Many people start their (and/or their kid's) day with a tall glass of orange juice. "A great source of Vitamin C," is a common refrain heard by the masses. But, there's a dirty little secret that Tropicana, Minute Maid, and other orange juice purveyors hope drinkers continue to ignore...
Orange juice is loaded, and I mean LOADED, with sugar. One serving of OJ (an 8-ounce glass) contains 22 grams of sugar. By comparison, 8-ounces of Dr. Pepper (pick your pop) contains 27grams of sugar. Pretty close right? Would you ever let your kid suck down a soda at breakfast? Would soda ever make your healthy drink list? In terms of sugar, Orange Juice and soda must be looked at as one and the same.
"But how can that be -- oranges are a very healthy fruit, i thought?" That's correct, oranges are very good for you and your kids. Eating one at breakfast (or at some point during the day) is a smart and healthy choice. However, an average orange yields 2 ounces of actual juice. So, when you drink an 8-ounce glass of OJ, it's comparable to eating 4 oranges!!! Can you ever imagine yourself eating 4 oranges in one sitting? No way! Worse, many restaurants serve OJ in a 10-12 ounce glass!
Recent studies have confirmed that drinking one glass of OJ a day raises diabetes risk by 20% (thanks to all of the sugar).
What to do?
1) Eat the real thing - drinking juice strips away the all-important fiber contained in pieces of fruit.
2) Drink a very small portion - if you don't have the time to peel an orange, drink only 2-3 ounces of juice (shot glass). This amount contains an equivalent proportion of natural sugar found in an orange.
3) Don't give your kids juice - I cringe when seeing toddlers sucking on a bottle full of orange, apple or other juice. Moms and Dads may as well be filling it up with Mountain Dew. Give your kids the real thing and let them drink water and/or milk.
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I always find these
I always find these criticisms of orange juice very suspicious - because my whole life I have had a very different experience with orange juice and soda.
The rare times I have large quantities of soda (2 glasses of soda in one day is a large quantity for me), soda always leaves me feeling slightly edgy and bloated. But never has orange juice left me with that feeling. Just the opposite
I've been drinking large quantities of OJ my entire life (I'm now 38) and my health and every physical/doctor exam has been stellar my entire life. I'm a very athletic person and consistently use orange juice to refresh or hydrate. If OJ were as bad as soda I imagine my body (or at the very least my blood pressure) would be a mess.
Everyone's body chemistry is different, there are obviously some rules, but don't listen to people who try to portray orange juice being a hoax as one of those rules.
I never knew this! i always
I never knew this! i always thought OJ was very healthy, i used to drink about 3 glasses a day! thanks alot for the artical! veryvery helpful :)
I do agree the real thing is
I do agree the real thing is better.However, they do make oj now with lower sugar.Everything in moderation
My orange juice says it has
My orange juice says it has no sweeteners in it.
But that trop50 stuff used
But that trop50 stuff used stevia extract to sweeten it. I just wish they would tone down sugar without compensating for it.
So why don't you cut it with
So why don't you cut it with water yourself? Pretty simple solution to the problem, don't you think? Oh, wait. It's because it would taste AWFUL if you diluted it down with water. THINK MCFLY!
Actually, I cut orange juice
Actually, I cut orange juice with water all the time, only I do it with setlzer. It's like drinking Orangina, but probably less calories.
I agree. Orange juice that we
I agree. Orange juice that we see in the supermarkets are full of sugar and it is not good for our body. It is still better to drink or eat the real orange. It is healthier and natural. Thanks for posting this article, it is informative.
But the ingredients are very
But the ingredients are very different for orange juice. There is no added sugar. Soda has high fructose cory syrup or some other added sugar. So at least with juice you are getting viatmins, and other good stuff. You get nothing with pop. It's nutritionally bankrupt.
I guess given that the RDA for sugar is 40 grams, sucking down 20+ grams with OJ, soda or any other sweetened drink, is a waste.
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