How healthy are fruit juices ? When selecting a pack of fruit juice, buyers need to beware. Many of the so-called juice packs contain little natural juice and have more added sugar than anything else. And even when it is 100 per cent juice, experts say that they lack the fibre of whole fruit, making them less healthy, reports Sade Oguntola. Juices are everywhere these days. On the aisles of any grocery or convenience store, there is seemingly endless assortment of juices for sale from citrus, apple, mango to mixtures of fruits. At functions, it is normal to serve assorted juices with meals. There are advertisement on television or in a magazine about healthy benefits of orange juice and other juices. Indeed fruit and vegetable juices are full of chemical substances called antioxidants that can help fight such diseases such as cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Undeniably fruit and vegetable juices can help meet the daily recommended five servings of fruit and vegetables. But fruit juices can also add lots of extra calories to diet. And not all juices are equally healthful. The logical reasoning for the consumption of a couple of glasses of fruit juice is that fruits are healthy, therefore fruit juices are healthy. But the logic doesn’t apply to nutrition. Even with no sugar added, zero preservatives, unstrained fruit juice would have the same amount of sugar as a soft drinks, because fruit is full of sugar! Fruit drinks often contain very little fruit juice and may contain more sugar and calories than soft or carbonated drinks, making them equally bad. Sugary drinks, whether fruit juice, fruit drinks or soda, also contain fructose, which has been identified as one of the primary culprits in the sudden rise of obesity and related health problems. Many fruit juices have higher sugar (fructose) content than sweetened soft drinks. For example, grape juice has 50 per cent more sugar than common soft drinks. No doubt, few individuals know that many commercial fruit juices sold in grocery shops are not 100 per cent juice. And even when they are 100 per cent juice, they lack the fibre of whole fruit. Also, some juices use concentrated white grape juice as a sweetener, making them higher in simple sugars and calories even though they can still truthfully claim to be 100 per cent fruit juice. How healthy really is fruit juice? Several studies have thrown significant doubt on the real health benefits of fruit juices. Recent scientific studies and a new government-spon sored documentary in the US have questioned the health benefits of drinking fruit juice. Fruit juice contains calories. Just like any other food or calorie- contain ing drink, too much fruit juice can contribute to weight gain. One study conducted by Deakin University researchers found that the more fruit juice Australian school children drank, the more likely they were to be overweight compared with children who didn’t drink fruit juice. A similar link between increased fruit juice consumption and weight gain has been seen in children from low-income families. The American Academy of Paediatrics thought that it was enough a danger to issue a policy statement about ‘The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Paediatrics’. According to the AAP, drinking too much juice can contribute to obesity, the development of tooth decay, diarrhoea, and other gastrointestina l problems, such as excessive gas, bloating and abdominal pain.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:37:38 +0000
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