for it when he’s really thirsty. I don’t discourage juice or tea or even Kool Aid and pop especially now that he’s older (I do get all worked up when I see a bottle with pop in it. I never say anything to the parent, but I want to grab that bottle and throw it out.) but I test urines for a living and see how disgusting some peoples pee is. You can tell when people arn’t drinking their water and let me tell you, A LOT of people don’t drink enough water.
People do make me roll my eyes though, they won’t let their kids drink sugar yet they let them sit inside all day playing video games and watching hours of tv.
I think for children it’s about balancing. Children are the most IE eaters. To start to teach them that food is “bad” and denying them a curtain food or drink, that’s the first thing they’ll want. But teach a child about balances; Want a snack? Here’s some goldfish and some grapes. Hell, maybe we should watch how children eat and follow their example. ~j
PS, I hope school is treating you well. Do you get the summer off?
Yeah, I never understood the juice hating moms. The way I figure it Eli wont touch a fruit but he loves apple juice so I gives him the juice, it’s made from fruit, fruits good, whys real fruit juice bad?