HEALTH DRINK

HEALTH DRINK

           For kids of all ages, water and milk are the best choices, so let them flow. Not only is water calorie-free, but drinking it teaches kids to accept a low-flavor, no-sugar beverage as a thirst-quencher. Because a cup of milk has 300 milligrams of calcium, it can be a big contributor to your child's daily needs.

Here's how much calcium kids need each day:

• toddlers (ages 1 to 3 years): 700 milligrams of calcium daily
• kids (ages 4 to 8 years): 1000 milligrams
• older kids (ages 9 to 18 years): 1,300 milligrams

The current dietary guidelines for milk or equivalent dairy products or fortified soy beverages are:

• Kids ages 2 to 3 should drink 2 cups (480 milliliters) every day.
• Kids 4 through 8 should have 2½ cups (600 milliliters) per day.
• Kids 9 and older should have 3 cups (720 milliliters) per day.

Choose fat-free (skim) or low-fat (1%) milk products most of the time.

When kids drink too much juice, juice drinks, sports drinks, and soda, these beverages can crowd out the milk they need. Sugary drinks also can pile on the calories.

This chart shows the calories and sugar in different beverages:

DRINK	SIZE	CALORIES	SUGAR
Water	8 oz (240 ml)	0	0 g
Low-fat milk	8 oz (240 ml)	100	11 g
100% orange juice	8 oz (240 ml)	110	22 g
Juice drink (10% fruit juice)	8 oz (240 ml)	150	38 g
Powdered drink mix (with sugar added)	8 oz (240 ml)	90	24 g
Soda	8 oz (240 ml)	100	27 g