We are all aware that homemade fruit juices are healthier than their ready-made, sugar-loaded, “reconstituted” counterparts.
We all know that fruit juices are packed with vitamins and minerals, the essential nutrients key to optimal health and functioning of our body. And, as parents, we like to make sure our little ones have their morning OJ.
Could it be that we have been getting it wrong for so many years?
On March 19th, 2014, Harvard School of Public Health published an alarming report showing evidence that fruit sodas and juices along with sports drinks are responsible for 180,000 deaths each year in the USA alone. The vast majority of health and nutrition experts dismissed this report or belittled it by saying “we already know that sodas are bad, nothing new”. But most have missed one important element to this report: it appeared that natural fruit juices also had adverse effects on our health.
Indeed, this claim has been substantiated by a recent year long study published by the Swinburne University of Technology at Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia conducted on 160 healthy adults.
Dr. Mathew Pase, head of the study, and his team, have proven beyond any doubt that the daily consumption of fruit juices (even homemade) had an impact on our blood pressure. They measured daily two types of blood pressures: brachial (that’s the classical way of measuring it with an armband), and aortic (using a specific technique called radial artery applanation). They classified juice consumption in 3 categories: rare, occasional or daily.
After one year, no evidence of raised blood pressure was shown using the brachial measuring system. However, the central pressure, the aortic one, was higher by 3-4 mm Hg in the population consuming daily fruit juices.
According to Dr. Pase, “the findings suggest the daily use of fruit juice may increase central blood pressures, which are known to be associated with cardiovascular disease risk and cognitive impairment — ie. problems with mental functioning.”
Why are those supposed elixirs of health turning out to be harmful? Because juices, even homemade, have been stripped of all or most of the produce’s fiber. As a result the sugar they contain is not counterbalanced with fiber, thereby not giving the liver enough time to metabolize the sugar that rushes into our bloodstream.
The solutions :
- Drink your homemade juices with the pulp
- Replace fruit juices by the actual whole fruit and remember to chew well
- If you like juicing, replace high in sugar fruit with kale, spinach, cucumber, and the likes
- If you make a smoothie, add more whole fruits and reduce yogurt and fruit juice concentrates.
- And…reprogram your brain: stop thinking your kid needs his/her morning OJ, they are better off eating a piece of fresh fruit!
To your health!
Tags: boosts drinks fruit juices fruits Harvard health heart juice juices juicing kale Matthew Pase smoothie spinach
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