In All Things Sweet - Moderation, Even Fruit Juice

It's not the kind of thing you want to read when you live in fruit country but there is some new research that points out the risk of consuming too much fruit juice. Not fruit juice but TOO MUCH fruit juice. For the record, it is important to note that the study was only observational, and can't prove that drinking fruit juice increases one's risk of early death...but here's what they found and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA),.

According to the UK Telegraph, U.S. researchers looked at 13,000 adults and found that drinking one 12 ounce glass of juice each day could increase risk of early death by nearly 25 percent. The experts say this could be because the fructose content of such drinks could be driving up insulin resistance and stimulating hormones that promotes fat deposition around the waist.

Both conditions have been linked to a greater chance of heart disease and diabetes.

And here's the part you may not expect - drinking the 12 ounces of fruit juice each day was linked to a 24 percent rise in premature death, while drinking 12 ounces of a sugar-sweetened beverage, such as cola, was linked to just a six percent increase in the risk of early death.

Concluding that "Healthy Juice" could be worse than sugary soda over a 6 years period? Keep in mind it was observational only and doesn't prove that drinking fruit juice increases one's risk of early death.

Bottom line - eat and drink in moderation, stay active and remember that fruit juices are a poor replacement for actual fruit consumption. The current advice is to swap sugary drinks for water, lower fat milks and lower sugar or diet drinks. While fruit and vegetable juices can contribute to one of your 5 A Day, it’s important to limit juice and smoothies to a total of 150 mls each day as they can still contain high amounts of sugar.

Categories: Consumer Awareness, Food, Health and Fitness, Medical

In All Things Sweet – Use Moderation (Even Fruit Juice)