Giving children fruit juice in the first year of their life is not a good idea, top American paediatricians say.
Paediatricians in America have advised parents to ban giving their babies fruit juice for at least in the first year of life according to a report published online in the Journal Pediatrics. According to the group, juice offers no nutritional benefits early in life and can take t place of what babies really need: breast milk or formula and their protein, fat and minerals like calcium.
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The report also advocated the following daily restrictions of fruit juices for older children.
“Fruit juice does not equal fruit”
Some of the concerns surrounding fruit juices include that they contain lower amounts of dietary fibres compared to whole fruits, the higher potential to cause tooth decay. In a sentence, fruit juice does not equal fruit. Moreover, fruit juice, the report continued, has no essential role in healthy, balanced diets of children.
Speaking to New York Times, Dr Elsie M. Taveras, chief of the division of general paediatrics MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, who was not involved in the new report, raised a further concern that fruit juice can serve as a gateway for other drinks. “We have studies that show infants who drink more juice in that early life period are more likely to go on to drink soda and sugar-containing beverages.”, the doctor told New York Times.
To read more about the report, visit the Pediatrics website.
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