Juices sometimes substitute natural fruit, but they are no more nutritious than fruit. All excesses are bad and abuse juices, can have negative consequences for the baby's health.
As a general rule, we offer juices to our baby from 4-6 months. According to the specialists, it is better not to do it before this age since the juices are rich in sugars and are a very satiating food. Therefore, if you give a juice a few hours before the shot, the baby will arrive with little appetite for this shot and therefore will consume less than he needs.
Keep in mind that in its first year and especially in its first months, breast milk is the most important food in your diet. Although freshly squeezed juices are taken so that they retain all their vitamins and minerals, they are not equivalent to natural fruits, since they concentrate more sugar and are lacking in fiber. In addition, another drawback is that they do not stimulate chewing, and this is a very important aspect at this stage of their age. Abuse with fruit juices in children can cause chronic diarrhea, especially if apple or pear juices are abused. These fruits have a high proportion of fructose and sorbitol, these are sugars that the baby is not yet able to digest. These types of juices are dragged through the small intestine and reach the colon. Here they ferment and produce flatulence and abdominal pain in addition to the mentioned diarrhea.
But it is not all there, it also causes tooth decay, sugar and fruit acid can damage the enamel of the first teeth and especially when the baby has a good time with the bottle of juice that is in contact with the gums .
There are medical studies that associate the abuse of juices with growth retardation and obesity risk, but these results are inconclusive and are still being investigated.
The best thing is that, when you introduce the fruit into your baby's diet, you start with a few teaspoons of orange juice (it is better than other juices) so that you get used to the new flavor and then start offering you your first apple-based porridge , pear or crushed banana, and when ready, give fruit flavored with the fork and later into pieces.
Three daily servings of fruit are recommended, but try that only one is juice and always as a snack or dessert, but do not use it to quench thirst, since the best thing for this is water.
