BATON ROUGE, La.—Children who drink 100% orange juice on a regular basis have higher nutrient adequacy and diet quality than kids who don't power up on OJ every morning, according to a new study published in the journal Nutrition Research.
The research also found drinking 100% orange juice was not associated with overweight or obesity in children ages 2 to 18. Kids who consumed 100% orange juice also had significantly lower mean LDL cholesterol levels than those who did not consume 100% orange juice.
Researchers at Louisiana State University analyzed data from the 2003-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and found that children who regularly consume 100 percent orange juice tended to have significantly higher intakes of vitamin C, potassium, vitamin B6, folate, dietary fiber and magnesium than non-consumers. None of the children who consumed 100% orange juice were below the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for vitamin C, while nearly 30% of non-consumers were below the EAR. Furthermore, diet quality (as measured by the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2005) was significantly higher in those children consuming 100% orange juice than in non-consumers, as was intake of total fruit, fruit juice and whole fruit.
"A growing body of research has painted a clear picture that enhanced nutrient intake and better diet quality are associated with drinking 100 percent orange juice in children," said study co-author Carol E. O'Neil, PhD, MPH, LDN, RD, School of Human Ecology, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center. "Our research adds further support to the association between drinking 100 percent orange juice and higher intakes of five important nutrients—vitamin C, folate, magnesium, dietary fiber and potassium—which are generally underconsumed by the U.S. population."
