Fruit Juices Are Not As Healthy As You Think

I have been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes just two month back. Diabetes run in my family so I was expecting this was coming. As I do not have a sweet tooth, so controlling my sugar cravings wasn’t that difficult. However, my doctor suggested me to stop having fruit juices which according to him are equal sugary. I couldn’t buy this thought as we all believe fruit juices are healthy. Nothing can be as healthy as fruit juice. Full of nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants they are perfect substitute for any soft drink.

The doctor pushed me to cut out on my juice intake which I thought I would follow for some time to see if it helps. I was astounded to see that after two months of eliminating fruit juice from the diet, the diabetes went under control.

How are Fruit Juices Unhealthy

Fruit juices are perceived as natural drinks that are full of supplements for the body. But if we actually do research and see how beneficial they are, then one might understand that fruit juices after all are not that calorific.

Intake of Liquid Calories

Although, fruit juice are natural but a large part of juices contain fructose that is the sugary substance. When we drink a whole glass of juice, we tend to consume more sugar than what we will when we have solid fruits. Fruits with their fibres are filling for the stomach and not much can be eaten. On the other hand, liquid juices are taken in one shot that goes directly to the stomach. Fructose gets digested in the liver and if excess is consumed, the extra part gets accumulated in the fat tissues. Thus, the calorie intake increases.

Lack of fibre

Another de-merit of fruit juices is that since we consume only the liquid fructose, the fibrous content gets left out. Fruits like apple contain fibre in its skin, orange is another fibrous fruit which are not just rich in antioxidants but also good source fibres. Fibres are essential for the body as they help in slowing down the digestion process absorbing some of the sugar. Metabolism is enhanced as sugar gets digested in the stomach rather than causing obesity and diabetes.

Processed Juices

It is not necessary that the fruit we drink is healthy and nutritious. Whatever packed and processed juices that we buy from the market are not healthy as some additional fruit flavor are added in addition to sugar to make them good in taste. According to research, processed juices contain more calories than soft drinks which increased the sugar in the blood. Additionally, these juices are packed some months ago which by the time we consume them lose all their nutritional value.

You might Even Gain Weight

 Juices are directly consumed as and when the sugar hits the body directly it goes into our bloodstream spiking insulin. This increases our calories and since the fibre intake is nil, hunger does not subside. We tend to eat more often resulting in increase in weight. Overweight invariably affect our diabetes and if you have type 2 diabetes, the weight has to be regulated.

 The Bottom Line

Juices may not be termed as the heroes as they are called. But on the contrary, directly controlling intake of juice is not recommended. A balanced diet with some amount of juice will be sufficient to improve your vitamins and minerals in the body. At the same time, kids that prefer packed juices that are processed must instead eat whole fruit which will add more nutritional value to your diet than just drinking liquid juice.

For diabetic patients, avoiding fruit juice will definitely control the blood sugar level. This will also help you maintain your bodies metabolism as excess sugar intake will not breakdown and settle in your fatty tissues. Juices can instead be replaced with milk and other protein shakes that will give you the required boost.

Focus should be on consuming fruits that are high in citric acid which is essential for our body. These fruits include berries, lemon and orange. Instead of using just the juice, eating fibre or the skin of fruit is better as this will slow down the digestion breaks down most of the sugary substances.