Fruit juice is the new white flour.

So you send whole wheat sandwiches to school in your child's lunch.  Or you use whole wheat pasta instead of white.  Good job.  The bran and the germ that are removed when you make white flour are good for you.  They contain important nutrients, fiber and vitamins which are lost when whole wheat flour is processed to make white flour.  Most of us know this by now.   But maybe you didn't realize that fruit juice is pretty much the same thing as white flour. 

When you juice a fruit you generally are removing the skin and the pulp.  The skin of fruit and vegetables is rich in nutrients.  Some fruit skins have been proven to fight cancer and help the body deal with UV rays.  The skin and the pulp are important sources of fiber.  Working together, they provide us with many health benefits. WHFoods gives us a good example:

Orange juice makes a good example of the health difference when you focus on the issue of its pulp. The white pulpy part of the orange is the primary source of its flavonoids. The juicy orange-colored sections of the orange contain most of its vitamin C. In the body, flavonoids and vitamin C often work together, and support health through their interaction. When the pulpy white part of the orange is removed in the processing of orange juice, the flavonoids in the orange are lost in the process. This loss of flavonoids is one of the many reasons for eating the orange in its whole food form (even if you only end up eating a little bit of the white pulpy part). Although many commercial products will say "pulp added" on their labels, the "pulp added" many not even be the original pulp found in the whole fruit, and it is highly unlikely to be added back in the amount removed.

A glass of clear juice means that ALL of the fiber has been removed from the juice.  Fiber plays an important role in our digestive system.  Fiber keeps our intestines moving smoothly and functioning properly.  If food stays in our intestines too long it can be toxic. 

Fruit juice elevates blood sugar more quickly than whole fruit and contains more grams of sugar per cup than whole fruit.   

http://www.kleankanteen.com/

So you thought 100% fruit juice was healthy?  Think again.  Replacing fruit juice with fruit "can only be made at the expense of full nourishment and health".  Many children have fruit juice packed in their lunch every day.  You are actually making learning more difficult for your child by doing this.  Her blood sugar will spike and then crash after drinking fruit juice.  Consequently, your child may become more of a classroom disturbance, and then will feel sleepy from the sugar crash.  A child learns and behaves best when blood sugar remains level. 

Your best solution is to send water.  It doesn't raise blood sugar level.  It quenches thirst.  It is cheap and healthy.  Use tap water over bottled water so you can avoid BPA from plastic water bottles.  Send water in stainless steel water bottles to school with your kids along with a piece of fruit, instead of fruit juice.  Your child's behavior in school will be better, her energy won't spike or drop, and she will be healthier and happier. 

Note: There is somewhat of an exception here: home-juiced fruits that include the skin and/or pulp are better for you than clear fruit juices.  Most processed juices have had the skin and pulp removed. 

This post has been linked up to Sustainable Eats: Simple Lives Thursday, Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday and Common Sense Homesteadings: Living Well Blog Hop.