As many readers have argued, juice is good for you. Why not? It comes from fruit, and fruit is loaded with vitamins and nutrients that our body needs. Fact of the matter, juice is an excellent source of vitamins, but it is loaded with sugar. The sugar in juice may be one of the causes of the increasing number of Americans diagnosed with diabetes. According to the American journal of Epidemiology, a study conducted in China argued that the intake of juice is associated with an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes.
Not only the sugar in the juice, but the calories of juice and other beverages can also be linked to diabetes and increased weight loss. Juice consumed in large quantities, increases the amount of sugar consumed in a day. The point has been argued before, but examine this:
How many oranges would it take to produce a glass of orange juice?
That glass of orange juice isn’t just one orange but 6-7 oranges and possibly more. Some juice bottles may even contain up to a ‘pound of fruit’ in the bottle. This sounds ‘healthy’, but further examination of the labels shows that the sugar content is extremely high, ranging from 23-37 grams per 8 oz. serving. So if the entire bottle were drank, the sugar content has increased to a whopping 58-93 g of sugar in just one drink!
But fruit is not completely bad. Besides nutrients, fruit contains the added benefit of fiber, which is great for digestive processes of the body. However, fiber is lost in the juicing process.
Even diet drinks have been found to cause an increase in hunger, as posted in previous entries. Dairy products are known to offer lower fat options, but in comparing labels the low fat drinks are known to have increased sugars. Now that we’ve eliminated soda pop, flavored drinks, and juice, what is a person to drink?
WATER
- Buy a nice water bottle. One that you will reuse and can be toted around all day long.
- Fill the bottle up when it is empty
- Drink when you are thirsty
- Drink water with every meal
- Drink coffee or tea as a water alternative
- Add lemons or limes to your water
A healthy diet and exercise are the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but even juice is linked to diseases such as diabetes. Drinking water with your diet and during exercise seems to be one of the best approaches to staying healthy.
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