Down with juice!

Here's an idea. Next time your child is thirsty, get a glass of water and add four heaping teaspoons of sugar. Stir and serve with a straw (if desired). Ridiculous, isn't it? So why are you giving your kids juice? It is quite literally the same thing. There are few health benefits. Even the ones made with real fruit have been so processed that they will need several cups to get the benefits of a single serving of real fruit. So serve the piece of fruit. All that sugar in the juice is going to cause cavities and tooth decay too. They will be at a higher risk for diabetes when they are older, as well as more likely to be overweight or obese. And your little one's body is going to be working pretty hard to filter out all the sugar and chemicals that they have just ingested. Serve them water. If your children don't like water, the solution couldn't be simpler: offer it as the only option when they are thirsty. They will drink it, I promise. And it's free! Get a filtered jug if you don't like the taste of tap water, but stop serving your children juice. While you're at it, do yourself and your whole family a favor and stop buying juice period. I can't think of a bigger waste of money (except maybe soda.....).