This article primarily uses "juice" as a synonym for "commercial fruit juice." In addition, it's suggesting that it's not healthy/necessary to drink such commercial fruit juice daily.
If you're consuming smoothies which use the entire fruit/veggie that you'd normally eat, and you're not adding sweeteners, and you don't have any health issues that might be related to excess calories in your diet, then no need to attack the article, it's not addressing you.
But even then, note that the article still makes the point that people tend to over-consume when drinking their calories as opposed to chewing them.
As an example of one of my smoothies that I make at home that I don't think this article would take issue with: 100g frozen blueberries, 1 medium (126g) banana, 14g raw almonds, 100g spinach, 14g whey protein powder, 6g unsweetened cocoa powder, 10g fish oil, water. This is about 440 calories (18g fat, 56g carbs, 22g protein) according to My Fitness Pal.
We've successfully convinced our two-year-old that unsweetened, carbonated water is "juice". She frequently goes to restaurants and is very excited to get "juice" from the bar, and considers it a special treat. Eventually this will surely fail when her friends can explain reality. But until then it's working great to avoid massive loads of sugar in her early years.
Not to hyperbolize like the other commentor, but I was told harmless little lies like that as a child myself. You eventually learn otherwise, but not before embarrassing yourself in front of your peers and feeling betrayed.
Different children will react differently, of course.
If she is getting fooled that carbonated water is 'juice', then I'm assuming she doesn't know what juice actually is and therefore has no association of juice = sugar drink. So why the need to trick your daughter?
Couldn't you have just called it 'fizzy water', or if water is associated with 'boring', call it 'fizzy drink'. She'd still get it from the bar and have the excitement of that.
My parents did this for me for quite a long time: dried papaya was sweets, and it was a special event if little bits of dried papaya appeared in muesli.
What we do is mix juices with equal amounts of water... the 50/50 mix still taste great (better in my opinion) and it isn't as bad for you. As a small bonus, it makes it slightly cheaper..
How did your daughter get interested in (the concept of) juice? Our two-year-old has never really expressed an interest, but then we don't keep juice at home and he doesn't get it elsewhere either. He's curious about things we drink that he doesn't get (I drank a bottle of root beer in front of him the other day, he was very confused and curious), but if we put milk in front of him he's got the thing he wants most of all and ignores our drinks entirely.
There is a deeper problem here. Your child is satisfied with less when the perceived (or socially established) value is larger. It may be better to teach your child to estimate the value of things on their own, rather than rely on others.
Further down the road, you presumably don't want to have a kid that needs to wear expensive clothes to school to feel accepted. And when they are that age, you can't convince them that less expensive clothing is expensive too.
You are doing her a massive favour for the rest of her life, its easy to underestimate the damage sugar does and after all we want our kids to be happy and sugary treats seem to make them happy
I don't have proof for the following, but I think the article should qualify the type of juice being consumed. I regularly make juice from raw vegetables (ginger, cucumber, carrots, beets, celery, parsley, cilantro, yams, kale, chard, brussel sprouts etc) and I suspect that the sugar content is less than fruit juice. Personally I don't understand why a person would juice a fruit when you can eat it whole? Fruits are so stupidly delicious when eaten whole. In the end, everything in moderation...
Which is true for most statements in this thread. But for no good reason. These are all verifiable/falsifiable statements. There is an obvious objective truth but everyone is just cargo culting.
Question: which vitamins are in your juices? Are these vitamins you dont get enough in your normal diet or from the sun? How much of those do you actually need and does that mean you need 1 or 2 glasses a year?
It is also frustrating to see the waste produced. The machines pulverize and discard lots of fruit that would otherwise be eaten. And the employees at smoothy places end up just pouring out whatever is left in their blender that doesn't fit in the cup so even the juice is wasted.
Juicing fruits and vegetables will always result in a product where the sugar:fiber ratio is much higher than just consuming the food whole (or blended in a smoothie).
I see a lot of people consuming things like juice, whole grain breads, breakfast cereals, sugar-filled nut butters and yogurts, etc. claiming they made "healthy" choices. Of course everything is fine in moderation but a heaping pile of sugar and simple carbs with no lean proteins, good fats or greens is far from healthy. The solution would seem to be better nutrition education so that more people recognize the fat free yogurt they just felt good about eating had 25g of added sugar per serving.
It's one of those assumptions we make that everyone knows is true but do we have any real evidence that fruit consumed in quantities that where it have an real impact on our caloric intake provide "health benefits".
Just looking at the nutrition label, I doubt anyone would think that. An apple is basically sugar plus a bit of fiber. A chocolate bar is probably healthier (just for balancing out the mix with fat and protein) except for the fact that people rarely binge on apples.
