teens and beverages
What do you give your kids to drink?
I have two teenage boys, and while they both drink a lot of water, this summer they've been asking for something different to drink. They're not big juice drinkers, which is good, because I'd much rather they ate fruit (which they do). I don't keep soda in the house unless they're having a party. They both drink Gatorade, but I limit that to when they're practicing or playing sports or mowing the lawn. In my mind, sports beverages are for sports, not for casual thirst-quenching.
There's a new Beverage Guidance System, published in March 2006 (read the entire article at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/83/3/529#SEC3) that ranks beverages on 6 different levels.
Level 1, the preferred beverage for everyday consumption, is water. Water can come from the tap or in bottled form, but the plain stuff with no flavorings added is the number one beverage of choice. My teens' take: plain water is fine, but sometimes I want taste.
Level 2 includes up to 40 ounces of unsweetened tea or coffee per day, with a limit of 400mg caffeine (about the amount in 4 cups of coffee). My teens' take: yuck!
Level 3 is up to 16 ounces of low-fat or skim milk/soy beverages. My teens' take: they drink skim milk with every meal at home.
Level 4 starts adding taste, as far as my kids are concerned. This is where you find sweetened beverages without calories, meaning they use a variety of sugar substitutes. Limit to 32 ounces per day. I'm not a big fan of sugar substitutes unless absolutely necessary, but I like the fact it's limited to 32 ounces. My teens' take: They pretty much hate anything with sugar substitute and say it tastes funny.
Level 5 includes up to 8 ounces of 100% fruit juice and up to one alcoholic drink for women and up to two alcoholic drinks for men. Why they put fruit juice and alcohol in the same category is a bit of a stretch, but there it is. My teens' take: they don't drink alcohol, and fruit juice isn't a favorite anyway.
Level 6 includes beverages we should really avoid: anything sweetened that contains calories. This includes regular soda, sweetened juice drinks, energy drinks, lemonade - in short, all the stuff my teens (and most Americans, it seems) love. The recommendation is no more than 8 ounces per day, less than in one typical can or bottle of the stuff.
So what is a mom to do? I encourage water, and they drink it. We all drink skim milk at meals, including myself and my husband. Juice really isn't much of a factor, and neither are diet beverages. That leaves the top level, where we're supposed to drink basically zero. I've been looking for sweetened beverages that have less sugar, and I've settled on sweetened Nestea. Yeah, it has high fructose corn syrup, but less than most sodas. We set a limit of no more than two bottles per day, and it seems to be working.
Me, I still prefer water and unsweetened ice tea.
Have a great summer!
Lynn
I have two teenage boys, and while they both drink a lot of water, this summer they've been asking for something different to drink. They're not big juice drinkers, which is good, because I'd much rather they ate fruit (which they do). I don't keep soda in the house unless they're having a party. They both drink Gatorade, but I limit that to when they're practicing or playing sports or mowing the lawn. In my mind, sports beverages are for sports, not for casual thirst-quenching.
There's a new Beverage Guidance System, published in March 2006 (read the entire article at http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/83/3/529#SEC3) that ranks beverages on 6 different levels.
Level 1, the preferred beverage for everyday consumption, is water. Water can come from the tap or in bottled form, but the plain stuff with no flavorings added is the number one beverage of choice. My teens' take: plain water is fine, but sometimes I want taste.
Level 2 includes up to 40 ounces of unsweetened tea or coffee per day, with a limit of 400mg caffeine (about the amount in 4 cups of coffee). My teens' take: yuck!
Level 3 is up to 16 ounces of low-fat or skim milk/soy beverages. My teens' take: they drink skim milk with every meal at home.
Level 4 starts adding taste, as far as my kids are concerned. This is where you find sweetened beverages without calories, meaning they use a variety of sugar substitutes. Limit to 32 ounces per day. I'm not a big fan of sugar substitutes unless absolutely necessary, but I like the fact it's limited to 32 ounces. My teens' take: They pretty much hate anything with sugar substitute and say it tastes funny.
Level 5 includes up to 8 ounces of 100% fruit juice and up to one alcoholic drink for women and up to two alcoholic drinks for men. Why they put fruit juice and alcohol in the same category is a bit of a stretch, but there it is. My teens' take: they don't drink alcohol, and fruit juice isn't a favorite anyway.
Level 6 includes beverages we should really avoid: anything sweetened that contains calories. This includes regular soda, sweetened juice drinks, energy drinks, lemonade - in short, all the stuff my teens (and most Americans, it seems) love. The recommendation is no more than 8 ounces per day, less than in one typical can or bottle of the stuff.
So what is a mom to do? I encourage water, and they drink it. We all drink skim milk at meals, including myself and my husband. Juice really isn't much of a factor, and neither are diet beverages. That leaves the top level, where we're supposed to drink basically zero. I've been looking for sweetened beverages that have less sugar, and I've settled on sweetened Nestea. Yeah, it has high fructose corn syrup, but less than most sodas. We set a limit of no more than two bottles per day, and it seems to be working.
Me, I still prefer water and unsweetened ice tea.
Have a great summer!
Lynn
posted by Lynn Grieger and Mike Ryan at
10:20 AM
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