Drink Calorie Comparison - Juice, Soda, Milk

Soda, juice, fruit punch, milk, sports drinks and other beverages can add calories quickly to the diets of thirsty preschoolers. Some of these drinks are healthy and have important nutrients for your preschooler. Others provide little more than sugar and calories. Taking out sugary drinks can make room for more nutrient-dense foods that preschoolers need.

Calories in Preschooler Drinks - Quick Reference List

This list provides the calories and grams of sugar in 8 ounces of juice, milk, soda, fruit punch, sports drinks, and vitamin water.

Juice - 90-120 calories, 17-28 grams sugar

Milk, 2% - 120 calories, 12.5 grams sugar
Milk, 1% - 100 calories, 12.5 grams sugar
Milk, Skim - 85 calories, 12.5 grams sugar

Soda (Coke, Pepsi, Sprite, etc.) - 90-100 calories, 26-28 grams sugar

Fruit Punch / Drinks (Fruitopia, Capri Sun, etc.) - 90-120 calories, 25-30 grams sugar 

Sports Drinks (Gatorade, PowerAde, etc.) - 50-65 calories, 14-15 grams sugar

Vitamin Water - 40-50 calories, 8-13 grams sugar

The Role of Drinks in Your Preschooler's Diet

Experts recommend that children should limit drinks containing added sugars. The sugars in 100% fruit juice and milk are not added - they are natural sugars found in those foods. Sweetened drinks like soda, fruit punch, and sports drinks contain sugar that's been added.

Here are specific recommendations about drinks for your preschoolers:

Milk

Milk provides important nutrients found in the dairy food group. It is recommended that preschoolers get about 2 cups of milk (or other dairy products) per day.

100% Fruit Juice

Fruit juice provides vitamins, minerals and other healthful plant compounds. Experts recommend that preschoolers who drink juice should limit the amount to 4-6 ounces per day. Limiting fruit juice is important to help prevent consuming too many calories and to help preschoolers benefit from eating whole foods like fruits and vegetables.

Sugar-sweetened beverages

Sweetened beverages are drinks that have sugar added for sweetness. Examples are fruit punch, soda and sports drinks. Drinking sweetened beverages adds calories but few or no nutrients to your preschooler's diet. Plus, the calories from sweetened drinks can take the place of more nutritious foods.

It is recommended that children limit their intake of sugar-sweetened drinks and to replace nutrient poor sweetened beverages with nutrient dense foods and drinks.

Reference

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory 2006. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19, Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/ba/bhnrc/ndl

by Kati Chevaux

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