Giving Your Baby Juice
Does fruit juice for babies sound healthy enough? Yet giving juice to your baby is not as beneficial as many parents believe.
Babies shouldn’t receive supplemental fluids during the first 6 months of life and this is according to health organizations worldwide like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Standards Agency in the UK. Formula or breast milk are sufficient for your baby’s needs and you shouldn’t include juice or water. Juice that’s given to babies before 6 months of age would fill them up. This will then result in him consuming less breast milk or formula, depriving him of the nutrients which are crucial to healthy growth and development.
Even in older babies, drinking too much juice may be harmful — a baby who consumes juice before a solid meal will very likely eat less of his meal. He’ll then consume less essential fats, proteins, vitamins, and minerals that his body needs.
The body can also absorb less carbohydrates when there’s an excessive intake of juice and this could lead to malnutrition.
Diarrhea, tummy pains, and infant tooth decay are also caused by fruit juice.
Offering whole fruit to your baby is the best option and it’s superior to juice because it contains fiber that juice lacks. Your baby will reach an age when supplemental fluids are required and what you can do is offer water instead. If babies haven’t experienced the sweetness of juice, then they won’t know what they’re missing and will happily accept water.
If you still wish to include juice in your baby’s diet, then you need to ensure that the juice you offer is appropriate for an infant.
Avoid juices marked “fruit drink”, “fruit beverage” or “fruit cocktail” — these are composed of less than 100% juice and often contain added sweeteners and flavors.
Infant juices are the safest option and don’t contain sulfites or added sugars, but any juice given to a baby must be pasteurized.
To prevent fruit sugars to pool around your baby’s teeth, offer juice in a cup. Juice should only be given with a meal and your baby shouldn’t be allowed to sip juice throughout the day.
You should limit your baby’s intake of juice between 4-6oz per day. One serving of fruit is what this is equivalent to and it’s sufficient for a baby’s dietary needs.
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Tags: babies, infants, Juice for your Baby, toddlers