http://www.care2.com/greenliving/healthy-drinks-for-kids.html
Healthy Drinks for Kids
By Katy Neusteter, Delicious Living
Sodas may be convenient, but soft drinks are linked to tooth decay, skin problems, and poor concentration. Plus, they constitute the biggest source of refined sugar in the American diet, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Rather, instill good habits early on by giving your kids these optimal picks.
Water
If you choose just one drink for your child, make it plain water. Naturally sugar free, water replenishes moisture lost in sweat, helps the body eliminate waste, and transports oxygen and nutrients in the bloodstream. Plus, kids who drink water get used to flavorless thirst quenching.
Milk
“Drink your milk” is still good advice. Organic milk is packed with vitamin D and calcium for strong bones, and protein for energy, as well as scores of other nutrients crucial for still-growing bodies. Even if you opt for nondairy alternatives, always choose organic products and ones with no added sugar.
Fruit juice
In moderation, juice supplies kids with beneficial vitamins and minerals. For instance, 8 ounces of fresh-squeezed orange juice contains 25 mg vitamin A, 124 mg vitamin C, and 496 mg potassium. But because it’s also loaded with natural sugars, limit kids to 1 cup of 100 percent fruit juice per day. And avoid “juice drinks,” which can contain a lot of calories but very little actual fruit.
Fizzy drinks
The risk of obesity rockets to 60 percent in kids who drink just one 12-ounce soda per day, and many sodas contain the stimulant caffeine. The biggest reason to nix soft drinks: Sodas–even diet ones–push out better choices because kids will pick them first.
For more information, see Easy Greening: Soft Drinks.
Delicious Living is the go-to resource for the natural and organic lifestyle, helping readers eat well, live green, and stay healthy. Visit deliciouslivingmag.com for more articles and free recipes.
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16 comments
add your comment »Children,it is somethig more pure in this world ? They are our teachers about to belive and clean love, they can say wach your first steps and mine to,they can smile as no one in this world, their eyes are deep as the universe, they are a wonder as only God can create. Take a good care of them.
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I'm 60 and from a generation that gave lowfat to animals and cream to some babies. They drank 100% Milk. They were lean and had good bones. I think there are hidden factors at work and people shouldn't give up milk.
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Milk seems to be the topic here: when my kids were little they were chronically congested. I restricted dairy from their diet for several years. They are now teenagers. Here's the scoop: After restricting dairy their cough went away; their mucous dried up; they have never had another ear infection and they have NO cavities. They do drink milk now and eat dairy products but for some reason when they were little they could not handle ingestion. They are rarely sick now. I do agree with those who say that cow milk is for cows. The calf has extremely different needs and growth rate. For human babies, give them breast milk and later the body seems to be able to tolerate the cow milk. I drink goat's milk and love it.
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I really hope no one makes important health decisions for themselves or, especially, their children, on the basis of claims seem in the comments on this site!
Please, people, bear in mind that while the actual articles might go through some sort of editing or fact-checking before being published (though even, I don't think it's too rigorous -- I've seen wild inaccuracies in some articles on this site), the comments are anonymous, unaccountable, and anyone can basically write anything they want.
You don't know who the commenters are or where they're getting their information from, and there is no reason to accept any medical claims made in the comment as true unless you do your own research and verify it somewhere more authoritative.
There are valid reasons some people choose a low-dairy or no-dairy diet (I eat very little dairy myself), but there is also a lot of irresponsible internet "scarelore" out there, and that's what I'm seeing a lot of in these comments.
Please, Laura B and anyone else who's considering making dietary changes for your child based on what you're reading here, do some research and/or talk to your doctor before making any drastic decisions. You might still choose to avoid dairy - that's fine. Just be sure you're doing it for valid reasons.
That said, for drinks that are similar to milk but non-dairy, try soy milk rice milk, or (if no one in your family has a nut allergy) almond milk. Just be sure the kind you get is not excessively swee
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I believe the American Academy of Pediatrics says to limit juice consumption in children under 7 years old to six ounces per day, which is less than a cup. See:
http://www.connectwithkids.com/tipsheet/2008/391_jun25/thisweek/080625_juice.shtml
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ok i will not give milk to my son. It aplies for all like chesse, yogurt, etc that kids eat?
and if its that way, way can i give him to replce all theses products?
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Babies: breast milk. Kids/adults: water. The end. You want fruit juice? Eat the fruit! That's how it was meant to be used. Simple. (stop watching all those commercials that tell you otherwise, and make you want all the other junk, why waste money on inferior 'products')
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Children loose blood when drinking animal milk, because it is so rough on their intestines that they bleed, and can cause anemia. Fecal samples show blood and most of the calcium that was consumed via milk. Milk also leaches calcium out of your bones. So it really has little benefit. Also milk is used by animals to get on their feet and run as soon as they can. Our babies have a good 6 months minimum for that, that's why breast milk is the complete opposite of milk, facilitating the mental development of babies instead of the physical. Just think about that!
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What about yoghurt drinks?
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Usually I dilute juices with fresh water for myself, and every kid I've done this for never notices the difference. Healthier option and saves money, too!
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