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Don't Drink Your Calories -- Even with Fruit Juice
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A recent study found that people who drank fruit juice instead of eating the solid fruit equivalent, tended to gain weight. Also, a lot of the healthy flavonoids may be diminished while artificial sweeteners are added to fruit juices.
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Healthy Tip:
Don't Drink Your Calories -- Even with Fruit Juice
It's far better to eat an apple that to drink a glass of apple juice, especially if you don't want to gain weight. That's the conclusion of the latest research published in Obesity.
Researchers had two groups, each group was made up of both men and women, both lean and overweight. One group was given solid fruits and vegetables to supplement their normal eating; the other was given the equivalent of fruit juices.
After 8 weeks on the fruits and vegetables, the people in the lean group compensated for the extra food by cutting back on their usual diets. They gained no weight. However those lean people drinking the juice gained an average of 3.5 lbs.
Unfortunately, the overweight participants didn't fare as well. They gained 4 pounds on the fruits and vegetables and 5 lbs. drinking the juice.
Fruit juices are often strained of useful pulp which raises their glycemic index. This causes an insulin spike which tells the body to store fat.
Juice also tends to be less nutrient dense than the whole fruit that it came from. The white pulpy part of an orange for example is the primary source of its flavonoids.
Flavonoids are colorful pigments that support numerous metabolic processes in the body. The juicy orange-colored sections of the orange contain most of its vitamin C. In the body, flavonoids and vitamin C often work together, and support health through their interaction. When the pulpy white part of the orange is removed in the processing of orange juice, the flavonoids in the orange are lost in the process.
Additionally, many fruit juices that are sold in supermarkets contain only a small percentage of real fruit juice, and contain added sweeteners (sucrose or high fructose corn syrup). As a result, it is easy to consume a large amount of calories without getting any actual nutrition when you consume these beverages.
In conclusion, don't drink it if you can eat it.
Posted: 08/27/2011
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Sweetness - a Primer on Sugar
I Am Just Not That Sweet on You
Pure Sugar May Be O.K. in Small Doses
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