Currently browsing posts about: juices

Fruit juices were not a problem when I was growing up.

Ancient history: Juice was so expensive—it was freshly squeezed from several oranges—that we couldn’t afford to drink much of it,  Juice glasses were 6 ounces.

This was long before cheap concentrated juice appeared in supermarkets, let alone canned and bottled juices and juice drinks.

Because juice is squeezed from several fruits, the sugars add up but the fiber disappears.

The USDA says more than half of apples available for U.S. consumption are used in juices.

All that juice may not be as healthy as you might think.  Two reasons: calories and toxic metals.

CALORIES: Consumption of 100% Fruit Juice and Body Weight in Children and AdultsA Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

in this systematic review and meta-analysis, 1 serving per day of 100% fruit juice was associated with BMI gain among children. Findings in adults found a significant association among studies unadjusted for total energy, suggesting potential mediation by calories…Our findings support guidance to limit consumption of fruit juice to prevent intake of excess calories and weight gain.

TOXIC METALS: Toxic metals and essential elements contents in commercially available fruit juices and other non-alcoholic beverages from the United States. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Volume 119, June 2023, 105230.

The results showed that the concentrations of Ni, Mn, B, Cd, Sr, As, and Se exceeded the recommended drinking water standards, whereas the remaining elements were found below the drinking water standards….consumption of metals either below or above the drinking water standards can increase the cumulative metals exposure from combined sources and may lead to adverse health outcomes…The study found seven of the 25 elements measured exceeded drinking water standards, especially in the mixed fruit juices. While toxicity is unlikely, more attention should be paid toward moderate beverage consumption, especially to protect the health of infants and young children.

The fruit juice industry—yes, there is such a thing—is fighting back by funding its own research (thanks to Jim Krieger of Healthy Food America for sending this one).

The study:  Health effects of 100% fruit and vegetable juices: evidence from human intervention studies. September 2023.  Nutrition Research Reviews.  DOI: 10.1017/S095442242300015X.

Purpose: The review aimed to shed light on the potential impact of 100% FVJ on human subject health, comprehensively assessing the role each type of juice may have in specific health outcomes for a particular target population, as reported in dietary interventions.

Findings: Some juices demonstrated their ability to exert potential preventive effects on some outcomes while others on other health outcomes, emphasising how the differential composition in bioactive compounds defines juice effects.

Conclusion: Although 100% FVJ appear to have beneficial effects on some cardiometabolic health outcomes, cognition and exercise performance, or neutral effects on anthropometric parameters and body composition, further efforts are needed to better understand the impact of 100% FVJ on human subject health.

Funding: This work was partially funded by the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association (IFU). The funder of the study had no input on the design, implementation, analysis or interpretation of the data. P.M. received a research grant from IFU to conduct this review. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Comment: This is the usual result from industry-funded articles.  Fruit is better, but juices are fine in small amounts—bring back 6-ounce glasses!

And while we are on the topic, this just in: Are all sugars equal? Role of the food source in physiological responses to sugars with an emphasis on fruit and fruit juice.

Of the currently available data on direct comparisons of whole fruit versus fruit juice, there is no clear evidence for meaningful differences in glycaemic control, inflammation, or blood pressure. There is, however, consistent evidence that whole apples can lower plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations compared with fruit juice.

Nostalgia: I can still remember 6-ounce glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Never mind, it’s a new world.

My former student and now colleague, Lisa Young, did not want me to miss this one: Tropicana’s campaign to pour orange juice over cereal.

Tropicana has invented a special cereal for this purpose (I wonder how it tastes?).

But I’m sure Tropicana would be pleased if you poured OJ on any other cereal.

OJ is fine, but watch out for the 22 grams of sugar in 8 ounces (one orange has about 12).

An additional observation in the fruit drink study I recently discussed was a reduction in purchases of 100% juice, probably because it is so hard to tell the difference without careful scrutiny of labels (hint: look for 100%).

100% juice is a better option than fruit drinks because it has a better balance of nutrients and no added sugars. But it is still sugary because so many pieces of fruit go into it [really, fruit is the best option].

The orange juice industry is worried about decreasing sales.

The worldwide market for juices is increasing.

