Andrea Garen, Registered Dietitian
Andrea Garen
About me:
Andrea Garen is a registered dietitian and project manager for Dairy Council of California. She manages the marketing and editorial strategies for Meals Matter.org, which includes social media efforts and online tool development. She is a contributing writer to the Meals Matter.org blog and has also written and edited numerous nutrition education materials for parents and children.
As a spokesperson for Dairy Council, she speaks widely on consumer health and nutrition issues for radio, television, print and online outlets. With a Master's degree in dietetics from San Francisco State University, Garen has been invited to speak at University of California, Berkeley; University of California, San Francisco; San Francisco State University and California State University, Hayward.
As a mother of two young children, she is passionate about nutritious food and reality-based eating, which means choosing nutritious foods and preparing them in a way that makes them taste great. Sometimes that means minimal preparation and other times it means following a more detailed recipe. She believes that no foods are off limits!
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In May the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) made a strong recommendation that children and teens avoid sports and energy drinks.
Energy drinks and sports drinks are very popular with children, yet very few children actually require hydration beyond water for their activities. Sports drinks are OK for hard physical activity lasting more than one hour -- weekend soccer for younger kids or after school little league hardly qualify.
In fact, sports drinks are high in sugar and give children extra calories, which can put them at risk for becoming overweight. A well-balanced diet will provide the vitamins and minerals that sports drinks claim to provide. By comparison, flavored milk is a great sports recovery drink that provides balanced nutrition with less added sugar. The shelf-stable boxed kind is very convenient for sports events.
Energy drinks are different than sports drinks because they often contain caffeine and/or other stimulants. According to the AAP report, “energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents” and “should never be consumed” because stimulants can cause heart rhythm irregularities.
It is summertime and it can get hot! Before you reach for your next thirst quenching beverage read the Dairy Council of California tip sheet Reach for a Healthy Beverage, which lists the drinks kids should drink more of (and less of) for great health.
Andrea Garen, Registered Dietitian