The Verdict on How Healthy Fruit Juice Actually Is
The grocery store juice section can be confusing. You've heard that fruit juices' vitamins and antioxidants are healthy, but what about all that
sugar? A new study can help you identify healthy fruit juice. Medical researchers recommend this juice aisle tip.
A Portuguese team of biology and physiology specialists investigated how fruit juice sugars cause weight gain, oxidative stress (which may
cause inflammation and disease), and high blood sugar in normal and diabetic rats. They tested two beverages—real fruit juice and a sweetened solution
A single serving of the sugary solution raised blood sugar in both groups more than even freely ingested fruit juice and impaired
antioxidant absorption. (Interestingly, the sugar solution did not influence body weight or oxidative stress after one serving.)
In rats fed the sugary fluid freely, the authors found that it "impaired energy balance regulation, leading to higher caloric intake.
as well as weight gain, fasting hyperglycemia, insulin intolerance and impaired oxidative stress."
This suggests that when buying juice, check the nutrition data for Added Sugars. A zero figure is ideal. Making juice from fresh fruit at home may be healthier.