Should Babies and Kids Drink Fruit Juice?

Should Babies and Kids

Drink Fruit Juice?

The original guideline advised parents to wait to offer juice to their babies until the child was 6 months old.  The new guidelines now do not recommend juice before children are 1 year old, unless advised by a doctor.

The American Academy of Pediatrics decided to change the guideline based on rising rates of obesity and concerns about tooth cavities.

The new guidelines state that 100% fruit juice can be a healthy part of a well-balanced diet for children over a year old. The Academy advises parents to limit juice to only 4 ounces or ½ cup daily for toddlers between 1 and 3 years old. The Academy also recommends providing juice in a cup instead of a bottle or box as the latter makes it easier to drink juice all day.

The guidelines also suggest that children between 4 and 6 only have 4 to 6 ounces of juice daily.  This equates to ½ to ¾ cup of juice. Children between 7 and 18 should have no more than 8 ounces or 1 cup of juice per day.

The Academy states that kids need to learn to eat fruit rather than fruit juice. Fruit contains more fiber and protein and is more filling than juice.  Sharon Zarabi, a nutritionist at Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC, states “with my experience of working with obese adults, we tend to see that what people eat when they’re younger is what sticks with them as they get older.”

What’s the best drink a child or anyone for that matter can drink?  Good old fashioned water.  We need water to hydrate every cell in our bodies. Kid’s 5-8 need 5 glasses of water daily or 1 liter total, kids 9-12 need 7 glasses per day or 1.5 liters per day and anyone age 13 to adult needs 8-10 glasses per day which equates to a ½ gallon.

Of course, you don’t have to just drink glasses of water to make up the recommended amount of daily water. Certain fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of water and will replace one of those glasses of water.  Some of those fruits and veggies include the following: watermelon, strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, oranges, raspberries, cucumbers, celery, iceberg lettuce, spinach, and green peppers.

Happy drinking and healthy regards,
Stacy

Source: www.cnn.com – No Fruit Juice for Kids Under 1, Pediatricians Advise by: Susan Scutti

I recently finished the 60-day Core de Force workout. One of my favorite workouts is cardio kickboxing. This was an excellent cardio workout! 
The workout consists of 3 minute rounds.  One minute of the 3 minute rounds is a HIIT round they call spikes. It does spike your heartrate!

The shortest workout was only 25 minutes and the longest was just over an hour if you complete the cardio and extra core kinetics workout. If you can’t commit to an entire hour, you can always break it up and complete the 45 minute cardio workout and complete the core exercises later in the day.  It all counts as your daily exercise!

What I liked about the program:
I liked the variety of moves, including some defensive moves that are typically not included in cardio kickboxing classes. I actually grew to like the many variations of different pushups in the dynamic strength workout.  I really enjoyed the different cardio workout and new ways of strength training using only my bodyweight. My arms do look a bit more toned after completing all those pushups!!!

What I would improve:
There are only a couple things I would change with this program.  First, you don’t always switch from your dominant stance. I made it a habit to always switch my stance during the routine.  It helped me feel more balanced.

The other change I would make is to have one day a week as a stretching day instead of a cardio/strength training day. I had to stretch on my own because all of the kicking really makes your hamstrings and for me, my hip flexors very sore. They only have a 5-minute nighttime recovery stretch which isn’t long enough to really stretch your muscles.

My overall recommendation:
If you like cardio kickboxing, then I would highly recommend that you try this program.  I would always change your stance even if the instructors are not changing it for that particular routine. I would also incorporate more stretching on a day when the cardio portion is shorter. I did the TurboFire stretch 40 and stretch 10 a few times to help stretch my muscles.

If you would like more information, check out this informational video: https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/programs/core-de-force

Also, if you would like to purchase it, please go to www.teambeachbody.com/Fehlinger1 and let me know what you think about the program after you try it!

Healthy Regards,
Stacy