What You Drink Impacts Your Diet, Part Eight: Juice (Fruit and Vegetable)

Considering that fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and other nutrients and should be a large part of any sound diet—for weight loss and protecting health, consuming juice (fruit and vegetable) seems like a "no-brainer." However, most "commercial juices" are high in calories and low in fiber—the opposite of fruits and vegetables in their natural complete states. Worse, these beverages are high in sugar and contain very little of the fruit or vegetable they are supposedly derived from, which means that their nutritional value and purpose are suspect.

The naturally occurring sugar (fructose) found in fruit and some vegetables like carrots and beets is not at issue (excluding diabetics and those sensitive to sugar); it's the extra refined sugars, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) as well as the preservatives and additives—ingredients used in most commercial juice and vegetable drink recipes. And have you been down the juice aisle lately?  Companies are making juice out of "everything but the kitchen sink." Consequently, at this juncture in our beverage expedition, we'll just analyze a few to make a larger point. 

Let's take for example the kid-pushed Capri Sun drink, which was labeled as "All Natural" when the ingredients were (are) water, high-fructose corn syrup, small amount of juice, and flavoring natural—an additive best avoided. That was until a lawsuit erupted in 2007, forcing them to rethink and withdraw their "All Natural" claim. Since, Capri Sun has undergone a makeover, embracing drinks without high-fructose corn syrup, but they still use refined sugar and other additives. To confuse the issue, Capri Sun, owned by Kraft Foods, has a marketing strategy that touts "25% less sugar" (6-ounce pouch equals 60 calories and 16 grams of sugar) and a deceptive slogan of "wholesome."

Article Author: Christine Lakatos

Mother of two awesome daughters, diet book author, ACE Certified fitness expert, and post at  Fitness Flash. My new venture –– ferocious researcher and "Green Corruption" blogger. I'm also a retired athlete, fitness competitor and American Gladiator's contestant, plus more.  
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