‘Please Mum, I’m thirsty, can I have a drink?’ is a cry mothers are all too familiar with and it’s true that children do need plenty of liquids to stop them becoming dehydrated. Due to their low body weight, children are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of dehydration and this can cause not just tiredness, headaches and mood swings but make it difficult for them to concentrate too. It can also prevent the digestive system from working efficiently as bowels need plenty of fluid to avoid constipation.

       KEEPING YOUR KIDS HEALTHY

      Fresh juices and smoothies contain lots of nutrients to help keep children healthy and are a useful way of ensuring that picky eaters, who normally turn their noses up at fruit and vegetables, add to their recommended daily allowance.

      Fruit and vegetable juices are an excellent source of vitamins, particularly vitamin C. This valuable vitamin helps children absorb iron from their food and build up their immune systems to protect them against bacteria and viruses. The recommended daily allowances of vitamin C vary slightly from country to country but the following can be taken as a guide:

      * 25 mg for 4 to 8 year olds

      * 45 mg for 9 to 13 year olds

      * For 14 to 18 year olds, 75 mg is the recommended daily allowance for boys and 65 mg for girls.

      The recommended daily allowances for adults are 75 mg for women and 90 mg for men. As a 250-ml (9 fl-oz) glass of freshly squeezed orange juice contains around 120 mg of vitamin C, it’s easy to see just how valuable a contribution a juice can make to a healthy, balanced diet.

      Smoothies, where fruit or vegetables are puréed with milk or yoghurt, can also play an important part in keeping your kids healthy. Milk, the ultimate superfood, is packed with a range of nutrients including calcium, protein, zinc, iodine and vitamins A and B and, as whole fruit are used to make smoothies, the resulting drinks also contain dietary fibre. Calcium is essential for strong teeth and bones, whilst protein repairs body tissues like muscles and zinc boosts the immune system. Iodine is needed to help the body convert food to energy, vitamin A is important for good eyesight, vitamin B for healthy growth, and dietary fibre keeps the body regular.

      Yoghurt is low in fat, high in calcium and good for the digestive tract but it’s best to opt for natural yoghurt that contains probiotic bacteria and sweeten it yourself with a little honey, if necessary, rather than buy a flavoured yoghurt that can contain large amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Although skimmed milk should not be given to children under five years old, after that age low-fat yoghurt and skimmed or semi-skimmed milk can be used to make drinks.

      When sweetening juices, honey is a better choice than sugar as honey increases the level of protective antioxidants in the blood and softens sharper juices with its own warm, rounded flavour. Maple syrup is another natural sweetener that, amongst a range of health benefits, contains zinc and manganese to help the immune system.

       What are the best drinks for children?

      Whilst persuading children to have a drink is rarely a problem, the difficult part can be steering them away from heavily sweetened juice drinks, squashes and fizzy pop in favour of a healthier option. Children have a naturally sweet tooth and many consume too much sugar from fizzy drinks that are high in additives and low in nutrients and can lead to a variety of problems such as hyperactivity, weight gain and tooth decay. A single can of ordinary cola contains an eye-watering 10 teaspoons of sugar, so as well as being nutritionally poor value, it’s high in calories too.

      The two healthiest drinks for kids are without question plain water and milk, and all children should be encouraged to consume plenty of both. But, like adults, children thrive on variety so including healthy options such as homemade fruit juices and smoothies will not only add interest to what they drink but increase the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet.

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