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SUGAR is the danger in our diet and parents are being warned about the ticking time bomb it is creating for children’s health.

And it isn’t just sweets, chocolate and fizzy drinks we need to watch.

Rather than being the healthy option mums and dads once thought it was, fruit juice has been revealed to contain almost as much of the white stuff as a can of cola.

Smoothies are also a bad choice, particularly shop-bought options, which often contain as much sugar as fizzy drinks.

The experts say we should give kids milk and water to drink instead.

They point out that fruit juices are helping fuel sharp rises in obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

A typical teenager consumes 40 per cent more sugar than they should. Adults take in 13 per cent too much.

The advisers say that, while most parents understand fizzy drinks are harmful, many wrongly believe that fruit juice is healthy.

They want them removed from the list of recommended five a day.

In a study published in the Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal, researchers warned that orange juice is potentially as bad as sugary, sweetened drinks. A 250ml serving contains 115 calories – or seven teaspoons of sugar. A can of regular Coke has 139 calories.

Susan Jebb, an expert in diet and population health at Oxford University, said that parents should ban all sweetened drinks in favour of water and milk.

The professor, who is the Government’s chief adviser on obesity, added: “I’d prefer to get sugar out of drinks altogether – a shift to low or no-calorie drinks and preferably water.”

Meanwhile, Professor Tom Sanders, head of diabetes and nutritional sciences at King’s College London, said smoothies should be only a treat.

“We need to reintroduce the habit of people putting a jug of water on the table and drinking water with their food instead of some sort of fruity beverage,” he said.

Registered nutritionist Dr Carina Norris accepts that it is difficult for parents to wean their children off sugar.

She said that humans have

a naturally sweet tooth, developed through years of evolution, but warned it is vital to make the changes to ensure better health in the long run.

Dunfermline-based Dr Norris added: “There are benefits to be had from the vitamins but I would much rather children were getting these vitamins from a piece of fruit rather than juice because they are then getting the benefit of the fibre as well.

“One piece of fruit has less sugar than a glass of juice and will actually fill you up. I would rather see children drink a glass of water but if they refuse point blank then try to water down the juice.

“Make the water more interesting – add ice, use a pretty straw.”

When it comes to smoothies, Dr Norris was also cautious. She said: “They do contain some fibre but can be very high in sugar. Again, I would rather people were eating the whole fruit.”

On so-called hidden sugars, she warned: “You will find it in so many foods, sauces for instance. Why would you know there was sugar in mayonnaise? You wouldn’t but if it wasn’t there you wouldn’t think it tastes as nice.

“When you cook at home you wouldn’t add sugar, you would add flavours through herbs and spices. Some manufacturers are starting to clean up their act and reduce sugar and make food how it should taste.”