Anyone who has ever pressed an orange knows that you need at least 4 or 5 of them to make a whole glass. The amount of sugar is astonishing. I personnally water down my grapefruit five folds...
My 95 year old (!) yoga teacher used to say, "eat liquid, drink solid" in his native tongue. It meant that when you ingest something a liquid like soup or juice, let it not rush down the throat; it should spend a nice chunk of time in the mouth, like a solid. In other words, "eat it".
Likewise, when you have something solid, chew it until it "liquefies".
People critique this piece as inaccurate but should instead should realize the way to attract attention is to get you first to read it. It then gets people talking. If you really get his point, he meant drinking juice that filters out the pulp isn't as good as filtered, and maybe harmful given that example he noted.
A large distinction needs to be made between juice you drink within an hour of the fruit being crushed, versus drinking stuff a few months later, stuff that's been preserved via various bizarre tricks to keep it safe from oxygen.
Without intervention, the oxygen in the air will break down most of the healthy stuff within an hour or two. If you juice carrots and drink it immediately, there are benefits.
What you see in the USA, with the stuff called "orange juice" often makes health claims that should be disallowed. "All natural" and "contains Vitamin C" are highly misleading, considering the actual process that the juice is put through, so it can survive for months on the shelf in some store.
The realnews headline: "Juice in excess is not healthy. Same goes for fruit." Guess that wouldn't get many clicks.
As long as you don't consume too many calories or spike your insulin too high by drinking large quantities at once, juice can be healthy. The phytonutrients and vit c will prevent the uric acid serum spike you get from fructose, soft drinks have also been proven not to increase c reactive protein. Although with less fiber it'll always be inferior to eating (or drinking) whole fruits.
I eat a lot of fruit right now. About 4 oranges and 1-2 bananas a day. I'm actually worried that my sugar consumption is too high even from these natural sources. Anyone have some insight?
I don't get. If you drink 500ml of juice your intake will be ~250-300 kcals. Then what? On a non-active day I burn ~3000 kcals a day. If you hit the gym you can easily burn an additional 700 kcals per hour. To be fit, you need to be active, and to be active you need energy.
one may naively think that drinking a glass of juice is 'healthier' than drinking a can of soda- when in fact the caloric values and sugar contents may be similar.
that is the important thing to take away from this article IMO.
They're not telling you to run and eat HFC products. They're just saying that eating a whole fruit is healthier than just the juice. And that's something nutritionists have been saying for the last decade or more.
The article seems to point to these two as the main reasons why fruit juice is not as good as fruit:
1) when you make juice, you leave some of the most wholesome parts of the fruit behind. The skin on an apple, the seeds in raspberries and the membranes that hold orange segments together — they are all good for you. That is where most of the fiber, as well as many of the antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals are hiding. Fiber is good for your gut; it fills you up and slows the absorption of the sugars you eat, resulting in smaller spikes in insulin.
2) when you drink your calories instead of eating them, your brain doesn’t get the same “I’m full” signal that it does from solid food, even though you wind up consuming far more calories in the process.
If I put a whole apple with its skin or raspberry with its seed, or orange in a mixer-grinder, how or when exactly do I lose the skin, seeds or membranes during the process of making juice?
I agree with your point 2, but I disagree on point 1.
> when you make juice, you leave some of the most wholesome parts of the fruit behind. The skin on an apple, the seeds in raspberries and the membranes that hold orange segments together
Since people mean one of those smoothie-like juice which you make with a blender when they talk about "healthy juice", I'll talk about that. It's actually the opposite for me. I never eat apple skin, and never really like raspberry seeds, also no grape seeds. But when I put them all into a juicer and make a juice, i drink all that.
Who drinks "squeezed juice" nowadays when they can make one with a juicer anyway?
[+] [-] js2|9 years ago|reply
If you're consuming smoothies which use the entire fruit/veggie that you'd normally eat, and you're not adding sweeteners, and you don't have any health issues that might be related to excess calories in your diet, then no need to attack the article, it's not addressing you.
But even then, note that the article still makes the point that people tend to over-consume when drinking their calories as opposed to chewing them.
As an example of one of my smoothies that I make at home that I don't think this article would take issue with: 100g frozen blueberries, 1 medium (126g) banana, 14g raw almonds, 100g spinach, 14g whey protein powder, 6g unsweetened cocoa powder, 10g fish oil, water. This is about 440 calories (18g fat, 56g carbs, 22g protein) according to My Fitness Pal.
[+] [-] mikenyc|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] redipyni|9 years ago|reply
Different children will react differently, of course.
