I read not too long ago about traces of arsenic found in apple and grape juice. Now, I just read about "flavor packs" being used in all brands of orange juice to be processed as pasteurized, and that these packs are essentially chemicals. So.....is there any juice out there that is safe for our children to drink?
I have always used 100% juice with my children. I am also one of those moms that waters down any juice because I think they are way too sweet as is. My 3 year old loves juice, and his favorites are apple and grape!!
Is there a greater chance of getting into a car accident or getting long term detrimental health effects from drinking apple juice with arsenic? What's a girl to do??
Anybody else read about this?
Thanks for those links, JessinTexas. I'm just a concerned mother, but I'm not losing sleep over this. The other day I was asked to bring juice to my son's school party and another mother told me not to bring apple or grape juice!!
My kids drunk apple juice everyday and im bad... I don't even water it down :) milk constipates them and they will drink anything before water so....
Yes read about it. I remember hearing that there are two forms of arsenic - one bad and one good. That Dr. Oz's scientists did not differentiate between the good and bad. So let's say Juice A was tested and it had 5 ppb (parts per billion) of arsenic or something - that that arsenic might be the safe kind. Might be the bad kind. That their tests were not done well. Read this article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44520025/ns/health-diet_and_n...
But whatever the case - Dr. Oz's tests showed that Minute Maid has the less arsenic out there than the other brands. It made me want to switch to be on the safe side! (I'm now a MMaid juice box buyer. No longer buy the Juicy Juice like I used to) http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-investigates-arsenic...
J K:
What's a girl to do?? Do everything in moderation.
Arsenic happens NATURALLY in apples, grapes and other fruits. You aren't giving your child(ren) a gallon of juice to drink a day without anything else, right? So stop stressing over this. Sorry - this may sound mean - but really?!
Some of the studies done in the past? The labs give the animals or test subjects 1000X yes - ONE THOUSAND times the amount a NORMAL human would get or consume...and then they say - well our tests indicated that this causes cancer....or this has arsenic in it. Well, yeah - arsenic is a NATURAL chemical and it happens in many fruits....so drink in moderation....not a gallon a day...you and your children will be fine.!
Hi JK, all three of my kids (now 19, 17, and 14) drank large amounts of Mott's Apple Juice in their extreme youth. There WAS no Dr Oz then. But there DID seem to be a little more common sense, hmmmm.
:(
It is just media hype to scare people and a marketing ploy to make juices " appear" safer when there is nothing wrong in the first place and then the marketers can charge more for it.
The same hype goes on about BPA in plastic. We are in the plastic industry and yes, you can get sick with BPA if you inject yourself with it daily...... not because it is in the product. The quantity in the plastic is so minimal, the risk is very low.
You know, if you go have your hands tested at a lab, chances are very high that traces of arsenic will be found on your hands.
It is media hype.
Well... on the upside... arsenic is reeeeeeeally good for your skin and hair. It was used as makeup for several millenia.
There's an interesting article on the subject by ConsumerReports. I haven't read their actual studies (which they have a link to), and then there's an interactive map of the country showing arsenic in ground water.
And, just so you know, city water allows levels of arsenic comparable to those found in the juice.
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/01/arsenic-in-you...
Don't know about arsenic, but there are some wonderful juices packed with antioxidants. Pomegranate juice is excellent, cranberry of course for your kidneys, bladder and urethra, and blueberry if you can get it. You could always juice your own oranges (hot orange juice is da bomb for a cold winters day), or watermelon.
Moderation, look at us who knows what we consumed if they were way worse when we were growing up & we turned out fine to grow up & have children of our own.I hate when my kids play in dirt but without play time activity & getting dirty they are alot healthier happier child.We can't just take everything away from them becasue were scared of course there is common sense but depriving children I don't think is the answer to all.I'm a concerned mom too going on 4 & yes I loose many nites of sleep
I am a registered dietitian and I am very conservative. I only heard a small amount so far about the apple juice arsenic so I didn't research it fully, but I can offer what I learned about how chemicals are allowed in foods..here is my two cents:
The recommended serving of juice for kids is 4 oz. of 100% juice. The way the FDA rules on things like arsenic and other chemicals is this: the FDA tests these things and finds a "dangerous" or "harmful" level. This is usually just a very good educated guess because they can usually only study animals. Then the FDA allows manufacturers to include 1/1000 of that level in the food. So they essentially are watering down that food 1000x more than the dangerous level. There was a lot of concern with the aspartame and cancer, but those mice were given the equivalent of 24 cases of diet soda per day for several weeks.
In my opinion, the sugar and sweetness of juice is more harmful than any small amounts of chemicals.
All juice is ok in moderation, like once a week. Giving children or anyone juice everyday will cause problems and not just from arsenic.
Hansen's reportedly has less so I switched to that, but since juice really isn't that good for anyone he only gets 3-4 oz in a cup of ice and water, it's really juice flavored ice water, with water being his primary drink throughout the day and milk in the a.m and p.m.
A serving of juice is 4oz. Juicy Juice is 100% juice. All food contains a lot of these additives and arsenic. I would not worry about it too much.
Try Juicy Juice, that seems to be 100% Juice.
Try maybe White Grape Juice.
Try giving more water or milk, if your little one will take it.
May God Bless Us All.
Merry Christmas
Well, there is the whole "juice is just liquid sugar" that my ped pushes, but I gave up on that boat a while ago. :?
Since juice is not nearly as good for us as whole fruit and since juice does not trigger satiety the way that solid foods/fruit do - I view it as empty calories. I don't need them, neither does my son. We will occasionally drink local apple cider (when it's fresh in the fall) and if we are staying at a hotel that serves fresh squeezed (as in they do it, not it comes in cardboard with those words, and yes I ask the waiter) orange juice, we will each have a glass. Beyond that, it falls under the category of candy in my book. I do not bring juice to my son's school when we bring snack - water is healthier (also way cheaper).
