Juice comes from fruit so it must be good for your baby, right? Well, no, it's a bit more complicated than that.

Who doesn't love a glass of cold juice? It's thirst-quenching, oh so sweet, and it counts towards your fruit and veggie intake (sort of). Babies love juice too. And when babies love something, they tend to be given quite a lot of it. Mums like to see the food and drink they've prepared going straight down their little one's gullet, not being flipped onto the dining room buffet.

The problem with giving juice to infants and toddlers is that it can rot their teeth. It can also take the place of more nutritious food and drinks because the child's too full of juice; or in children who are slow to develop a 'stop switch', it's possible for them to eat all their meals, polish off a sizeable quantity of juice, not move much... and get fat.

So, what's wrong with juice?
Sugar. Fruit is loaded with a natural sugar called fructose. Some fruit juices and fruit drinks also have extra sugar added to them. So despite the fact your bottle of juice started life as pieces of fruit, the finished drink does not contain the goodies that whole fruit does, but it does contain a fair whack of sugar.

Dr Philippa Sawyer is a specialist paediatric dentist, and when she hears the word 'juice', she doesn't mince words. "Juice devastates the teeth," she says. "And apple juice is probably the worst."

She explains that apple juice is acidic and has a high sugar content that's readily available for bacteria to feed on, which in turn generates more acid. "But I water it down for the children," I hear you say. Dr Sawyer hears that all the time, too, and says, "Dilution is not effective." The combination of fruit acid and sugar is still deadly - the acid dissolves the protective outer enamel of the teeth and the bacteria in the mouth feed on the sugar, creating what she calls "a double whammy".

The nutrition trap
The last national nutrition survey was done in 1995, so it's hard to know just how much juice children drink right now. However, according to Sharon Natoli, dietician and director of Food & Nutrition Australia, the survey showed that back then, even very young children drank double the amount recommended.

Australian dietary guidelines recommend that children drink 125ml of juice a day, and that this can take the place of one of those two pieces of fruit we're all supposed to eat. But in 1995, children aged 2-3 drank an average of 285ml a day and those aged 4-7 drank 312ml a day.
      
So, assuming things haven't improved (and they may well have worsened), Australian children are drinking too much juice for their energy needs. Sharon says, "Juice in small amounts is fine, and if you're diluting it, you're getting more water [in your diet]. But it's easy to overconsume juice. Children like sweetness, and juice doesn't fill you up as much. If children aren't being active, it can contribute to obesity."

Some experts believe that juice should not be a part of a small child's diet, end of story. Others say that juice is okay, as long as there are limits set on how much is drunk. But one thing they agree on is that the best drinks for babies and small children are water, breastmilk and, after 12 months of age, cow's milk. Sharon says, "Water is best for maintaining hydration, especially in summer. It contains no kilojoules. And milk is great. It contains so many vitamins and minerals - protein, calcium, riboflavin - that help with growth and development."