Juices in children's diet
June 3, 2025 at 9:38 pm,
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In caring for the baby, thinking that it will be better and healthier, many parents offer juices to their babies. And often at a very young age. The benefits of juices are controversial. Let's look at the recommendations.
The American Paediatric Association recommends:
Avoid juices in complementary foods for children under 12 months of age.
ESPGHAN* agrees.
- Fruit juice has no nutritional value for infants under 1 year of age.
- Fruit juice has no nutritional value compared to whole fruit for infants and children and does not play an essential role in a healthy balanced diet for children.
- No juice, even freshly squeezed juice, compares to fruit. Juice loses fibre when it is squeezed. You may drink more juice than you eat fruit. Thereby gaining more calories.
- Manufactured juices often contain preservatives, added sugars. And as we remember, it is not recommended to consume added sugars before the age of 2.
- Excessive juice consumption in children increases the risk of diarrhea, meteorism and tooth caries, as well as malnutrition or overnutrition and consequent overweight. Juices can also influence children's food preferences.
If you offer juices to your child, follow these guidelines:
- Avoid unpasteurised juices. They may contain pathogens.
- Choose 100% juices, not juice drinks.
- Give juice in 1 serving.
- Do not give juice at bedtime or at night.
- Prefer regular glasses and cups to bottles and sippy cup.
- From 1 to 3 years of age, the recommended amount of juice per day is no more than 120 ml.
- At the age of 4 to 6 years - no more than 120-180 ml per day.
- Children from 7 to 18 years of age are recommended not to drink more than 1 cup or 280 ml of juice per day.
A balanced and varied diet can provide children over 1 year of age with all the vitamins and micronutrients they need. If you suspect deficiencies, however, you should first of all consult your doctor.
Offering fruit instead of juices is always a good idea!
And if you want to learn how to establish healthy eating habits during a consultation on introducing complementary foods, contact me!
* ESPGHAN: European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.
Sources:
Fewtrell, 2017. Complementary feeding: a position paper by the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) Committee on Nutrition.
Fidler Mis, 2017. Sugar in infants, children and adolescents: a position paper of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Committee on Nutrition.
Heyman & Abrams, 2017. Fruit juice in infants, children, and adolescents: current recommendations.
King, 2017. The ESPGHAN complementary feeding position paper 2017.
Author of the article: Aleksandra Ņekrasova
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