Healthy Beverages for Kids

by Aldene Fredenburg

It’s a cultural phenomenon - in school and homes around the country in the past few years, kids have started drinking soda instead of milk and natural juices on a routine basis. Sodas - basically colored, sugared water - have replaced far more nutritional alternatives almost exclusively with some children and teens, contributing not only to an increase in childhood obesity but to a much greater incidence of childhood caries (cavities in teeth). Perhaps even more alarming, teenage girls who opt for sodas instead of milk on a regular basis have been discovered to have sometimes irreversible osteoporosis, a condition in which calcium in the bones has disappeared, leaving bones porous, brittle, and easily broken. Another problem with sodas, from Coke to Mountain Dew, is that many of them contain large amounts of caffeine - way too much, in fact, for the physiology of a small child to handle. (Your kid can’t settle down and get to sleep at night? Before you suspect ADHD, think about how much caffeine he or she might be ingesting in the course of a day!)

Luckily, there are plenty of healthy alternatives to the sugar-laden sodas being consumed. Milk, both whole and skim, is a better choice for children who can tolerate the food, and provide plenty of the calcium and Vitamin D necessary for strong bones and teeth. For children who have allergic reactions to dairy products, calcium-enriched soy milk provides plenty of protein and minerals. A caveat - some of the “good tasting” soy milks recently added to the store shelves actually have sugars like high-fructose corn syrup added to enhance the flavor - definitely not a healthy alternative.

Fruit juices have been considered a healthy alternative for even young children for years, and if a child is craving a sweet drink fruit juice is way better than most alternatives; but not all fruit juices are created equal - some have the same high-fructose corn syrup added that makes some of the designer soy milks such a bad deal. A better choice would be a natural fruit juice with no added sugars, in moderate amounts; even the healthy fruit juices naturally contain simple sugars and a good supply of calories, so limit the amount per day, and have children drink it with other foods to slow down the absorption of the juices, thus avoiding fluctuations in energy levels.

Of course, bottled spring water or filtered water is a great alternative, and should be encouraged. Especially with active kids, dehydration can sneak up on someone, particularly in hot weather. It’s important for children to have easy access to plenty of fresh, drinkable water and other fluids to keep them sufficiently hydrated.

Information about proper nutrition for kids concentrates much more on healthy food choices, and not so much on beverages. But healthy beverages are a big part of healthy nutrition, and need to be focused on daily - healthy beverages really do equal healthy kids!

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Aldene Fredenburg is a freelance writer living in southwestern New Hampshire, who has written numerous articles for local and regional publications. She may be reached at amfredenburg@yahoo.com.

Check out Healthy Kids Snacks’ Recipes for Beverages, Smoothies and Shakes

Tags: juice, milk

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