The juice industry would like it to grow even faster.

I was interested to see juice marketing materials emailed to dietitians.

Want to take a guess as to who paid for these messages?

Hot summer temperatures combined with a population eager to get outside and get moving means risk of dehydration is high. In addition to water, consider including 100% juice as a healthy, nutrient dense beverage option. In addition to rehydration and increasing fruit intake, two new studies show 100% juice has many other health benefits.

1. A recent UK study published in Nutrients found moderate consumption of 100% fruit juice, which aligns with the US Dietary Guidelines, does not increase the risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease or poor glycemic control. Furthermore, regular daily consumption of 100% juice, may confer health benefits related to vascular function and reduced blood pressure. Emerging evidence shows there may even be a positive impact on cognitive health. [Funding: This research was funded by an unrestricted grant from the Fruit Juice Science Centre].
   [Funders: a consortium of orange producers, juice manufacturers and packaging companies based in Europe and Brazil under the umbrella of the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN)].

2. A second review study, published in Frontiers in Immunology, found that citrus juice, contains key nutrients and bioactive substances that help our immune system to work efficiently and reduce inflammation. [Funders: a consortium of orange producers, juice manufacturers and packaging companies based in Europe and Brazil under the umbrella of the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN)].

And how do we know this is all about marketing?  Try this Infographic:  Squeeze More Profits From Juices.

Reference: For a summary of research on the “funding effect”—the observations that research sponsored by food companies almost invariably produces results favorable to the sponsor’s interests and that recipients of industry funding typically did not intend to be influenced and do not recognize the influence—see my book, Unsavory Truth: How Food Companies Skew the Science of What We Eat.

If you are a marketer of fruit juice, you have a problem.  Fruit juice has a lot of sugar and retains little of the fiber of whole fruit.  Dietary recommendations increasingly suggest limits on the amounts consumed, especially for children.

But according to the trade group, the Juice Products Association, “The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concur that 4 to 6 ounces of 100% fruit juice per day is appropriate for young children. For children age 7 and older, the AAP recommends a daily serving of 8 to 12 ounces per day.”

No it does not!  The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests a limit to that amount.  Big difference.

Juice should not be introduced into the diet of infants before 12 months of age unless clinically indicated. The intake of juice should be limited to, at most, 4 ounces/day in toddlers 1 through 3 years of age, and 4 to 6  ounces/day for children 4 through 6 years of age. For children 7 to 18 years of age, juice intake should be limited to 8 ounces or 1 cup of the recommended 2 to 2.5 cups of fruit servings per day.

What about adults?  Adults do not need more sugars or the calories they provide.   They too would be better off eating fruit.

Juice trade associations to the rescue.

The study:  100% Fruit juice intake and cardiovascular risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective and randomised controlled studies. Lanfranco D’Elia, et al.  European Journal of Nutrition (2020)

Methods: This is a meta-analysis of prospective studies and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) examining the relationship between consumption of 100% fruit juice (FJ) and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CV).

Conclusions: “The results of these analyses indicate that 100%FJ consumption is not associated with higher CV risk. A non-linear inverse dose–response relationship occurs between 100%FJ consumption and CV disease, in particular for risk of stroke, probably mediated by the decrease in blood pressure.”

Funding: “Open access funding provided by Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II within the CRUI-CARE Agreement. This project was funded by the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN) via an unrestricted grant. AIJN was not involved in the design, conduction, analysis and interpretation of the results.”

Comment: Why would anyone think that fruit juice, of all things, would be associated with heart disease risk?  You would have to be drinking a lot of it —at the exclusion of healthier foods—for it to make  a significant difference.  The only point of this study is to try to convince adults to drink more juice.  When I was a kid, fruit juice was expensive and we drank it in 4-ounce glasses.  If you drink fruit juice at all, that’s still a good idea.

Lots of questions come in about all kinds of things.  This one from a reader with the subject line “Fruit juice is so confusing.”

Fruit juice (especially without lots of pulp) gets a bad wrap from the nutritionist community.  The only nutrition based argument I can find has to do with juice containing loads of sugar and water, some vitamins, and little else.  However eating fruit seems to get praise ONLY because it contains fiber.  So would drinking juice and taking a fiber supplement be the nutritional equivalent to eating fruit?

