One of the dilemmas most moms face is whether to offer their baby juice and when to do so. Additionally, moms worry about which fruits the juices should be made from and whether to prepare them themselves (as recommended by others) or perhaps buy ready-made juices.
When to Introduce Juices into the Diet?
For this question, you should consult your pediatrician, as public and professional opinions are divided. They will be able to give you advice based on monitoring your baby’s growth and development. While some say that freshly squeezed fruit juice can be introduced into a baby’s diet from the 4th month, others believe it should be the 6th month, and some say there is no need for juices until the first year, as long as there is fruit that the child can eat in its natural state, there is no need for juices.
Pediatricians therefore advise that juices should not be introduced before non-dairy foods, and the juices we give to babies and children must contain completely natural ingredients and contain no added sugar. The first juices should also be diluted with water so that they are not too heavy for the baby to digest.
Freshly Squeezed or Ready-made Juices?
The most divided opinions in public seem to be whether you should make juices yourself or buy them. Starting from the fact that our mothers mostly grew up on home-made juices made by our grandmothers from freshly squeezed fruit, to the widespread opinion that ready-made juices are full of sugar and additives, which should certainly be avoided, the dilemma can be alleviated by choosing 100% natural juices without additives and added sugars. These can be found in pharmacies and stores, just be sure to check the labels on the back of the Tetra Pak. We mention Tetra Pak because, unlike PET packaging, it protects the product from light, which would destroy the vitamins and other nutrients in the product.
If you prefer freshly squeezed juices, the question arises as to the quality of the fruit we can buy at the market or store. Do we know its origin, whether it has been sprayed, and how safe it is? Therefore, can we be 100% sure that buying fruit and turning it into juice at home guarantees that we are offering the baby a completely healthy and safe drink?
Ready-made natural juices are a great source of vitamins and save parents time. You can find them in different flavors, and the recommendation is to start with the flavors of fruits from our region. There are now flavors that combine fruit and vegetables, such as apple with carrot, as well as apple with pear, and whichever flavor you choose, you surely won’t go wrong.
