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Q&A with Australian Health Practitioners
Is fruit and vegetable juice enough vitamins for my toddler?
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I would like more information as to juicing vegetables and fruits, such as I have a 20 month toddler who refuses to eat when she is teething and when that occurs I aim to juice 5 or more different veg and fruit, like celery carrot, beetroot,apples, pear, orange, ginger, even broccoli as they do in the boost juice bars, and she takes it quite well. Is this enough to help her vitamin intake when she is not eating whilst teething?? -
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Peta Adams
Dietitian
I am an Accredited Practising Dietitian locally born and working within the Riverina.I have a passion for helping people to achieve their nutrition goals, coaching … View Profile
Teething can be a difficult time for Toddlers and food refusal is quite common.
The nutritional value of the food is not lost, however other important nutrients are modified when juiced.
The majority of soluble and insoluble fibres are lost upon jucing, which is important for laxation and healthy bowel motions. The concentration of the sugars also increase and especially when teething, a wash of sugars from the fruit/vegetable juices increases the risk of tooth decay.
It is therefore important to wash the mouth out with water after juices and other sweetened beverages to reduce the risk of tooth decay and brush regularly.
As for fibre, I would encouraged other sources of fibre in the diet from high fibre cereal foods, legumes and high fibre bread products, to maintain regular bowel motions.
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MariaHealthShare Member
As it has been stated above juicing reduces the amount of vitamins in fruits. Thus, of course, juicing is better than no fruits at all, it should not be the only source of fruits and vegetables. Your toddler should eat at least 4 whole fruits daily. Try to give her fruits of different colors. I know teething is painful and kids often lose appetite during those times, but teething will stop eventually. In this article all cons and pros of juicing are well discussed http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/juicing-health-risks-and-benefits
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Clare Wolski
Dietitian, Nutritionist
I'm Clare and I'm a passionate Accredited Practicing Dietitian (APD). I love empowering people with good nutrition information so they can make the best decisions … View Profile
Hi there,
This is a really good question and I think that alot of parents are often concerned over whether thier child is reaching their vitamin and mineral requirements.
The recommended intake of fruit for toddlers (2-3 years old) is 1 serve a day. This equates to 1 medium peice of fruit (banana, apple, pear etc.) or 2 small fruits (mandarin, kiwi fruit, apricot etc.) or 1 cup of diced fruit. The previously suggested 4 whole fruits a day may be excessisve for a toddler not to mention challenging for a parent.
The recommended intake of vegetables for toddlers is 2.5 serves. One serve equals 1/2 a cup of cooked veg or 1 cup of salad vegetables. Spreading those serves between snacks, lunch and dinner can be a good way to take the pressure of fitting it into one meal.
This is fantastic evidenced based resources for kids food intake : https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/the_guidelines/n55f_children_brochure.pdf
As mentioned whole fruit and vegetables is the best option because processes like juicing can removed some of the best parts of our whole foods. However, if you are finding that your toddler enjoys a fruit and vegetable drink, blending your whole fruits and veg would be a much better option. That way you retail more of the soluble and insoluble fibre.
I hope this is helpful!
Cheers,
Clare
http://healthyeatinghub.com.au/
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Charity Spalding
Dietitian
Charity specialises in providing nutrition and dietetic services to people with disability, children and their families. Charity is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian with over 10 … View Profile
There's some great information that's already been provided about blending the fruits and veg instead, appropriate servings and dental health and I hope it's ok if I add some extra infomation to the mix.
It's completely normal for everyone to eat more on some days and less on others and it's completely normal for parents to worry about how much their children are eating on days when they eat less, but we also know that healthy children are very good at managing how much they eat over all. Often, if a child doesn't eat much one day, they will soon make up for it on another day! It's also completely normal for it to seem like toddlers aren't eating much at all. Their rate of growth is much slower than when they were babies and so they don't need to eat as much as they once did. If your child is continuing to grow well then they are eating enough over all.
If your child has a sore mouth from teething then perhaps offer soft foods and see if she will take these. Soft cooked vegetables, slow cooked meats, mash potato/sweet potato, stewed fruits, milk/yoghurt etc. All of these foods require minimal chewing. You can also offer cold wash cloths for her to chew on to help with teething pain.
I hope this is helpful.
-Charity
www.accessiblenutrition.com.au
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