[+] [-] tobtoh|9 years ago|reply
If she is getting fooled that carbonated water is 'juice', then I'm assuming she doesn't know what juice actually is and therefore has no association of juice = sugar drink. So why the need to trick your daughter?
Couldn't you have just called it 'fizzy water', or if water is associated with 'boring', call it 'fizzy drink'. She'd still get it from the bar and have the excitement of that.
[+] [-] Smaug123|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] awqrre|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] danudey|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amelius|9 years ago|reply
Further down the road, you presumably don't want to have a kid that needs to wear expensive clothes to school to feel accepted. And when they are that age, you can't convince them that less expensive clothing is expensive too.
[+] [-] southphillyman|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] peter_retief|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] noway421|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] retox|9 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] voidmain0001|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ralfn|9 years ago|reply
Which is true for most statements in this thread. But for no good reason. These are all verifiable/falsifiable statements. There is an obvious objective truth but everyone is just cargo culting.
Question: which vitamins are in your juices? Are these vitamins you dont get enough in your normal diet or from the sun? How much of those do you actually need and does that mean you need 1 or 2 glasses a year?
[+] [-] brianwawok|9 years ago|reply
I feel the same way about veggies. Raw veggies are awesome.
[+] [-] d--b|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] makecheck|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] scurvy|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dajohnson89|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] SippinLean|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rasur|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dajohnson89|9 years ago|reply
[deleted]
[+] [-] troycarlson|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Stranger43|9 years ago|reply
It's one of those assumptions we make that everyone knows is true but do we have any real evidence that fruit consumed in quantities that where it have an real impact on our caloric intake provide "health benefits".
[+] [-] kinkrtyavimoodh|9 years ago|reply
But yes, barring fiber, these are all micronutrients, not macronutrients.
[+] [-] mynameishere|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] d--b|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] misev|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vitro|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sriram_malhar|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] m3kw9|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lkrubner|9 years ago|reply
Without intervention, the oxygen in the air will break down most of the healthy stuff within an hour or two. If you juice carrots and drink it immediately, there are benefits.
What you see in the USA, with the stuff called "orange juice" often makes health claims that should be disallowed. "All natural" and "contains Vitamin C" are highly misleading, considering the actual process that the juice is put through, so it can survive for months on the shelf in some store.
[+] [-] pombrand|9 years ago|reply
As long as you don't consume too many calories or spike your insulin too high by drinking large quantities at once, juice can be healthy. The phytonutrients and vit c will prevent the uric acid serum spike you get from fructose, soft drinks have also been proven not to increase c reactive protein. Although with less fiber it'll always be inferior to eating (or drinking) whole fruits.
[+] [-] hkmurakami|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sebleon|9 years ago|reply
"Pulp" left behind during juicing contains the most wholesome parts of fruits, which prevent glucose spikes and contain most micronutrients
[+] [-] mifreewil|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] aries1980|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zootam|9 years ago|reply
that is the important thing to take away from this article IMO.
[+] [-] return0|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] exabrial|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] elmerland|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] parrellel|9 years ago|reply
Quick, someone prove fruits and vegetables are poison!
I'm not saying that there isn't something to what they're saying, but the timing is... shall we say... convenient.
[+] [-] andrewguenther|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] merraksh|9 years ago|reply
1) when you make juice, you leave some of the most wholesome parts of the fruit behind. The skin on an apple, the seeds in raspberries and the membranes that hold orange segments together — they are all good for you. That is where most of the fiber, as well as many of the antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals are hiding. Fiber is good for your gut; it fills you up and slows the absorption of the sugars you eat, resulting in smaller spikes in insulin.
2) when you drink your calories instead of eating them, your brain doesn’t get the same “I’m full” signal that it does from solid food, even though you wind up consuming far more calories in the process.
[edit: clarified text is quoted from the article]
[+] [-] foo101|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sullyj3|9 years ago|reply
Does that mean if I'm underweight, I should drink a lot of it?
[+] [-] darkstar999|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] patrickmn|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unknown|9 years ago|reply
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[+] [-] cocktailpeanuts|9 years ago|reply
> when you make juice, you leave some of the most wholesome parts of the fruit behind. The skin on an apple, the seeds in raspberries and the membranes that hold orange segments together
Since people mean one of those smoothie-like juice which you make with a blender when they talk about "healthy juice", I'll talk about that. It's actually the opposite for me. I never eat apple skin, and never really like raspberry seeds, also no grape seeds. But when I put them all into a juicer and make a juice, i drink all that.
Who drinks "squeezed juice" nowadays when they can make one with a juicer anyway?