Fruit has sugars but also vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  Nutritionists don’t worry about the sugars in fruit (or shouldn’t) because most people don’t eat much of it at any one time.  We hope that people will eat more fruit, not less.

Juice is another matter.  In small amounts (juice glasses were 6 ounces when I was growing up), juice contains the vitamins and minerals from fruit, but not much of the fiber.  Whole fruit is a better choice.  It’s also a better choice because juice is made from lots of fruit.  If you eat one apple—no problem.  If you drink apple juice, you could easily be consuming the sugars from six apples.

As for supplements, fiber and otherwise: they can never substitute for the full range of nutrients in foods.  You are always better off eating food.

It’s summer.  Enjoy the fruit.

PepsiCo has pledged to put real money behind promoting healthy foods, and it is doing just that with a new Tropicana campaign—Morning Spark.

The idea is to get millennials to drink orange juice in the morning, especially Tropicana OJ.

The campaign is going on the APlus.com site, whose cofounder is Ashton Kutcher.

The idea is to

introduce Tropicana to new audiences in new ways, through compelling and engaging content that people can connect to and want to share. Approaching 70 years, Tropicana is a heritage brand and realizes that today, more than ever, we can bring something people truly need to America’s breakfast tables – positivity and optimism. We hope this is the first step in redefining what Tropicana stands for in America’s households.

Who writes these things?  Oh well.

Here’s what the campaign is doing: a social experiment video.  The press release says:

To create the first video, Tropicana visited a coffee shop in Brooklyn on a weekday morning to hand out compliments to people and see if it sparked a change in their attitude, and it did. To see people light up and smile when we told them something positive we noticed was truly amazing. We can’t wait to do more of these efforts with A Plus.  Celebrities who shared the launch video: Ashton Kutcher, Adam Levine, Robin Thicke and Lil Wayne.

What is this about really?  “The orange juice category has faced challenges including declining sales, nutrition misconceptions and disease threatening citrus crops.”

The campaign points out the benefits of OJ: One 8-ounce glass of Tropicana’s 100% orange juice provides:

• A day’s supply of vitamin C – an antioxidant that promotes healthy skin and gums, helps your body to absorb iron from food and helps maintain a healthy immune system.
• Folic acid, which is essential for women of childbearing age.
• As much potassium as a banana. Potassium helps to maintain healthy blood pressure, among other benefits.

Funny thing: the campaign does not mention the 22 grams of sugars in 8 ounces.

Really, I have no trouble with 8 ounces of orange juice even though it must represent the juice of at least three oranges.

And really, freshly squeezed OJ is utterly delicious.  It is also less sweet than Tropicana.

For nutritional purists, an orange is a better choice.

But I’m totally for advertising healthier products, so let’s give Pepsi credit for this campaign.

Here’s what the Washington Post has to say about all this (I’m quoted)

I’ve been hearing about Alyssa Hamilton’s new book (pub date: May 26) for some time now.  It’s called “Squeezed: What You Don’t Know About Orange Juice.”  From what I can tell, it takes on the orange juice industry for processing the joy out of the juice.  Hamilton is currently with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy in Minneapolis.  She is Canadian and the Toronto Star has just interviewed her about the book.

I’m looking forward to reading it.  My son in California has an orange tree growing in his backyard.  The juice from its oranges is delicious even though it doesn’t taste nearly as sweet as commercial orange juice.   Orange juice producers want to offer a stable, consistent product.  It sounds like this book suggests that the taste-and-health costs of that consistency are pretty high.

A reader posted this question: “Marion, I’ve really enjoyed your book and found it extremely eye-opening. My question is… should I be buying organic juice for my toddler who drinks lots of juice?”
Sure, why not? Even though science has not yet been able to demonstrate much harm to children from consumption of pesticides, why take a chance when you don’t have to. Children who typically eat organic fruits and vegetables have lower levels of pesticides in their bodies, as shown by studies. That seems desirable. If you can afford organics, they are always a good idea. But lots of juice? Juices are great in small amounts but their sugar calories add up quickly. Have you thought of trying fruit? And giving your toddler water to drink?