THOUGHTS ON JUICE
The NY Times recently published a story call "Seriously, Juice is not Healthy"
If I were to read this story when I was 10, I would have freaked out, I loved orange juice in particular. Of course, since it was made from oranges, it was healthy in my mind. I can remember Tropicana was my favorite. I don't know why, it just was. I can almost taste that sweet nectar just sitting here writing. This form of sugar was addictive to me. Thankfully, I was saved by my mother who stopped buying it and it did not fit in my cheap budget as I moved away from home.
The article mentioned goes on to explain that there is some deception that juice is healthy and is the same as eating fruit. They even state that "Despite all the marketing and government support, fruit juices contain limited nutrients and tons of sugar. In fact, one 12-ounce glass of orange juice contains 10 teaspoons of sugar, which is roughly what’s in a can of Coke." An article from Harvard (https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-drinks/sugary-drinks/how-sweet-is-it/) is cited, showing the measurements.
Now onto my added opinion. First of all, I agree with everything the the NY Times article said, but I also challenge people to look at fruit in general also as a source of sugar. One medium sized apple may contain about 19 grams of sugar, which would be almost 5 teaspoons of granular sugar. I know, I know fruit does come packaged with fiber and it has fructose, which is a different type of sugar than many other desserts have. So yes lean toward fruit rather than juice, but just recognize that if you are trying to restrict your diet in some way that there is sugar present in fruit. Losing weight by eating grapes and borderline brown bananas might not work for you.
I for one, look at fruit as a dessert. I still love to consume it, but I prefer to get most of my servings of "fruits and vegetable" from vegetables and then have some thing like a fresh North Carolina peach for dessert. Fruit can be healthy when eaten correctly, just don't pile other sugars into your diet that numb your sensitivity to sugar and the flavors that fruit offers. Enjoy the complex flavors that each unique fruit provides as if it were a delicacy.
Bonus fact: Many fruits that we eat are commonly thought of as vegetable. Mostly, if it has seeds, it is actually a fruit. Peppers, tomato and cucumbers are just a few that come to mind. Tomatoes are the most recognized in this category.
