Fruit juice for infants is now a strict no-no, say new guidelines

— -- Fruit juice for children younger than 1 year old is now a no-no, according to new guidelines by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

The academy is also recommending sharply limiting juice consumption by toddlers and older children in its new guidelines, as ABC News Chief Women's Health Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton explained today on "Good Morning America."

"While some 100-percent fruit juice can be OK, in general it doesn't pack the nutritional punch that a lot of parents think it does," Dr. Ashton explained.

"The big difference is in the fiber," she said. "That is really important for [gastrointestinal] issues, so you always want to reach for the whole fruit versus the juice."

Eight ounces of unsweetened apple juice, for example, has 114 calories, 24 grams of sugar and zero dietary fiber while a medium whole apple contains four grams of fiber, Dr. Ashton said.

The pediatrics academy has in recent years advised against giving fruit juice to children younger than 6 months old, but the new guidelines expand that to children younger than 1.

The recommendations also call for limiting juice consumption to four ounces per day by toddlers who are 1 to 3 years old and to six ounces per day for children aged 4 to 6 years old. For children 7 to 18 years old, juice intake should be limited to eight ounces.