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Juice Wars, Better Health or More Sugar in the Diet
Juice Wars abound aiming for better health, longer life and a trimmer body. Are these merely sugar-filled promises?
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Juicy Calories - Oh my. The Diet Fur is flying over recent recommendations regarding juice in the diet - particularly in kid's diets. Is juice really good for you? Or are those crafty juice manufacturers just juicing your pocketbook at the market?
With the rise in kid's unhealthy weight levels these days, many health experts are searching for ways to get those numbers under control. A recent recommendation for parents is to cut the juice out of their kid's diet.
The reasoning behind this recommendation is that juice is full of calories and comprised chiefly of sugar. If you are a sugar lover, then you don't need to be told that sugar is extremely high in calories. Added sugar equals added pounds. Unwanted pounds at that - particularly in kids.
Amid this juicy debate is the fact that the public has been trained for decades that juice is a healthy beverage alternative to sodas, frozen concoctions and so forth.
To get the full prospective of the Juice War, on your next visit to your local market, check out the juice section. At our local market, it's larger than the cereal aisle. The space is knitted with large cans of juice, tiny bottles of juice, and foiled packets of juice embossed with cute animals. And who can resist that?
If you'll scoot your wobbly shopping cart a few aisles over, you'll find more juice in the frozen section of your market. And if you'll glide a bit further, you'll find even more juice in the dairy aisle. If you swing down the appliance section of the market, you may even find an electric juicer - or a manual one - depending on the size of your local market. It's big business all right. But how healthy or unhealthy is juice?
Most of the juice produced and presented at your local market is actually comprised of a bit of juice and a great deal of water although one can find juice that is 100% natural - and naturally sweet. The watered-down juices can't hold up in nutritional values when pitted against their whole-fruited versions.
The debate in regards to kids is that many parents have made juice a big part of their kid's daily diet. Since juice is packed with calories, weight issues may ensue. And we know the sugar/tooth-rot potential lurking out there - as well as other concerns related to an excess in sugar. Although studies show that sugar won't elevate the excitement level in kids, a few parents would argue otherwise.
As for adults, that tall glass of grape juice may contain four or more times the calories as a serving of real grapes. Real grapes are more filling and contain fiber that you won't get from the liquefied version.
So should juice be juiced from the daily diet? Of course not! That tall glass of 100% orange juice packs a nutritional punch and as long as the calories are accounted for, no Diet Damage can occur.
However, if you are trying to lose weight, you may wish to consider enjoying the real thing which contains far less calories and is super nutritious. And if you're a parent, you may wish to speak with your child's doctor regarding juice consumption for your little one.
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