Saturday, February 20, 2010

Kate, take note: Juicy-Juice is horrible for kids

For years one of the Gosselin's biggest sponsors has been that sweet treat "juice" Juicy-Juice. "Who wants juicy-juice?!!!" Kate has been heard shrieking throughout various episodes while the camera pans to the carton of juice for 15 plus seconds. Since Kate is so vocal about her concern for her family's nutrition, it's time to break down for her how healthy Juicy-Juice really is. Maybe she will reconsider continuing to accept this freebie. Special thanks to the FDA and the American Academy of Pediatrics for all the scary statistical data.

1. Juicy-Juice is full of sugar.
Juicy-juice claims they don't add sugar. But that doesn't mean there is no sugar. "Natural" sugar from the concentrate juices is still sugar. Most fruit juice, even without "added" sugar, is so sugar-laden as to be indistinguishable from soft drinks. And, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the various sugars in juice cause diarrhea as little tummies try to digest it. The AAP says juice has no nutritional advantage over regular fruit and in fact has many disadvantages. In addition, juice has been linked to cavities and dentists are advised to inquire about juice consumption when a young child has a bunch of baby tooth cavities. The AAP stops short of not recommending fruit juice, but they do say that it is better to eat a real piece of fruit. We suspect they won't go so far as to not recommend it because they know it's better than no fruit at all, and sadly some parents can't or won't provide their kids enough real fruit.

3. Juicy-Juice is from concentrate.

If you must give a child juice, most experts agree to stick with not-from-concentrate. What is juice that is "concentrated"? Well, get this: The fruit is first pulped or juiced. Then it is filtered through a screen removing any particles. Then, the juice is heated to above 96 degrees centigrade. When the juice boils, the water emanating from the juice is sucked out through a vacuum. This goes on and on until the juice is up to seven times stronger. Then, it's mixed with water and packaged in the bottle you buy as Juicy-Juice. Feel dizzy yet?

3. Juicy Juice has been in trouble with the FDA for misleading the consumer.

As recently as December 2009, Juicy Juice has been in hot water with the FDA. The FDA even sent them a warning letter advising them to stop mislabeling their products. Specifically, they have been labeling some products 100% juice when they were not (their Orange Tangerine and All Natural Juice Grape drinks) and misleading marketing of a special juice that allegedly helps with "brain development." You can't trust the nutritional information Juicy Juice provides.

Is Juicy-Juice gonna kill the kids? Of course not. But their parents should know getting their fruit servings from a fresh orange or apple or banana would be a lot better for them.

20 sediments (sic) from readers:

Anonymous said...

Also not that some vitamins can be lost thru cooking. (boiling til all the water evaporates).

Many other factors than heat can destroy (some) vitamins, such as: solubility in water, exposure to air (oxidation), exposure to light (UVs), heat, acid and alkaline solutions, storage losses, etc.

Realitytvkids.com ~ Administrator said...

Yes good point, the more you heat and reheat and run through strainers, etc., the more nutrients you lose.

That's why they say don't overcook your veggies, or try to eat them raw if you can.

Lauren said...

The hair still looks like crap.

Earth to Kate: I'm not a mom and even I know that sugary fruit juices aren't good for anybody! How about w-a-t-e-r???? Oh wait, no. Maybe she doesn't have a water sponsor. Kate can't be bothered to spend HER OWN MONEY on a household expense. There will be none of that!!!

Anonymous said...

That is why the kids are going to the dentist alot. They are always being photographed going for dental visits.

Anonymous said...

Too bad she didn't get an organic milk sponsor. Those kids will grow up having no teeth and bad bones! We go through four gallons of milk a week for two adults and one child, I can't imagine never giving your kid milk but always juice! And no wonder those kids are so hard to manage!

Anonymous said...

Do any of you actually have kids? Like any parent I'm sure she limits the sweet treats the kids have and of course they drink water as well.

Anonymous said...

IMO you are slamming another big corporate company because it is linked to Kate.

IATK said...

"IMO you are slamming another big corporate company because it is linked to Kate."

BINGO! What's your point?

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Anonymous said,
and of course they drink water as well.
-----

You obviously didn't see the video where Kate denies Mady, he own daughter water. Then Kate, proceeds to drink a bottle of water right in front of Mady.

Mady then replies, "you're mean, you just drank right in front of my face". Just a small sample of how Kate puts her needs before her kids. Kate is selfish, narcissistic and just a bad mother.

Later in the interview, the kids were asked, "Is she a good mom".

They kids didn't know what to say. They all looked at Kate before they said, "yea...".

Mady then replied, "I still like daddy better".

haha!

Anonymous said...

Oh goodness why don't you stop going to Target Kate's favorite store as well.

IATK said...

