All juices are not created equal – some are nutritional gems while others are sugar water. Consider these tips as you make juice part of your child’s diet.

• Be label savvy.  Buy juice labeled “100 percent fruit juice."
  • Beware of words like “drink,” “punch,” “cocktail,” “beverage” and “ade.” These are not 100 percent juice – they’re junk fruit beverages.

  • Many “junk fruit beverages” are nutrient-void beverages, commonly masked as fruit “juice,” “drinks” or “cocktails.”  Most contain 10 percent or less of pure fruit juice, and lots of water, sugar and additives.  Junk fruit beverages have little or no nutritional value.

  • Avoid junk fruit beverages that are disguised as juice “blends” that contain small amounts of various fruits like grape, apple and pear. Ounce for ounce, these juices don’t have the natural levels of vital nutrients that 100 percent pure juices like orange juice provide.  Plus, they usually contain added sugars. 

• Examine the ingredients.  Avoid fruit-flavored beverages that have added fructose corn syrup.  They shape a child’s taste toward sweet cravings.

• Look at the juice. Generally, the cloudier the juice, the more nutritious it is.  If you can see through it, you’re buying mostly water.  Picture a tall glass of 100 percent pure orange juice with pulp.  There should be some sediment at the bottom, which is a reminder of the juice’s origins. 

• Go with citrus juices. Orange juice is a morning favorite and one of the most nutritious beverages available. An excellent source of vitamin C and potassium, orange juice also is a good source of folate and thiamin. Compared to other juices, orange juice is higher in protein, vitamin A, B-vitamins, vitamin C (it contains more than 10 times as much vitamin C as apple juice), calcium, iron and potassium, making it a heavyweight among fruit juices.  Drinking an 8-ounce glass counts as one of your five necessary fruit and vegetable servings for the day. 

• Check if it’s pasteurized.  Commercial juices now are required to say if it’s pasteurized on the label.  The new law is a result of non-pasteurized juice-borne bacterial illnesses that are especially harmful to people with weakened immune systems (such as children, pregnant women or the elderly). No need to worry, though. A new high-pressure pasteurization method increases the shelf life and significantly reduces the bacteria count.  And, it reportedly does not affect the flavor or vitamin and mineral content of the juice.  The key is to make sure the label on your juice says it’s pasteurized.

• Consider Juice Variety.  Another beneficial juice in addition to orange juice is nectar juice.  Nectar usually has more calories, but more nutrients are preserved during processing nectar than other juices.  Apricot nectar is especially healthy, containing a lot of beta-carotene, almost a gram of protein per 8-ounce glass, and it’s higher than most juices in vitamin A, vitamin B-6 and iron.  Other nutritious nectars come from the “P” fruits – peaches, pears and prunes.

• Offer 100-percent juice at mealtimes or as snacks as an alternative to soda or junk juices.  Serve orange juice at breakfast, and pack a carton in your child’s lunch box for lunch or as a daytime snack.

• If a child usually consumes more than the daily-recommended amount of juice,dilute the juice with water.  The water has the sweet taste of juice while allowing the appropriate amount of juice intake throughout the day.

• If a child asks for carbonated soda, add seltzer to a glass of 100 percent pure orange juice to add ‘a bubbly sensation’.

• Don’t let toddlers walk around or fall asleep with a baby bottle filled with juice.  It can cause tooth decay.  The juice bathes the teeth, which may contribute to bacterial growth, plaque and eventual decay (a condition called the “juice bottle syndrome”).

• Orange and grapefruit juices contain more natural vitamin C than any other fruit juice.  They’re great juices for your children – and for you.

• The vitamin C content of canned juices may deteriorate upon exposure to air, so be sure to refrigerate and tightly seal opened containers.

• Freshly squeezed juice contains more vitamin C than “made from concentrate” canned or frozen juices. 

• Adding ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, to juice allows manufacturers to claim that the drink will give your child “100 percent vitamin C.”  This health claim, however, can mask its sugary content and hides the fact that other essential nutrients are not included.

• Recommended Juices: Citrus juices and some other juices (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry and white grape juice) do not contain sorbitol and are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition for use during intestinal illnesses. 

• Fructose-to-Glucose Ratio: A high fructose-to-glucose ratio may cause diarrhea or abdominal pain because the excess fructose ferments in the large intestine.  Orange juice is a recommended juice because it contains equal amounts of glucose and fructose and no sorbitol.

• Infants and Children: Because their immature intestines allow more unabsorbed sugar to reach the colon where it ferments, infants and children are particularly prone to gas and diarrhea from excessive juice.

• Orange – The juice with the highest amount of vitamin C and potassium and a good source of folate and thiamin.  It also contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals.

• Grapefruit – The juice with the second highest amount of vitamin C.

• Apricot Nectar – This juice is high in vitamin A and contains a small amount of iron and zinc.

• Prune – The juice highest in iron, zinc, fiber and niacin.

• White Grape – A juice high in vitamin C, and the best juice for healing the intestines.

• Apple – This juice has no nutritional advantage over other juices, but is good for flavoring water because it dilutes well.