Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
Hi everyone,
I was always in belief that orange juice was a healthy drink. I still believe that is has some health benefits. But when I got the South beach diet book it said that there is way too much sugar in it and it is like eating a bowl of sugar (something to that effect). And it also stated that it is better to eat the actual orange.
I am trying to eat better for the health benefits and for other reasons as well. But, I was never good at knowing how to eat right. I don't even know where to begin to know what right foods I should eat daily.
Should I toss the idea of drinking the juice or is it still a good choice and it just got a bad reputation because of the low carb craze?
Thanks in advance!!
Last edited by SpiritBound; 03-08-2005 at 08:45 AM.
Reason: Just realized all the typo's I made so I corrected them. Hope I got them all!
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
All fruit contains some sugar, not only juice. But I would hardly compare orange juice to a bowl of sugar. Orange juice is a good source of potassium, folate, and vitamin C. Of course, there is an advantage in eating the whole orange, as compared to juice. By eating the orange, you would also be consuming more fiber from its pulp content.
__________________
"Men and nations will act rationally when all other possibilities have been exhausted."
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
I receive a weekly newsletter from Dr. Mercola. In a recent newsletter he mentioned that too much orange juice is not healthy because of all the sugar. I happened to like orange juice. Recently, Tropicana came out with LIGHT n Healthy . It has 50 calories per 8oz versus 110 calories. Sugar content is 10g versus 22g. Carbohydrate is 4% versus 9%. It tastes great but our supermarkets constantly run out since it is so popular.
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
Ok I'll tell you the pros and cons of each. As one person mentioned...yes eating the fruit gives you the fiber which is taken out when you just drink the juice. Also it has less calories when you eat the fruit itself. Now, the reason for juicing the fruit or vegetable:
"Juicing is the most helpful thing you can do for your body nutritionally. When you eat, the body takes approximately one and a half days to process the food completely from the time of ingestion to elimination. And even when working to perfection, the body extracts a samll percentage of the valuable juice from the fiber. A large percentage is locked in the fiber that is expelled from the body. When you juice, highly concentrated nutrients enter your bloodstream very quickly because your body doesn't need to extract the juice from the fiber".
Keep in mind this is orange juice fresh from juicing it from the fruit itself using the juice machine.
Q: Can't I buy bottled juices at the market? Aren't they just as good for me?
A: The fresher the juice the greater it's nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables processed for commercial canning are pastuerized (heated) to extend their shelf life and meet government standards. This processing causes some nutrient loss. Freshly made juices are pure and full of concentrated nutrients which I believe are so improtant to good health and well-being. Plus, with juice you make you have absolute control of what is in the juice.
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpiritBound
Hi everyone,
I was always in belief that orange juice was a healthy drink. I still belief that is has some health benefits. But when I got the South beach diet book it said that there is way too much sugar in it and it is like eating a bowl of sugar (something to that effect). And it also stated that it is better to eat the actual orange.
I am trying to eat better for the health benefits and for other reasons as well. But, I was never good and knowing how to eat right. I don't even know where to begin to know what right foods I should eat daily.
Should I toss the idea of drinking the juice or is it still a good choice and it just got a bad reputation because of the low carb craze?
Thanks in advance!!
SpiritBound,
If you juiced one or two oranges yourself, you'd have the nutritional content (including fruit sugar) of one or two oranges, which is how many most people eat at one sitting. That's a SMALL amount of liquid (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup?). The problem that many nutritionists and diet authors have with buying juice in the container, is that we're likely to drink in quantities that satisfy our thirst, not in quatities that satisfy our nutritional needs. If you drink fruit juice by the large glassful, you're getting the sugar from a LOT of oranges or apples or whatever, even when no extra sugar has been added (which is often the case, but that's another story). This is why many folks recommend that you eat fruit, not drink fruit juice. If you don't mind the amount of sugar, then slug down fruit juice, but read labels to make sure you're getting pure juice, not added processed sugar. Personally, I have problems with that much concentrated sugar, but we're all different.
Location: St Mary's University College, Twickenham
Posts: 655
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Len
Q: Can't I buy bottled juices at the market? Aren't they just as good for me?
A: The fresher the juice the greater it's nutritional value. Fruits and vegetables processed for commercial canning are pastuerized (heated) to extend their shelf life and meet government standards. This processing causes some nutrient loss. Freshly made juices are pure and full of concentrated nutrients which I believe are so improtant to good health and well-being. Plus, with juice you make you have absolute control of what is in the juice.
in particular the enzyme activity is affected. raw juice is full of enzymes. juice off the supermarket shelf will have NONE.
Re: Orange Juice, is it a healthy drink or too much sugar?
Unsweetened orange juice or freshly squeezed is much better for you than that light or regular stuff. Unsweetened contains around 20 g. sugar, which isn't much when you compare it to soda. Soda has around 41 g. sugar.
