Imagine this… you have two plastic, fully enclosed glasses sitting in front of you… you can not tell what is inside, but you do have a description sitting beside each glass vaguely outlining its contents.
Glass #2:
- No sugar added, only naturally occurring sugars and associated sweetness.
- No food coloring or dye added.
- Calorie count is minimal, but all calories are natural and well assimilated.
- Nutritional value has been maintained.
- Preservatives have NOT been added to promote your body’s shelf life.
Glass #1:
- Contains large amounts of sugar and is very tasty.
- Red dye color # 478 and is very colorful to look at.
- Enormous calorie count that will allow you to skip other meals.
- Nutritional value has been minimized.
- Preservatives added for better shelf life
If you and your children like fruit juice, choose 100 percent fruit juice instead of sweetened juice or fruit-juice cocktail drinks. While 100 percent juice and sweetened fruit drinks may have about the same number of calories, your children will get more vitamins and nutrients from 100 percent juice.
Fruit juice can be a good source of vitamin C, calcium and other nutrients. Some children don't like eating fruit, so serving juice is one way to get them the two to three servings of fruit they need everyday. Four ounces of juice equals one serving of fruit, but keep in mind that juice lacks the fiber of whole fruit. Although a little fruit juice each day is fine for most children, whole fruit is preferred.
A 2006 study showed that people who drank fruit or vegetable juices more than three times a week were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those who drank juice less than once a week.
Follow these simple guidelines in order to make good decision about fruit juice:
- Rule of Thumb: find one with a short ingredient list (100% fruit juice only is a good start)
- Shop in you local “health food” store, or at least where “healthier alternatives” are located
- No artificial sweeteners or added sugars… there is always a better choice than these items
- Compare calorie and sugar content (less is better – usually)
- Don’t drink it at night – too many calories = bad nights sleep and weight gain
- Moderation is key… approximately 12 ounces per day is plenty
- Go for the real thing… real fruit with fiber and all that “other good stuff”
- Try using your blender to create your own fruit juice
- Mix it up… don’t always consume the same thing… blueberry, cranberry, orange, pomegranate, etc.
- Support a company who is trying to support your health by producing a better product
- Vegetable juice may not be as “tasty”, but is even better than fruit juice.
I hope this clears some of the confusion – or at least gives you a sense of direction when it comes to making better decisions about what you put into your body.
Speak up and educate others,
Dr. Craig
