A recent recommendation by subject-matter Experts breaks the myth that giving your baby Fruit Juice during their first year is good for their health. Pediatricians say that children below 12 months should not be given any type of juice. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has recently changed a recommendation made in 2001 about giving fruit juice to babies. Doctors say that it is important that human milk or infant formula should be the sole source of nutrition for babies until their sixth month. The organization has previously announced that parents should wait until a child is six months old before fruit juice is introduced, however, they revised their recommendation based on the increasing obesity rates as well as tooth cavity concerns.
Fruit juice has no beneficial role for kids below 1
Dr. Steven A. Abrams, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics and co-author of this policy said that there is no need or any beneficial role for fruit juice, so they made the adjustment to their recommendation. According to the AAP, kids who are at a healthy weight may be given 100 percent fruit juice, but it should be in moderation, adding that it should only take up less than 50 percent of the recommended daily fruit servings. The guideline said that whole fruit is a much better way to get vitamins and nutrients because it has fiber. Whole fruit meals makes us feel fuller than juice, and therefore prevent eating too much.
The relationship between fruit juice and tooth cavity
The policy statement also noted that children and teens are the top consumers of juice as well as juice drinks in the United States. Abrams said that parents have a tendency to stick a bottle or sippy cup in the kid's mouth and leave it all day - a practice which he said is not good for calorie-intake, much more with the child's teeth.
According to the AAP statement, giving your kids juice in bottles or covered cups may allow them to drink it easily, however, this practice is not good for developing teeth because it bathes teeth in sugar. When a baby is about six months old, fruits and vegetables may be introduced, but it should be pureed - without seeds or chunks - so the child can get used to the taste.
If you are worried that your child may not like fruits if they are not introduced early, experts say many exposures to fruits should help. A previous study said that giving daily tastes of vegetables over two weeks improve children's acceptance, and this could also be applied to introducing fruits.
