http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2301135/15-WORST-health-drinks-Orange-juice-Innocent-smoothies-sugar-13-Hobnobs-3-half-doughnuts.html
A single
serving of so-called healthy fruit juice has been found to contain the same
amount of sugar as three-and-a-half doughnuts
or 13 hobnob biscuits.
Exclusive
research for Mailonline has revealed that a single 250ml serving of white grape
juice contained the same amount of sugar as four Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.
Until
recently, we thought the 'bad' drinks were those such as Coke and Pepsi, while orange
juice was an easy way to get one of our 'five a day'.
But the
goalposts have shifted. More and more experts are warning that sugary drinks in
any form are largely to blame for our ballooning waistlines.
Shouting
this message from the rooftops is one leading U.S. expert, Dr Robert Lustig.
In his new
book 'Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar', he argues that it doesn't
matter whether the sugars you drink come from fruit juice, smoothies or fizzy
drinks.
He says that
liquid fructose sugar is dangerous for our health, irrespective of the source.
These sugars
are overloading our livers and leading to health issues such as heart problems,
diabetes and obesity, which not only affects our quality of life, but also
costs the NHS over £6 billion a year.
But why is
orange juice, for example, so bad?
The key
issue is a lack of fibre. When we eat fruit, fibre forms a protective layer
that acts as a barrier to the intestine.
This slows
absorption of sugar, so the liver has a chance to catch up. In fizzy drinks,
fruit juices and smoothies, the barrier has gone, which leads to the liver
being overloaded.
Also, fruit
– which is how many of us get our five a day – is high in fructose, which
affects blood sugar levels. Any sugar that the body doesn’t need is converted
to fat – and we’re getting bigger. - Mail Online
Read the whole article - I dare you. How interesting that the things that are advertised as being the "healthy" choice are actually the opposite... The worst iced fruit drink, according to the article, is the Costa Massimo Red Berry Cooler, with a whopping 97.1 grams of sugar - that's as much as
16 Nature Valley Oats & Honey Granola Bars.
How do you think the manufacturers get their drinks to be so tasty? There is no magical "healthy alternative" flavour enhancer to take the place of sugar - well not yet anyway. This is especially evident in weigh-less foods, they all contain markedly higher amounts of sugar than their competitors. Don't believe it? Read the labels. When I started reading the labels of food in the store I was shocked - simply amazed at all the crap that gets put in there with the packaging then still being audacious enough to claim to be the "healthy alternative".
This leads us to the next question: You think these companies making all this "healthy stuff" actually care about you or me? Really? I think not.
The really scary thing is that we don't really know what is in any of the things we eat or drink - as has been shown so well by the horsemeat scandal. The only way we could find out for sure what the hell we are being fed is by becoming scientists. How can we trust the companies making the food, drinks and water we consume when the companies' main goal is to generate as much profit as possible? We don't. We can't. Our lives, our health and that of our loved ones depend on what we consume to nourish our bodies. When we take in toxic, harmful and otherwise inferior quality foods it takes a toll on our bodies - we weaken ourselves and open ourselves up to an entire host of health problems, known and unknown, treatable and untreatable - but mainly preventable.
It is a disgrace to the gift of life that we so easily discard of our lives and health simply because we lack the initiative to investigate what it is that we are really participating within and supporting in the world. There are so many ways that our ignorance could harm us - we just haven't experienced them all yet. What happens when the toxic waste in the oceans gets to the point that the fish we eat is practically radioactive? Will the companies selling the fish care enough to pull the stock, or will they keep selling in an attempt to make as much money as possible while they still can? Hmmm... I wonder...
please make a distinction between sugar(fructose-glucose COUMPOUND molecule) and fructose and glucose in itself!
ReplyDeletefruit contains mostly if not all fructose, sugar contains 50-50% of each (being a dual molecule)
the harmful (at least in more than milligramms/day) is the fructose element, glucose on the other hand is the best source of energy which is instantly absorbed by any cell getting-it, and this is always not emphasised...sugar is not harmful...it's the fructose inside it (the half of it) that IS.
and yes fruit drinks have more fructose free because lack of fiber(the thing they torn apart to get the juice out) so inevitably fruit juice is more harmful than soda drinks...depending on the amount consumed of course!
The point of my blog is not about how harmful sugar is - it is about how misleading products can be.
DeleteGreat reading as usual, thank-you Cerise.
ReplyDeleteAs a side suggestion for those looking for an alternative to juices, (until we change our society to one that values life over money), I recommend trying vegetable smoothies in the home blender:
Recently, my friendly neighbor introduced me to her expensive juicer machine and we drank samples together. But I found myself taking some of the large amount of separated pulp and putting it back into the little amount of juice that the machine separated, before drinking as I like pulp.
She also used an expensive blender for things she said were not appropriate for the juicer i.e.
spinach leaves, berries...
So I went home and days later after consideration, started using my inexpensive home blender, to blend together vegetables, some fruits and even nuts, with water into a fairly tasty, very slightly crunchy, fine smoothy drink.
Since the whole food goes in, the pulp is there, nothing is wasted or unnaturalized..., unlike expensive and wasteful juice drinks.
I found I don't even have to cut up the food much before blending, as once the tornado action starts, everything gets pulled into the bottom blades.
Raw carrots, celery, spinach leaves, beans, etc. Recently I added a teaspoon of flax seed oil and whey vanilla flavor protein powder(which I think for me improved the flavor further).
I've been taking a container to work and am able to drink it on the job. When finished drinking, I then add some water and shake the container and drink the residual.
If I stop enjoying the attention of my coworkers when they see the green drink, I'll start using a non-clear container.
It's providing me an easy and satisfying way to eat vegetables. No salad dressing involved. Another way to keep from getting bored too soon from eating healthy. Tastes a bit like v-8 juice, for me, but greener....
I suppose in essence, the blender is just doing the chewing of the food for me.
I suppose there are disadvantages to this method, but that they are somewhat minimal.
My neighbor had told me that she had stayed at a therapy clinic in Florida for an illness that she was able to then recover from and stop smoking after 20 years. She said this clinic puts it's patients on a strict juice and raw vegetables only diet and colonics are given.
She said there were many testimonials from people present who had been cured or aided greatly of many different ailments from this regiment.
I just wanted to share in case someone else finds it helpful to them.
Jim
Cool, thanks Jim!
Delete