Is Fruit Juices As Unhealthy As Soft Drinks?

Misconception about Healthy Fruit Juices

Fruit juice is generally perceived as healthy and far superior to sugary soft drinks. With fruit juice stores sprouting everywhere from shopping centres, to heartland malls, to our local kopitiam (coffee shops) giving health benefits like detox, liver or kidney cleansing, antioxidants, removing bacteria from your body, etc. The perception of making drinks from all-natural ingredients is good for us. A combination of misinformation and skillful marketing, fruit juice has long benefitted from being a health halo, even though it has as much sugar as a Coke or Pepsi. Thus, many people in Singapore are turning to drinking fruit juices as a healthier choice to soft drinks.

However, studies have been conducted that juices are not necessarily the healthier choice. The sugar content in these fruit juices are as much as a soft drink. We know that juice comes from real fruit, while soda is artificial. The sugars content in juice perceived to be more "natural" than high fructose corn syrup — the main sweetener in many soft drinks.

A test conducted by Channel News Asia (CNA) featured on 21 Jul 2019, showed that many people believed that freshly squeezed orange juice has one of the lowest sugar content and are considered healthy for kids. However, this is not at all true. The amount of sugar on a freshly squeezed orange compared to a cola drink is almost the same, with no added sugar orange juice following closely behind. (See image below)

Blood sugar spikes when your blood sugar rises and then falls sharply after you eat or drink. In the short term, they can cause lethargy and hunger. Over time, your body may not be able to lower blood sugar effectively, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. Diabetes is a rising health problem.

Some problems with fruit juice:

1. Lack of fibre - Juicing removes the insoluble fibre and releases sugar in the process. Most of the sugar in fruit is fructose, which can only be processed by our human liver. Fibre protects us against the effects of fructose by slowing its absorption, and also makes us feel full. Fruit juice, on the other hand, is quickly absorbed, like all sugary drinks, as the fibre has been removed. A small amount of fructose, in an apple for example, does us no harm because we consume it along with the fibre. Imagine drinking a glass of orange juice containing 4 whole oranges vs eating 4 oranges as a fruit. Some experts say that drinking fructose in liquid form stops the liver from doing its job properly, which is linked to a range of health problems, including obesity, type-2 diabetes and increased fat production, including in the liver itself.

2. Fructose makes us think we are still hungry – causing us to overeat – and is addictive, making us crave more.

3. Over-consumption of fruit juice – juice is consumed as a thirst quencher rather than a cup of goodness of vitamins and minerals needed for our body

Fruit juice and soft drinks are a concentrated source of sugar. Fruit juice may only increase your risk of disease when drunk in large amounts. People are better off eating the fruit, thus retaining the fibre, they can control the calorie intake and can feel more full from chewing on the fruit.