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Too Much Juice?

Kids love fruit juice. But that tasty package of vitamins and minerals has a price -- juice is loaded with natural sugar, so drinking too much can cause obesity, stunted growth, digestive problems and tooth decay.

"If children eat full meals on top of that [juice], they risk obesity. If they fill up only on fruit juice, failing to receive nutrients from a well-balanced diet, they may face malnutrition and/or short stature," says Barbara A. Dennison, M.D., a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Too much juice also means too much sorbitol, one of three natural sugars in most fruit juices. Our intestines can't absorb it, so it ferments in the colon -- "causing stomachaches, gas and, sometimes, diarrhea," says William J. Klish, M.D., former chair of the AAP's Committee on Nutrition. White grape juice provides one alternative: It doesn't contain sorbitol.

Tips from experts:

• Offer milk and water instead of juice. You can try spicing up water with lemon or other fruit.
• Limit preschoolers to 4 to 6 ounces of juice a day -- 8 to 12 ounces for older children and teens, the AAP says. Make sure what they drink is 100 percent juice, not a fruit-flavored beverage.
• Offer fresh fruit instead of fruit juice. Fresh fruit offers more nutrients and fiber than juice.
• Dilute juices with club soda or mineral water.
• Limit carbonated drinks with sugar. By the time kids turn 13, they are drinking four times as much carbonated drinks as fruit juice, according to the American Dietetic Association.