why should we avoid drinking fruit juice? Understand

Although there are more and more options for healthy fruit juices, vegetables or smoothies to start the day, orange juice remains one of the favorite drinks to “start with everything”. Times are changing, culture about nutritional importance and knowledge about how consumed foods influence health are increasing. But in the case of the popular citric juice, the habit of drinking it goes back decades and even crosses generations.

Is it possible to abandon a drink whose consumption has been cultivated by parents since childhood? It seems difficult. And the truth is that there is a big question about the benefits of orange juice. The subject, by itself, generates discord among health and nutrition professionals. There are those who encourage its consumption, and those who, on the other hand, warn that the practice can be harmful to health.

– If we talk about the nutrients that the orange provides the body as a whole fruit, we find many, but mainly simple carbohydrates and vitamin C stand out – explains Juliana Gimenez, nutritionist. Along the same lines, she adds that oranges contain large amounts of fiber and, in smaller amounts, provide potassium, folates and calcium.

Gimenez points out that, thanks to the mentioned nutrients, the orange has benefits such as: increased immune function due to vitamin C, improved digestion due to its high fiber content, and produces improvements in the cardiovascular system due to its high contribution of antioxidant compounds that help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the nutritionist clarifies that these properties are effective when the fruit is consumed whole and not as juice.

Is it good to drink orange juice every day?

According to Gimenez, it is important to bear in mind that when consuming oranges in the form of juice, two or three units of the fruit are consumed. In this way, there is a greater concentration of sugars, which ends up affecting blood sugar levels, becoming something dangerous, especially for people with diabetes. In the same way, he adds that in people with frequent heartburn, tolerance should be evaluated, because, as the drink contains large amounts of citric acid, it increases the acidity of the stomach and can cause symptoms of discomfort.

In addition, nutritionist and director of Nutrim, Mariana Patrón Farias explains that there are two major differences between consuming orange juice daily and consuming the whole fruit. As a main point, she highlights satiety.

– The juice does not require chewing like the fruit. Thus, drinking does not quench. On the other hand, if you eat the fruit, you will feel full thanks to the rich fiber content, ”she says.

As a second point, Farias highlights the glycemic index.

– The juice concentrates around 10% of sugars from the fruit, a value similar to that of a common soft drink, although of different origin and with an excess of additives in the latter case – he observes. Later, he justifies that by wasting the orange fiber transforming it into juice, after consumption, there is an increase in glycemia (blood glucose).

A study published in the journal JAMA Network shows that because it does not contain any nutrients that satisfy and slow down digestion, orange juice can cause a spike and drop in blood sugar, which in the long term can lead to weight gain. .

And, as if such statements were not enough, the American physician and specialist in obesity, Robert Lustig, author of “Fat Chance: The Bitter Truth About Sugar”, states in his book that drinking fruit juice is worse than drinking soda. According to Lustig, discarding the fiber from the fruit after pressing it increases the absorption of fructose and decreases the presence of nutrients, especially vitamin C.

On whether it is worth replacing orange juice with the juice of another fruit, Gimenez warns:

— Considering the issue of fiber loss and blood sugar spikes, the situation would be the same with other fruits. Therefore, what must change is the mode of consumption.

Finally, the nutritionist adds that, if you are going to consume it occasionally, orange juice should be taken immediately after it is made, since, when it comes into contact with oxygen, it oxidizes and loses nutrients.