Kids And Juice---Are They A Healthy Mix?

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

26 Feb 2007 06:56 AM

I love Jamba Juice. It's a type of smoothie made from a concoction of real fruit, fruit juices, and either sherbet, frozen yogurt, plain yogurt or soymilk. Seems like a healthy combo, right? I thought so... and when I discovered my toddler daughter loved them just as much as her mommy I made sure to put Jamba Juice on the top of our snack-time list.

Cue the squealing brakes. That practice halted a few months ago when I read one regular serving of the delicious drink contained more sugar than is recommended by the USDA to consume in one day. The revelation (and ensuing criticism from health groups) inspired Jamba Juice to create "Enlightened Smoothies" made with less sugar and fewer calories and carbohydrates. The drinks are called "Jamba Light" and they are made with the sugar substitute Splenda, non-fat milk and whey protein, and your choice of fresh fruit. Problem solved... or so I thought.

The Jamba Juice incident served as an awakening of sorts for me. I am a sucker for those "kid-friendly" beverages prominantly displayed at area supermarkets. They're supposedly made from "real fruit" and my daughter chugs them down like there is no tomorrow. I used to load up my shopping cart with them, but not anymore. Why? Because I failed to read the labels and didn't realize how much sugar and carbs were packed into those tiny, colorful containers.

According to my daughter's pediatrician, even pure juice is packed with carbs and calories. She informed me that I had fallen into the same trap that many parents with small children do: you hand your kid a juice box or fill a sippy cup with 100% fruit juice and think it's as healthy as handing them a piece of fruit, not realizing that the juices are laden with sugar. Just to drive home her point she then informed me that more than 12-million children in this country are overweight and sugary juices are partially to blame.

So what's a parent to do? In my case I did some research. Since my daughter loves her fruit juice (and I wasn't going to have her quit cold-turkey) I did background checks on the slew of new kid-friendly drinks that have recently hit store shelves---the ones that do not include the extra sugars and carbs.

After much trial and error we narrowed it down to two favorites: Wadda-Juice and Wild Waters. Both of these kid-friendly beverages have about half the sugar of 100% real fruit juice and fewer calories. The Wild Waters has about 5 to 10 calories per 8-ounce serving---substantially lower than the juice box my daughter used to drink, which had 50 calories per 4-ounce serving.

There's another kid-friendly drink you may also want to try called Aroma Water (I liked it, my daughter didn't.) Its' just purified water, but a scented cap gives the illusion of flavor. If you don't want to shell out the extra money that it takes to purchase the Wadda Juice or Wild Waters you could stick with the traditional juice, but dilute it with water and cut the calories in half.

Have you tried any of these lower calorie fruit juice options? Did your child enjoy them?

Related Articles:

Dehydration and Kids

The Sneaky Mama and the Quintessential Smoothie: Getting Your Kids to Drink Their Fruits and Veggie What Babysitters and Caregivers of Diabetic Kids Should Know

Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger

Lisa P (24013) 27 Feb 2007 08:01 AM

My son doesn't drink juice. I never bothered to start him on it. He eats loads of fresh fruits and vegetables though and prefers them over candy (another thing I never started him on). He does drink lots of water throughout the day. I figured it would take just as much effort to get him hooked on a good habit as it would a bad one. So far, so good.

Valorie Delp (49340) 27 Feb 2007 12:44 PM

The trick comes when you have more kids. . .or need to have your child baby sat for awhile. My daughter ate none of that stuff and then when I had my son she was with my friend who is wonderful. . .but she had her first taste of soda. UGH. 5 kids later and we're mostly good but my kids definitely have a taste for the sweeter things in life. We NEVER do juice though. . .unless it's fresh squeezed.

Sara Denomme (1063) 27 Feb 2007 08:44 PM

For us it's the outside influence that we just can't seem to keep the kids away from that will break the good habit. Luckily, my daughter knows that she just can't expect juice or pop on a regular basis at home. But she has since developed a "sweeter" sweet tooth thanks to outside influences. I personally don't trust "fake" sugar to be the answer, either. Splenda, aspartame, etc. They scare me more than the real stuff, and I try to remind my daughter of the fact that "real" is better than "chemical", as well as that "moderation is key", and things like that. I don't like to make struggles over food.

Michele Cheplic (37349) 28 Feb 2007 05:36 AM

Fruits and veggies over CANDY--surely, that's worth a blog! What's your secret Lisa? Lisa, Valorie, and Sara thank you for your comments. Valorie, I am counting my blessings as my daughter doesn't drink a drop of soda. And, Sara, I'm with you about the "fake" sugars on the market... of course, I didn't know Splenda was the key ingredient until after I did the research---though I have to say I have never noticied a difference in the taste.