Posted by Janet Harriett on Jan.23, 2010

ⓒ iStockPhoto - qbanczyk

When shopping for juice boxes for my child’s lunch, I notice most of the juices contain 100% of the RDA of Vitamin C, but aren’t fortified with other vitamins. What’s with all the Vitamin C in juices I buy from the store?

Aside from fruit sugars, the main nutrient in many commercially available juices is Vitamin C, which is generally added to juice on top of whatever natural Vitamin C survives the processing. Humans are among the few animals who don’t make our own Vitamin C. Bats, guinea pigs, songbirds and the rest of the haplorrhini suborder of primates (which includes humans) don’t synthesize Vitamin C and must get it from dietary sources. Vitamin C deficiency results in scurvy, which is fatal if untreated but is rarely seen in modern times, since adequate Vitamin C intake is fairly easy with a moderate intake of fruits and vegetables.

However, the juice box makers aren’t guarding against your child getting a gum condition generally associated with pirates. Unlike fortification additives, added to foods so our bodies can assimilate the nutrients better (think Vitamin D in milk to help calcium absorption), the Vitamin C in commercial juice is added mainly as a preservative, to keep the juice from oxidizing. Vitamin C is an antioxidant both in and out of the body, and it preserves the flavor and color of the juice. The fact that it benefits the human body is a nice touch, but not the main motivation for putting it in juices. This is why Vitamin C is in juice, but other vitamins are much less common.

Juice boxes containing 100% juice are a better choice for lunchboxes than sodas and “juice cocktail” beverages that are mostly high fructose corn syrup and artificial flavors with little, if any juice content. However, all beverage boxes - juices, cocktail beverages and shelf-stable milk and soymilk - create non-recyclable waste that adds up over the course of a school year, multiplied by millions of schoolkids. Not to mention that the juice boxes get expensive. For a healthier and environmentally conscious lunch box beverage, Green Diva Mom recommends water in a reusable bottle, or a reusable thermos of home-juiced juice, milk (if your child tolerates and consumes dairy) or milk alternative.

Do you have a question on health, fitness, nutrition or green living? Email ask@greendivamom.com. We will not publish your email address, and will only include your name if you provide express permission in the email.

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Posted under Ask Green Diva Mom, Information & Resources, Juices.