| Food and Nutrition |
Like many other areas of the supermarket the juice aisle seems to grow weekly fresh, frozen, refrigerated, bottled, boxed, and fortified with vitamins, minerals, sterols, phytochemicals and fiber. Not to mention organic, sweetened, unsweetened, artificially sweetened, and light varieties. The options can be mind boggling.
That being said -- how much juice should you drink daily? Experts feel 8 ounces are max and it should be 100% juice. That means all the other bottles, cans and boxes could be left in the store. Bottom line -- there is no nutrition reason to drink juice, except for enjoyment. For children the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no juice under the age of 6 months. Between 6 months and 6 years juice should always be given in a cup, never in a bottle, with a maximum of 4 to 6 ounces of 100% juice per day. Between 7 and 18 years, 8 to 12 ounces daily, is tops. By age 5, most children in the US are drinking more sweetened fruit drinks daily than 100% real fruit juice. You should know that some drugs and juice dont mix. Antioxidant-rich pomegranate juice may sound like a good idea, but it can interfere with blood pressure medications, antidepressants, AIDS drugs, and some narcotic pain relievers Grapefruit juice increases the potency of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs which could cause dangerous side effects. If you take prescription drugs and drink juice regularly, check with your pharmacist for possible interactions. Fruit beverages come in many variations 100% real juice, drinks, ades, cocktails, and punches. !00% juice is just that; juice with nothing added. It is always clearly stated on the label. No other fruit beverage can make that claim, though some do state the percentage of real fruit juice in the beverage. Drinks, ades, punches and cocktails are always less than 100% juice, often containing 10% real juice or less, and in some cases there is no real fruit juice at all. Many advertise that they contain exotic juices like acai, pomegranate, or mangosteen. Though all these exotic fruits are healthy for you, most fruit drinks contain little of the exotic juice and are often boosted with the addition of white grape, pear or apple juice. The majority of fruit drinks are sweetened and many are fortified with extra nutrients or phytochemicals. Vitamin C is the most common addition. Calcium is now being added to many varieties, as well as plant sterols to lower cholesterol, glucosamine to support healthy joints, and an entire medicine chest of vitamins and minerals. Do you need juice to provide these nutrients? Can you be well fed without fortified fruit drinks? Without a doubt, yes. Are you better off not drinking sweetened fruit drinks? Absolutely! Bottom line fruit flavored drinks in small amounts are simply a tasty drink. Drinking them regularly in large amounts, especially for children, promotes a high sugar intake, crowds out more nourishing choices, and may contribute to weight gain. Handy hint: Freeze your favorite fruit drink in an ice cube tray and use the flavored ice cubes to chill water or seltzer for a refreshing lower sugar, lower calorie beverage. NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc. Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with 12 current titles and sales in excess of 6 million books. The books are widely available at your local or on-line bookseller. Current titles include: The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008 The Cholesterol Counter, 7th Ed., 2008 The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd Ed., 2007 The Calorie Counter, 4th Ed., 2007 The Compete Food Counter, 2nd Ed., 2006 For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to www.TheNutritionExperts.com. www.HealthNewsDigest.com |
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