Juice

Juice, is it good or bad for us?

Like most topics this one is bigger then it first seems and there is not a clear cut answer. There are two major group of juice, fruit and vegetable. The first thought that comes to mind when you hear the word juice is a clear drink that is made from fruit and we have all heard that this is good for us. And when you chose juice over soda or coffee that would be true. But it is still a beverage that is loaded with a simple carbohydrate also known as fructose or type of sugar. Which bring us to the different types of sugar. All carbohydrates whether simple or complex break down into glucose (sugar) in the body. This is a good thing because glucose is what feeds our brains. The problem with carbohydrates is the type and the amount. Simple carbohydrates are foods that have been striped of their nutritional value such as white cane sugar, white bread, and clear fruit juice to name a few. These foods enter the body, they cause sudden reactions from the pancreas and adrenal glands and then another sudden reaction when this food is gone thus triggering unnecessary hormone secretion. Your brain now wants more of this short lived foods so you crave more. Also because this food in incomplete nutritionally you body tries to make it complete by robing your own body for the missing nutrients. Complex carbohydrates still contain the majority of their nutritional value and are very close to their natural state such as brown rice syrup, whole grain bread, and whole fruit. These supply the body of many needed nutrients while reacting calmly with the pancreas and adrenal glands supporting all of the bodies systems.

So back to juice, when you take an apple and refine it into a juice you are left with a lot of sugar, a simple carbohydrate, and some nutrients. The higher the nutrients in the fruit to begin with such as dark berries like cranberries, the higher the nutrition in the juice. With vegetable juice you are separating the liquid from the pulp but this liquid is not clear, pulp is still present. A vegetable juice will still contain some sugar, a complex carbohydrate, with some fiber and a large amount of vitamins and minerals.

So is juice good for or bad for us? It really depends on what kind of juice you are drinking and how much. For the most nutritous drink try a all fruit smoothie or all veggy smoothie, I will tell you more in my next blog.

Please leave a comment if you have more questions.