Is Fruit Juice Healthy?
Copyright 2005 Think Healthy
All the advertisements on TV rave about how healthy orange juice
and other juices are for us. We have been blasted by these
commercials for years and most of us strongly believe this to be
true.
Fruit juice may have up to 8 teaspoons of natural sugar in an
eight ounce glass. This is not added sugar but the natural
fructose. What may not be natural is squeezing juices. Fruits
are meant to be eating whole in their natural state.
Fruit juices have many healthy nutrients and vitamins that are
beneficial. Are these benefits being surpassed by the quantities
of sugar in them?
Sweet drinks are linked to preschool obesity whether they are
Kool-Aid or natural juices. Preschoolers are better off snacking
on whole fruit.
One Head Start program banned juice as an anti-obesity effort
after finding one out of five students was obese.
The American Academy of Pediatrics states that toddlers and
preschool aged children should be limited to just 4-6 ounces of
fruit juice per day. The APP states that fruit juice offers no
nutritional benefits over whole fruit.
If you consume fruits whole in their natural state you consume
them with the natural fiber and other ingredients that checks
sugar absorption.
It is important for you to restrict your intake of fruit juices
especially if you have any of the following problems.
* High Blood Pressure * Overweight * Diabetes
Whole fruits are healthy but you may still want to eat them in
moderation if you have any of the above issues. Whole fruits are
more desirable then juices in any case.
Some of the healthiest fruits are berries specifically
blueberries as their sugar levels are lower than most fruits and
they contain an abundance of antioxidants.
So remember juices are high in calories and low in fiber. This
will leave you hungry while rapidly adding excess sugar
unnecessary. Sometimes just eliminating sugar water, pop, and
juices will bring fantastic results.
If you want to try juicing stick with vegetables as they are
lower in sugars than fruits.
Most of us have grown up thinking that fruit juice is one of the
healthiest things for us. We may need to reconsider this. And
then there are fruit drinks which aren't even 100% fruit juice.
Just keep in mind that many commodities being sold are produced
to make capital not to enhance your health.
You want to make intelligent informative decisions. Do research
whenever you can. You can certainly track down a lot of relevant
information on search engines but you will have to decide how
correct this advice is.
Instead of grabbing calories in a bottle consider a fresh piece
of delicious fruit. Blueberries are one of the top quality
fruits containing plenty of antioxidants while maintaining lower
sugar content then most other fruits. I find that nature knows
best when it comes to nutrition. I still have not found that
tree with quarts of OJ hanging from it.
Well now I can't wait to bite into that delicious crunchy apple!