Fruit juices have been a cornerstone breakfast staple of families for many years. According to the World Development Indicators Database, the average American drinks approximately 11 gallons, or 177 cups of juice a year. However recent studies have indicated that fruit juice may not be as good for you as was once thought and in some cases can put some folks at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

NUTRITION VS CALORIES
While containing some essential vitamins, fruit juices are very high in sugar. In fact, when compared to soft drinks such as coca cola or pepsi, fruit juices have just as much sugar and with more calories. This also includes the 100 percent, all-natural, or no-sugar-added fruit juices. In a CBS News article published on Feb. 11, 2005, Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children’s Hospital Boston said, “All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent sugar. Juice is only minimally better than soda.” So the question is are the nutrients found in fruit juice worth all the sugar and calories?

The most common nutrient found in juice is vitamin C. Others include potassium, sodium, calcium, thiamin, and magnesium. However, a lot of these nutrients are destroyed while being processed from fruit to liquid. Fruit juices are also pasturized, a process that uses heat to kill dangerous pathogens in some foods. Vitamins, especially the water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C, are easily destroyed by heat which further minimizes the juice’s nutrient content. You might see juice drinks that are vitamin C-fortified meaning the manufacturer has added it in the form of ascorbic acid, a synthetic type of vitamin C.

As with soft drinks, fruit juices can cause you to overload on calories and sugar resulting in spikes in blood sugar, insulin response, hunger, and ultimate weight gain. And to add to the problem, the brain’s satiety center does not register liquids as food meaning, drinking juice, or any liquid, will not cause the brain to release signals to tell you that you’re full making it easy to consume to many calories.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
“The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between its products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say sugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care.” Many doctors recommend getting your fluids from water and your daily fruit intake from real fruit. Actual fruit is much more filling, is high in fiber, and contains no added sugar. One orange contains only 55 calories, has 3 grams of fiber, and over 100% of your daily vitamin C requirement. Oranges are also a low glycemic food, meaning that it will not raise insulin levels like orange juice will. Additional research has shown that the peels of some fruits contain many more antioxidants and vitamins than even the fruit itself, however the peels are usually not included in fruit juice.

If you do drink fruit juice, it’s recommended that you look for the ones that have no more than 60 calories per 4 ounces and keep your daily serving at 8 ounces. It’s also recommended that you drink fruit juice alongside a meal as food slows the absorption of the sugar into the blood stream, minimizing the effects on insulin levels.

Related Article:
ABC News: What’s the Juice on Juice?

Tagged as: Healthy Eating