Categories: Fruit juiceGuest PostHealthNutrition

Guest Post: Commercial Fruit Juice- Healthy or Health hazard?

Hello readers!

This guest article is written by Adrienne Nicole who writes natural health articles. She derives most of her research from natural health experts, like Dr. Joseph Mercola. She is currently researching on whole house water filtration system and its corresponding benefits and limitations.

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Many people are under the impression that commercial fruit juice is healthy — regardless of its origin and sweet taste. Most fruit juices are no different than sugar water, because they contain very little or no real juice. If the product is labeled “fruit drink,” “fruit beverage,” or “fruit cocktail,” it means that it does not contain a hundred percent juice. On average, commercial fruit juices only contain only 10 percent fruit juice.

How Much Fructose Does Fruit Juice Have?

According to the “Sugary Drink FACTS” report, which was done by researchers from Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity to scientifically measure food marketing to the youth: while commercial fruit juices (like Kool-Aid, Hawaiian Punch, and Capri Sun: Orange) have images of fruit on their labels, they actually have no more than five percent real fruit juice and contain high amounts of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or cane sugar.

Of course, freshly squeezed juice is superior to commercial fruit juice, as it is a good source of vitamins and other nutrients. However, one glass of freshly squeezed orange juice has eight full teaspoons of sugar, which is 50 percent fructose.

Commercial fruit juice, on the other hand, often contains high fructose corn syrup, just as soda does. One can of soda contains up to 10 teaspoons of sugar. It should also be noted that soda companies like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper are the ones who produce sugary drinks like commercial fruit juices on the market.

What Can Fructose Do to Your Body?

It is recommended for you to keep your fructose intake to no more than 25 grams a day, including 15 grams from whole fruit. To give you an idea, drinking one eight-ounce glass of commercial orange juice will automatically load your system with this daily recommended amount.

Fructose is linked to several problems like:

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which is caused by a buildup of fat in liver cells– Fructose has the same effect on your liver as alcohol has.

Increased uric acid levels – Research states that fructose is the only type of sugar that has an effect on your uric acid levels. High levels of uric acid mean an increased risk for gout and lay the groundwork for chronic disease.

Obesity– A study by Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children’s Hospital found that for each additional serving of a sweetened drink, the odds of obesity and body mass index rose.

Diabetes and heart disease – A 2009 study where 16 volunteers were fed a controlled diet with high amounts of fructose discovered that new fat cells formed around the heart, liver, and other digestive organs of participants after 10 weeks. Food-processing abnormalities linked to diabetes and heart disease were also found in these volunteers.

In addition to the added HCFS in processed foods and sweetened beverages, the naturally-occurring fructose in fruit juice is also a problem.

What Should You Be Drinking?

If you are suffering from a health condition like diabetes, heart disease, or cancer, or are obese/overweight, it is best to keep fructose intake to 10 to 15 grams a day.

Instead of drinking fruit juice of soft drinks, you should consume plenty of pure water. If you use tap water as a water source, take extra precautions and use a high-quality water filtration system to eliminate contaminants from the water.