Guest Columnist
by Nicole Hegg, Registered Dietitian
MeritCare Children's Hospital
Your child's beverage of choice – and why it matters
Which is better for your child – juice or soda? If you said juice, you're right, and make sure it's 100 percent fruit juice. But there's an even better choice: milk.
As a beverage, milk far exceeds what soda and juice can offer in terms of providing needed vitamins and minerals, especially during the growth years. Still, a look at the past 50 years shows a considerable decline in milk consumption while soda consumption has skyrocketed:
- In 1945, people drank four times more milk than soda. (Like many readers, I can remember when a glass of soda was a treat – something we got rarely and in small quantities.)
- By the late 1990s, people were drinking two and a half times more soda than milk.
- A 2003 North Dakota Youth Risk Survey indicates 74 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 24 drank less than three glasses of milk over a period of seven days.
- From the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, milk intake among females ages 12 to 19 decreased by 36 percent whereas soda and fruit drink intake almost doubled.
The changing pattern of beverage consumption has some serious health implications. We've known for years the link with tooth decay, but now we're learning more about the increased risk for obesity, diabetes and other chronic conditions. As a dietitian who works with children, I see everyday how soda consumption tends to replace the intake of more nutritious beverages. It's an old story, but true: Children really do need a certain level of vitamins and minerals to function at their best on a day-to-day basis and grow to be healthy adults.
Take calcium and vitamin D, for example. Calcium is important at all ages because it contributes to bone health, but it's especially important for children ages 9 to 18 – peak bone-building years. At this age, they need 1,300 mg. of calcium a day, which equals about four 8-oz. glasses of milk. If fruit juice or soda accompanies meals on a regular basis, how will the daily calcium requirement be met? When milk accompanies every meal, the calcium requirement is much more easily met. As for vitamin D in our diet, this comes primarily from milk, too, with a few other foods containing significant amounts. Notable research has linked vitamin D deficiency to certain types of cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, osteoporosis and many other chronic conditions.
So what can you as a parent do to increase your child's milk consumption and decrease soda and juice consumption?
- Add some flavor. Studies have shown that flavored milk, such as strawberry or chocolate, contributes to increased milk drinking.
- Set a good example. Kids learn from their parents, so drink milk with every meal.
- When thirst hits, bring back the lost art of drinking water. Fun glasses and colorful water bottles might add to the experience, too.
- Make soda a treat. Don't keep a large supply of it in your fridge, but serve it occasionally – once or twice a week. Your kids will enjoy it all the more, and you will enjoy knowing you're contributing to sound health habits.
Ask your doctor or view more information about the benefits of drinking milk.
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