This entry of BHES’s “Living Healthy, Learning Well” feature
focuses on fruit juice (adapted from resources from York Region Health Services
Department).
Juice tends to be the drink many families pack into their
child’s/children’s lunch bags; however, there are things we need to know when
selecting juice for a beverage. The
nutritional labels on the juice boxes are very important sources of
information.
Products labeled fruit juice are made from real
juice. For example, if a label says
“apple juice”, it is made from the juice obtained from apples. Real fruit juice has over 20 vitamins and
minerals. A half of a cup (125 mL) of
juice is equal to one serving from the fruits and vegetables food group in
“Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.”
With respect to labels, parents/guardians should not be
fooled by labels that include “Contains real fruit juice.” An example of an ingredient list for real
fruit juice is:
|
Ingredients:
water, concentrated orange juice
|
An example of an ingredient list for a fruit drink
(drink, beverage, punch, cocktail, -ade) is as follows:
|
Ingredients:
water, sugar and/or glucose-fructose, citric acid, natural and artificial
flavour, citric acid, sodium benzoate, colour
|
Juice blends are sometimes made with only real juices and
sometimes not. Check the ingredient list
to make sure that the blend is made up of only juices.
Look at the label for any of these words to make sure you
are buying juice:
·
100% juice
·
100% fruit juice
·
100% pure juice
·
100% juice from concentrate
·
(specific name of fruit – e.g., orange) juice
The following guideline
indicates how much juice is recommended for consumption each day:
|
AGE OF CHILD
|
MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF
JUICE PER DAY
|
|
Less
than 6 months
|
Not
Recommended
|
|
6 months
to 1 year
|
½ cup
|
|
1 to
6 years
|
¾ cup
|
|
7 to
18 years
|
1 ½
cups
|
Too much juice may cause tooth decay, weight problems,
diarrhea or an upset stomach.
