A month or so ago, Alice and I were at the grocery store, picking up a few things for a picnic dinner to take to Concerts in the Park.
I stopped in front of a refrigerator case full of boxed juices and asked what she wanted.
"No, Mama," she told me. "No juice. Just agua."
Well. That was humbling.
But encouraging too. It's good to know that she must be hearing some healthy messages at nursery school.
Earlier this week, local advocates launched the Rethink Your Drink campaign, part of a statewide effort that aims to encourage individuals to drink water rather than sugary alternatives such as soda and juice.
According to San Joaquin Health Officer Dr. Karen Furst, a study from University of California, Los Angeles, found that San Joaquin County had the highest percentage of teenage soda consumption in the state, with more than 75 percent of local teens consuming one or more sodas a day.
"Each year, the average California adolescent consumes about 39 pounds of sugar from sugary drinks," local nutritionist Brenna Gorman said in a statement. "Over four years of high school, that adds up to 156 pounds of sugar, and many of them are consuming more than that."
I'm not a big soda drinker, really. But I could definitely do better on the juice front. What about you? Are you trying to be an "agua-only" family?
