The Future Juice Epidemic
This is definitely good news; sugar sodas will be removed from schools, but “the beverage industry said its school sales would not be affected because it expected to replace sugary drinks with other ones.”
Mark my words, folks. Juice is already a problem, and now that soda is out, and people have a notion that juice is healthier, it will take over as a big cause of unnecessary calories.
And most juices are not 100% juice. Product standards say that a product cannot be called “juice” unless it is 100% juice, so these products will be called “juice drink,” “nectar,” “beverage,” or “cocktail.” All these drinks are not healthy just because they’re from fruit. They’re not nutricious, and are loaded with calories–often just as many as soda. And if they don’t contain pulp, they don’t even contain any fiber benefits. Sure, you get a healthy whopping of vitamins from some juices, but that’s a reason to drink some juice, not gallons.
“But if an 8-year-old child took in 45 less calories per day, by the time he reached high school, he would weight 20 pounds less than he would have weighed otherwise.” Now that’s impressive. I hope I’m wrong about the juice thing.
Paragraph 2 of the linked article: “Under an agreement between beverage makers and health advocates, students in elementary school would be served only bottled water, low-fat and nonfat milk, and 100 percent fruit juice in servings no bigger than eight ounces.”
So, y’know, there’s that.
100% juice is still calories, Jack, and I’m convinced that people believe that juice (and juice products) are much healthier than soda. If a child eats a regular diet, he or she is getting all the vitamins he or she needs, and doesn’t need juice. I’m not convinced.
I’ve been thinking *exactly* the same thing! I’m glad someone with actual knowledge of nutrition (as opposed to a long-term eating disordered in recovery) sees this as well.
Is juice really the end-all-be-all problem for children’s health? Shouldn’t the emphasis first be placed on general nutrition and getting enough exercise?
What’s the difference between eating an apple or drinking 100% apple juice? A little more fibre maybe, but I always thought the juice would be just as healthy from a vitamin/fluids point of view.
Of course it would be better to eat that apple and drink water. But that doesn’t taste as good!
“But if an 8-year-old child took in 45 less calories per day, by the time he reached high school, he would weight 20 pounds less than he would have weighed otherwise.”
And if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his ass a-hoppin’.
These factoids make me crazy. It betrays a breathtaking departure from reality.
Imagine the scene, 10 years down the line.
“Oh come on, Mom, just ONE MORE BITE OF CHEESE. Pleeeeeeze!!!!”
“Sorry son, you’ve already met you’re daily caloric requirement.”
What happened to moderation and exercise?
Flea
hi,
came up your blog !!!
nice one!!
made my pediatrics weblog few days back,link back.
gonna keep seeing you
Dr Sidharth Kumar Sethi
MBBS,MD Pediatrics
You are absolutely correct juice is loaded with sugar and it is no better than drinking pop. To get the benefit of drinking juice it would be best to buy a juice machine and make your own.