A glass of orange juice or freshly squeezed juice at your favorite brunch spot. We all know that fruit juice can be super tasty. But are these sweet fruit juices actually good for your health? Good news for enthusiasts! From recent research It turns out that fruit juice is healthier than previously thought.
Is fruit juice healthy?
Fruit juice is consumed worldwide, but ideas about how healthy it is for you differ in every country. In the Netherlands the advice is stricter than in other countries. So it advises Nutrition Center to drink as little juice as possible. According to them, drinking a lot of fruit juice would increase the risk of obesity and type two diabetes.
These different ideas have led food scientist Floor Scheffers to start a study. In her research, conducted in collaboration with the RIVM and UMC Utrecht, Scheffers investigated whether drinking pure fruit juice without sugar can be a substitute for eating fruit. Or that it is better to skip it, such as soft drinks with added sugars.
Fruit juice reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease
The results were surprising. The research showed that fruit juice is not as healthy as real fruit, but it is much healthier than soft drinks. Fruit juice, unlike soft drinks, also has positive health effects. People who drank up to 7 glasses of pure fruit juice per week had a 12 to 15 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease. There was also no increased risk of type 2 diabetes in people who drank fruit juice.
Drink juice instead of eating fruit? That’s not a good idea
Although the outcome of the study is promising, the evidence is still limited. That is why Scheffers advises against using fruit juice as a (partial) replacement for fruit. In addition, fruit juice does not contain the fiber that is in your daily portion of fruit. These fibers are good for your digestion and ensure a feeling of satiety.
Another disadvantage of fruit juice is that you often do not realize how many calories you are consuming and quickly drink (too) much of it. For example, a glass of orange juice contains an average of 5 oranges. You can finish a glass of juice in no time, but snacking on five oranges takes more time!
But in addition to sugars and calories, fruit juice also contains healthy substances, such as vitamins and antioxidants. Drinking fresh juice occasionally does no harm and is even healthier than you think!
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2023-12-19 20:45:06
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