Frequently Asked Questions...

Health & Nutrition FAQ's

3. Does the Government Recommend Fruit Juice?
The Australian Dietary Guidelines for Children and Adolescents published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in 2003, recognizes the nutritional value of fruit juice:

Fruit juice is an important part of the diet of young children. It is a good source of vitamins such as vitamin C and folate and also provides carbohydrates…

A National Government survey¹ of children’s diets highlights the important role fruit juice plays in terms of the vitamin C intake of children:

• Fruit juice provided 33% of their vitamin C
• Fruit juice contributed more vitamin C than whole fruit
• Fruit juice plus whole fruit provided 50% of the vitamin C to children

Adults also rely on fruit juice as a source of vitamin C with almost 25% of the vitamin C intake for adults provided by juice alone¹.

In addition, The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends that children and adolescents consume approximately two serves from the fruit group every day.

A serve means 150g of fruit or 125ml of juice and the guide suggests that whole fruit be chosen more often due to its fibre content.

Balance for Health

While its good to know that the Government supports the place of fruit juices in any healthy diet, it is vital that we eat a varied diet, enjoy fruit juice sensibly and be active everyday.

DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS IN AUSTRALIA

• Encourage and support breastfeeding
• Children and adolescents need sufficient nutritious foods to grow and develop normally
  • Growth should be checked regularly for young children
  • Physical activity is important for all children and adolescents
• Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods

Children and adolescents should be encouraged to:

• Eat plenty of vegetables, legumes and fruits
• Eat plenty of cereals (including breads, rice, pasta and noodles), preferably wholegrain
• Include lean meat, fish, poultry and/or alternatives
• Include milks, yoghurts, cheese and/or alternatives
  • Reduced-fat milks are not suitable for young children under 2 years, because of their high energy needs, but reduced-fat varieties should be encouraged for older children and adolescents
• Choose water as a drink
  • Alcohol is not recommended for children

Care should be taken to:

• Limit saturated fat and moderate total fat intake
  • Low-fat diets are not suitable for infants
• Choose foods low in salt
• Consume only moderate amounts of sugars and foods containing added sugars

Care for your child’s food: prepare and store it safely

References

1. 1. S.J. Record, CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition “Intakes of fruit and fruit juice in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey” December 2001

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