Anonymous, do you think TLC should have stopped filming J&K + 8 when they found out Kate told Jon the marriage was over? Do you believe anyone, Jon, Kate or TLC, considered what effect the filming of all of the hate and yelling was doing to the kids. Jon did eventually because he said that's why he wanted to stop filming, the kids were seeing too much and he couldn't just be himself. Do you think the kids might have been worried and scared to watch as the cameras rolled while mom and dad (by their own admission) fought like cats and dogs. Everyone says Kate HAD to tell Jon everything to do, yet when Jon finally stood up to Kate and said I have mind of my own, she slams him for not obeying her ("you will not go out! You will not see your mother!") I'm asking because I just wonder if people try to put themselves in the shoes of these children and what they must have witnessed, and then knowing that any or all of what was being filmed would end up on a weekly TV show. Such pressure for such young children.

I've asked these questions in several places and no one has yet answered.

Realitytvkids.com ~ Administrator said...

It's interesting I often hear put yourself in Kate's shoes. But what about putting ourselves in the children's shoes? Imagine having your whole world far apart at 5 years old while America watches. I can't imagine how frightened and insecure that must make a child feel. I'm always going to side with the kids, I can't feel sympathy for their parents at their expense.

Anonymous said...

The only problem I have with Kate is she claims to be a "health enthusiast" and I'm just exposing her many lies.

Realitytvkids.com ~ Administrator said...

Here's my problem with this, I take it one step further. It's not just that Kate is being a hypocrite since she has talked ad nauseum about how important it is to her the kids eat healthy--mixing veggies in their food, farmer's market, organic food. I actually believe she does want them to eat healthy (even though she's obviously done very little research about what healthy really is and just blindly believes whatever buzz she hears, such as the "organic" craze). But the problem is if she did a mere 2 minutes of research she would know how bad Juicy-Juice is for the kids. And yet since it's a freebie/contract whatever it is, she puts that before the kids' health. So she's sort of like, my kids will be healthy, well, UNLESS I get a freebie then they have to eat that. She puts freebies above her kids, just like she always has. Kind of like how she talks so much about wanting to stay home with the kids and that's why she first did the show (uh-huh), well, except when The View invites her to New York, except when I have a book tour, you get the idea.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Do any of you actually have kids? Like any parent I'm sure she limits the sweet treats the kids have and of course they drink water as well.
************************************************

Yes, I have kids, and if you were in my house filming my daily life, you would see them drinking milk at least three times a day, us offering them milk, them asking for milk, etc. You also would not see any juice in my house because I don't buy the stuff and don't want my kids to grow up drinking that instead of water. However, you would see my kids asking for bananas and apples and grapes because they love fruit. What you would not see is me saying that I don't buy any of the above unless it was on sale, and you certainly would not see me buying ten 1/2 gallons of milk at the store if I had 8 kids because A--a gallon is cheaper, and B--they would go through that in a day.

We don't judge Kate on anything other than her own behavior, which if you watched the show you would know.

Anonymous said...

I commend you for your childrens healthy habits while you can control it. Hopefully when they become adolescents they're eating habits remain the same. Btw, a container of OJ has just as much sugar as juicy juice. Are you saying you don't let your children have that either?

Realitytvkids.com ~ Administrator said...

Yes, OJ should be cut out too. Ideally experts are now recommending just give your kids water and milk, and fresh fruit. And try to avoid or limit juice. I know that's a huge change since most of us probably grew up with a glass of OJ at breakfast, but we now know a million cavities later how bad it is.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I mean that I do not buy juice of any kind, even OJ. Sometimes I do for smoothies, but that is very rare and usually we end up dumping it out because we just don't drink it. We drink water and milk (except for the soda addiction that the adults have which is worse then juice and something that we are working on!) I do believe that my kids eatting habits will continue as they grow because A--if we don't have sugar in the house they can't get it here anyway, and B--when you get used to not having it when you eat or drink something sugary you don't like it because it is so sweet. (ex, I used to like pop tarts, but stopped eatting them and now I can't because they are way too sugary!) As the kids get older (and more aware) we will stop buying soda too because we can't drink it and say no to them and soda is sooooooo bad for you too. (and I only drink one can a day so its not that bad a habit, but even one can is toooooooo much for what it does to your body!)

Anonymous said...

Oh, and I don't mean to make me out to be super mom. If you filmed my house daily, you would see tons of bad habits, especially regarding screen time (which is worse then juice actually). Nor do I mean that giving your kids juice is horrible--everything in moderation--we just happen to have that healthy habit established. What I was focused on is the fact that during the episodes you never see Kate giving her kids milk, offering them milk, etc. and even water is rare, and she herself has said that she does not buy milk (which IMO is something that kids NEED for development) but you do see her giving them juice up to three times a day...so that is the basis for my jumping on this particular behavior of hers.