Rehydration: Kids & Sports

May 3, 2017
Trends

Summer is just around the corner and as kids finish up the school year thoughts turn to summer camp, sports activities, vacations, and spending time outdoors. This means that busy parents need ideas and solutions to help keep their kids hydrated and healthy in the summer heat and humidity as well as throughout the entire school year. 

While water is the best choice for keeping kids hydrated, parents should be aware of alternative beverage options that can provide additional benefits beyond hydration. As kids’ activities gear up, parents may automatically reach for branded sports drinks to meet their kids’ hydration needs. This might be more appropriate for older children who are doing intense and prolonged activities like football or soccer, particularly in hot and humid weather. However, for many kids participating in sports or other activities that are not quite as intense, sports drinks are typically not needed and there are other options that parents should consider.

100% orange juice might not immediately come to mind as a hydration beverage, but it does provide a healthy, nutritious and tasty companion to water and an alternative to sports drinks for helping meet hydration needs. Here is some information you can provide to customers to help them think outside the box for their kids’ hydration needs, especially as the summer heat begins to roll in and kids’ activities kick into action.

• 100% orange juice is about 87% water (by weight) so kids get the benefit of the water in orange juice to help with hydration. 
• 100% orange juice provides extra nutritional benefits beyond hydration that cannot be found in water, sports drinks, or other beverages. An 8-ounce serving is an excellent source of vitamin C and a good source of potassium, a mineral lost through sweating that needs replacement to help maintain the body’s electrolyte balance. 
• Eight ounces of 100% orange juice is a good source of the vitamins, folate and thiamin.
• 100% orange juice also offers plant nutrients that may provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition.
• Orange juice tastes great and contains no added sugars. The sweetness of 100% orange juice is from naturally occurring sugars that develop in the orange as it grows on the tree. This is important for helping kids replace the energy expended in sports or other activities.
• Choose a product that says “100% orange juice” on the label to make sure you are selecting the most nutrient-dense beverage possible for kids. 
• 100% orange juice counts toward fruit servings. Many kids, especially older children and teenagers, do not get enough fruit in their diet every day so 100% orange juice is a great way to help them meet daily fruit intake recommendations. 

You can help parents by providing this information as part of a store display, weekly flyer, website or blog, or in your social media outreach. Include this recipe to give parents a practical solution for the next sporting or outdoor activities event.