Sugar!

[sunnydays]

For me, the reason I don't serve juice to the dck's or to my own kids (except occassionally for a treat) has a few parts. First of all, it is very concentrated...I think a glass of orange juice is made from something like 6 oranges...which you would never sit down and eat in one sitting! So it is a lot of sugar even if it is a natural sugar. Also, they are then missing the fiber part that comes with the actual fruit. Also, when they drink juice, it tends to fill them up and doesn't leave enough space for more nutritious foods in the tummies. I have seen parents give their kids a glass of juice and then wonder why they won't eat dinner and their behaviour goes out of wack. I am certainly not a fanatic and the occassional glass of juice here and there is fine in my opinion, but on a daily basis I just don't see the need for it.

I still am having a hard time figuring out what it is about "juice" that has everyone so on edge. I see nothing wrong with giving a glass of juice as a fruit serving - I mean they are supposed to have 5-10 of them and this is only 1. Now if juice was being used for more than half of the servings that is something different. But then I have seen food fads come and go and it seems like every year there is a new do or don't buzz item and then it changes or passes. Mostly I just go along as normal. I have always done everything in moderation including the amount of bran in the diet so it all stays balanced. I mostly bake the snacks for the daycare so under my control for ingredients. Funny how juice is a no-no but then they turn around and say they freeze juice into popsicles instead of freezies or use it to make geletin. The ingredients of the juice are the same whether you drink it , freeze it or thicken it. Just makes me laugh sometimes.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup ~ I am with Kangaroo ~ I would just prefer they 'eat' their servings of fruit and get the fibre ~ for me the fact remains that even labels that say '100% juice' are misleading ~ this is a food that has been processed and no longer in its natural form and honestly it is made from the rotting fruit that cannot be sold in stores and they throw in the peels, cores, seeds and all so is full and than it is 'boiled' to loosen and seperate them and so forth ~ so it no longer contains the nutrients that having a 1/2 an apple would ... for me just better to eat the apple and drink some water.

That said today is the last day before my vacation and we had Timbits at the park with our friends as a treat ~ I feel less guilty doing stuff like that once in a while knowing that 99% of the time we eat very healthy options so it is truly a 'moderation' thing

[Starshine]

Yes, same reasons here that I don't serve juice--to the daycare kids, or to my own child, except on rare occasions. I'd rather have them eat fruit so they get the fibre which is not in the juice. And also, it does fill them up so they don't eat as much food. Another major reason for me, is that the more juice they drink, the less willing they are to drink water!

[Toregone]

I don't serve juice to my son or to my dcks except on the rare occasion. Juice of any kind (be 100% pure, or juice crystals mixed with water) makes my son VERY hyper. It did the same to me as a kid. So I cut it from his diet except as a treat sometimes. I don't want to serve something to dcks that my son can't have as that's not fair. I serve fresh fruit or veggies with every meal and snack so the kids still get thier proper serving.

[BrightEyes]

Tropicana has been going through 20 lawsuits because their orange juice isn't actually "100% Pure"

http://www.wptv.com/dpp/money/consum...natural-claims

[Momof4]

I agree Littlefeet, you can't serve something just because you see a 'gimmick' on the package. You have to do your research. Organically grown, filtered, these are things I believe on packaging and hope they never let me down, but words like 'pure' could mean there are ground up insects in the product. After all, insects are from nature!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya food labelling drives me NUTS in Canada!

Be careful with the term 'organic' as well cause depending on the product it only has to be like 70% to be able to use that 'term' which means 30% of the product can be full of pesticides or crap Definitely make sure that you are choosing things with the actual 'certified organic label'!

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/...de/ch4ae.shtml

[jec]

We could all post different links regarding sugar, they all vary in perspective based on the writer and health effects are many with any product ~ I'm a Mom/Provider of moderation.
I don't serve juice to drink but during summer we enjoy homemade juice pops as a treat, we bake and I much prefer using regular sugar instead of serving those cookies on the shelf full of perservatives and fruit is a part of our daily intake.
We don't have treats like juice pops and baking all the time and I take into consideration what we are eating that day.
Moderation is what I follow

[Inspired by Reggio]

We could all post different links regarding sugar, they all vary in perspective based on the writer and health effects are many with any product ...

LOL ~ just in case you do not know my guess is that Freuin up there with his or her link is a spammer ~ new member, low post count, posts in threads that are old, does not add new info and than posts links that make NO SENSE to the topic ...Ft Lauderale Botox???? That link will not take you to any research about sugar but most likely a phishing site that downloads a spam virus of some sort or just allows them to earn income for any 'hit' the site gets regardless of WHY ... evil spammers!

[treeholm]

I watched a documentary on Youtube a couple of months ago that convinced me to give up sugar cold turkey. It is a lecture by a neuro-endocrinologist, who is not selling anything. I say that, because I am very skeptical of scientific evidence submitted by someone who wants me to purchase something LOL. In case anyone is interested, it is called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth". Since giving up sugar I have lost 12 pounds, and have tons more energy. It's fascinating! The doctor in the video explains the bio-chemistry of what happens to a sugar molecule when eaten, and explains why the US has seen a rapid increase in childhood obesity and heart disease since the low-fat craze arrived. If you are wondering why some of us have become so anti-sugar, the video explains it clearly. I used to have a real sweet tooth, but fortunately, all cravings for sweets disappeared within 3 days of giving up sugar (as well as fructose, sucrose, and artificial sweeteners). I do eat fresh fruit, and lots of it. That's my only source of sugar, and the studies have shown that the body breaks it down more slowly due to the fibre.