Fructose

Other nutritious nectars come from the “P” fruits – peaches, pears and prunes.
How much you offer counts
Juice can be a tasty alternative to water, but consuming too much juice may take the place of
other nutritious foods the child would normally eat. The following chart explains how much juice
is appropriate for a child up to 12 years of age:
Age
Amount
6 – 12 months 4 ounces per day
1 – 4 years 6 ounces per day
4 – 12 years 8 ounces per day
Juice consumption 101
• Offer 100-percent juice at mealtimes or as snacks as an alternative to soda or junk juices.
Serve orange juice at breakfast, and pack a carton in your child’s lunch box for lunch or as a
daytime snack.
• If a child usually consumes more than the daily-recommended amount of juice,dilute the juice
with water. The water has the sweet taste of juice while allowing the appropriate amount of
juice intake throughout the day.
• If a child asks for carbonated soda, add seltzer to a glass of 100 percent pure orange juice to
add ‘a bubbly sensation’.
• Don’t let toddlers walk around or fall asleep with a baby bottle filled with juice. It can cause
tooth decay. The juice bathes the teeth, which may contribute to bacterial growth, plaque and
eventual decay (a condition called the “juice bottle syndrome”).
Vitamin C tips
• Orange and grapefruit juices contain more natural vitamin C than any other fruit juice. They’re
great juices for your children – and for you.
• The vitamin C content of canned juices may deteriorate upon exposure to air, so be sure to
refrigerate and tightly seal opened containers.
• Freshly squeezed juice contains more vitamin C than “made from concentrate” canned or
frozen juices.
• Adding ascorbic acid, or vitamin C, to juice allows manufacturers to claim that the drink will
give your child “100 percent vitamin C.” This health claim, however, can mask its sugary
content and hides the fact that other essential nutrients are not included.
Avoiding tummy-aches
Juices with a high fructose-to-glucose ratio and that contain sorbitol can aggravate the intestines,
especially those already sensitive by irritation or infection.
• Recommended Juices: Citrus juices and some other juices (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry
and white grape juice) do not contain sorbitol and are recommended by the American Academy
of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition for use during intestinal illnesses.
• Fructose-to-Glucose Ratio: A high fructose-to-glucose ratio may cause diarrhea or abdominal
pain because the excess fructose ferments in the large intestine. Orange juice is a recommended
juice because it contains equal amounts of glucose and fructose and no sorbitol.
• Infants and Children: Because their immature intestines allow more unabsorbed sugar to reach
the colon where it ferments, infants and children are particularly prone to gas and diarrhea
from excessive juice.
Favorite 100% pure fruit juice facts
• Orange – The juice with the highest amount of vitamin C and potassium and a good source of
folate and thiamin. It also contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals.
• Grapefruit – The juice with the second highest amount of vitamin C.
• Apricot Nectar – This juice is high in vitamin A and contains a small amount of iron and zinc.
• Prune – The juice highest in iron, zinc, fiber and niacin.
• White Grape – A juice high in vitamin C, and the best juice for healing the intestines.
• Apple – This juice has no nutritional advantage over other juices, but is good for flavoring
water because it dilutes well.
Articles on Fructose
Fructose, or fruit sugar, is a simple monosaccharide found in many foods. It is one of the three
important dietary monosaccharides along with glucose and galactose. The organic fructose
molecule was first discovered by Augustin-Pierre Dubrunfaut in 1847. Fructose is a white solid
that dissolves in water – it is the most water-soluble of all the sugars. Honey, tree fruits, berries,
melons, and some root vegetables contain significant amounts of molecular fructose, usually in
combination with glucose, stored in the form of sucrose. About 240,000 tonnes of crystalline
fructose are produced annually.
Fructose is a 50% component of sucrose. Sucrose is a disaccharide derived from the condensation
of glucose and fructose. Fructose is derived from the digestion of table sugar (sucrose).
High-fructose corn syrup is a SINthetic product. Thus an Insult to the
Body.
Crystalline fructose and high-fructose corn syrup are often confused as the same product.
Crystalline fructose, which is often produced from a fructose-enriched corn syrup, is indeed the
monosaccharide. High-fructose corn syrup, however, refers to a family of mixtures of varying
amounts of fructose and glucose.
Fructose is also found in the synthetically manufactured sweetener, high-fructose corn syrup
(HFCS). Hydrolyzed corn starch is used as the raw material for production of HFCS. Through the
enzymatic treatment, glucose molecules are converted into fructose. There are three types of
HFCS, each with a different proportion of fructose: HFCS-42, HFCS-55, and HFCS-90. The number
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