Drink - you know what

and Martina Feichter, medical editor and biologist

Martina Feichter studied biology with an elective subject pharmacy in Innsbruck and also immersed herself in the world of medicinal plants. From there it was not far to other medical topics that still captivate her to this day. She trained as a journalist at the Axel Springer Academy in Hamburg and has been working for since 2007 - first as an editor and since 2012 as a freelance writer.

More about the experts All content is checked by medical journalists.

In adults, the human body consists on average of 50 to 60 percent water. The water content is higher in children: in newborns it is 70 to 80 percent and then decreases with age.

Due to the higher water content, children need more fluids per day than adults in relation to their body weight. For the same reason, even a slight lack of fluids in the offspring can quickly impair mental and physical performance.

The German Nutrition Society (DGE) recommends the following water intake per day for children and adolescents:

age	Total water intake (ml / day)
0 to <4 months	680
4 to <12 months	1000
1 to <4 years	1300
4 to <7 years	1600
7 to <10 years	1800
10 to <13 years	2150
13 to <15 years	2450
15 to <19 years	2800

Note: Every child is different - some children drink a lot, some less. It is important that you identify any signs of dehydration early on.

Signs of dehydration

You can tell that your offspring is not drinking enough fluids from the following symptoms:

The urine is dark in color.
The chair is firm; the child suffers from constipation.
The child complains of headaches and is dizzy (low blood pressure).
His mucous membranes have dried out.
It makes a physically weak impression.
In the extreme, it is apathetic (indifferent).

To avoid a deficiency, you should let your child drink as often and as much as they want. Do not forbid him to have a drink before eating, for fear that he will not eat enough. This concern is unfounded.

Pay attention to what the child is drinking and how they are drinking. It is best to consume liquid regularly and in small sips throughout the day - preferably energy-free or low-energy drinks such as water, low-carbon mineral water, unsweetened fruit and herbal teas, diluted fruit or vegetable juices.

Water is the most important food anyway. Analysis has shown that tap water is better than it is reputed to be. It even has to meet stricter guidelines than mineral water. Exceptions are areas in which an increased nitrate content of the groundwater has been determined. Nevertheless, you can offer your child tap water almost everywhere in Germany without hesitation.

milk

Aside from filtering, raw milk is not treated, but given directly by the producer as "milk from the farm". It has a natural fat content of 3.8 to 4.2 percent. For infants and toddlers as well as pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system, raw milk must be boiled before consumption. The same applies to preferred milk - the raw milk packaged for the end consumer.
The fat content of whole milk is set to 3.5 percent (exception: "whole milk with natural fat content" with a fat content of at least 3.7 percent). Whole milk is mostly pasteurized and homogenized. Pasteurization is the gentlest way of preserving milk. Here the milk is briefly heated (15 to 30 seconds) to around 72 to 75 degrees and then immediately cooled again. This causes the harmful germs to die. Pasteurized milk is preferable to boiled, ultra-high-temperature or sterilized milk in children's nutrition, as, unlike these, it still has many valuable ingredients.
Low-fat (semi-skimmed) and skimmed milk (skimmed milk) have 1.5 to 1.8 percent (low-fat milk) and a maximum of 0.5 percent fat (skimmed milk), respectively. Additional enrichment with milk protein is permitted. Both types of milk are usually pasteurized and homogenized.
UHT milk (H = durable) is ultra-high temperature milk. During its production, the milk is heated to 135 degrees for one to four seconds at overpressure. Much more valuable ingredients and taste are lost than when the milk is pasteurized. Unopened long-life milk can be kept unrefrigerated for up to twelve weeks. Once opened, it should be used up quickly, just like fresh milk.
ESL milk is fresh milk with a longer shelf life (ESL = extended shelf life). It can be produced in two ways: Either fresh milk is heated to 85 to 127 ° C for one to four seconds or briefly heated using a so-called microfiltration process. In both cases, the result is milk that can be kept for up to three weeks at a maximum storage temperature of 8 ° C. In addition, ESL milk loses fewer vitamins and taste than long-life milk during production.

Attention: Milk is a food (calorie content!) And not a drink. It is therefore not suitable as a thirst quencher.

juices

Fruit juice consists of 100 percent fruit and does not contain any additives. The EU also does not allow the addition of sugar - except for sea buckthorn juice, which naturally tastes quite sour. Fruit juice is mostly made from fruit juice concentrate. Here the fruits are pressed and separated into juice, pulp and flavor. Most of the fruit's own water is withdrawn from the juice. The resulting concentrate can be transported more easily when frozen, for example from the country of origin to Europe. There, the juice manufacturers add the water again, as well as the flavor and possibly the pulp taken from the same batch - and the fruit juice is ready. If fruit juice is pressed, pasteurized and bottled directly from the fruit (possibly after the pulp has been separated), it is referred to as not-from-concentrate.
Fruit nectar is a mixture of juice with water and sugar. The minimum fruit content is 25 to 50 percent, depending on the type of fruit used. For example, currant nectar must have at least 25 percent, raspberry nectar at least 40 percent and apple nectar at least 50 percent fruit.
Fruit juice drinks almost only have the name of the fruit - the minimum fruit content is 6 to 30 percent, depending on the type of fruit. Most of the rest consists of sugar water with additives (such as fruit flavors).
Fruit juice spritzers are made up of fruit juice and mineral water. No minimum fruit content is stipulated. Fruit spritzers and fruit juice drinks, like soda and energy drinks, are among the soft drinks.

Soda and cola

Your child should drink lemonades and cola as infrequently as possible. These soft drinks mainly consist of sugar, water and additives, are over-sweetened and pepped up with artificial flavors to improve the taste.
Soft drinks (such as cola, lemonades) may contain phosphoric acid (E 338) as an acidifier. This is considered harmless. However, the intake of phosphoric acid and its salts, the phosphates (which also occur naturally in foods) should not be too high, because otherwise the body's calcium absorption can be impaired. There is also the (as yet unproven) suspicion that phosphates are involved in the development of ADHD (hyperactivity) in children.
Many drinks and confectionery contain questionable azo dyes, for example E 102 (tartrazine). They can trigger allergies and are suspected of increasing concentration problems and hyperactivity in children. Since July 2010, the addition of certain azo dyes has to be labeled EU-wide with the note "may impair the activity and attention of children".
The list of possible effects of artificial additives that has not yet been fully clarified is long. Still, don't get a heart attack if your child drinks a cola or soda. It is not dramatic, as it normally does not absorb by far the amounts that can lead to illness. Nevertheless, you should educate your child to drink consciously in his own interest: The maxim "the more natural, the better" applies!

Tags: gpp alcohol prevention