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A new analysis of previous research has found that drinking one or more glasses of 100% fruit juice each day slightly increases weight in children and adults.
“One of the fundamental issues with juicing is quantity. Consuming fruit in this way makes it very easy to overdose,” says John F., professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. said co-author and leading nutrition researcher Dr. Walter Willett, a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston.
“For example, how often do you eat three oranges? However, one glass of OJ is the equivalent of three oranges, which can be consumed in 1-2 minutes, so if you go back for another one, it will contain more calories and lower your blood sugar levels. ,” Willett said in an email. .
Experts say too much sugar in the blood can lead to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, obesity and other chronic diseases.
Although the study's conclusions do not indicate direct causation, only an association, the results are “very reasonable and in line with what we see clinically.” “It's consistent,” said Dr. Tamara Hannon, a pediatric endocrinologist and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics' nutrition committee. , was not involved in the study.
Due to concerns about increases in childhood obesity and tooth decay, AAP advises Parents and guardians should avoid juice altogether for infants under 1 year of age, and limit their intake to 4 ounces per day for ages 1 to 3 and 6 ounces per day for ages 4 to 6. Please limit.
“Unless your child can't tolerate their regular diet, try substituting juice for whole fruits and vegetables,” said Hannon, director of the pediatric diabetes program at Riley Children's Hospital and professor of medicine and molecular genetics at Indiana University. “There's really no health reason to consume it.” M.D. of Indianapolis.
Teens and adults should consume no more than 8 ounces of 100% juice per day, according to national nutritional guidelinesand juice should not be considered a healthy way to quench your thirst.
“General guidance is against 'routine' consumption, i.e. relying on juice instead of water when thirsty, or consuming juice specifically for its health benefits.” , said Dr. David Katz, a preventive and lifestyle medicine expert who founded the nonprofit organization. A commitment to true health, a global coalition of experts specializing in evidence-based lifestyle medicine. He was not involved in the study.
“It's not for daily health benefits, but for something sweet to have once in a while. In this situation, fruit juice is a much better option than soda for many reasons,” Katz said in an email.
Effects of juice on the body
For some, concerns about 100% fruit juice may be confusing. Fruits are good for your health. So what is the difference between fruit and its juice?
For example, eating a whole apple will not spike your blood sugar levels. This is because fructose, a sugar naturally found in fruits and some vegetables, is slowly released into the bloodstream. However, when you drink apple juice, you get a lot of fructose in your blood.
“Blood cannot become sweet. This is dangerous for the organs, so the body has many mechanisms in place to quickly remove sugar and keep blood sugar levels normal,” Hannon explained. “So the liver, which metabolizes sugar, converts most of those calories into fat, which can be easily stored and kept out of the bloodstream.”
That's not the only effect, said corresponding study author Basanti Malik, a research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health.
“When you consume calories in solid form, your brain has a better ability to keep track of those calories and adjust your food intake accordingly,” Malik says. “But if you eat these calories, you won't feel full and may start eating again.”
meta-analysis, Published on Tuesday We analyzed 42 studies in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. 17 were children and 25 were adults.
“The nice thing about meta-analysis is that it requires small studies and all the data can be put together and analyzed as if it were one big study,” Hannon says.
Research shows that in children, each additional serving of 100% fruit juice per day was associated with a 0.03 increase in body mass index (BMI) change.
Initially, Malik said, the study found no effect of variations in calorie measurement methods in adults. However, when they reviewed only a subset of 25 studies that adjusted for calories, the results showed only a 0.02 change in BMI.
to Calculate BMI for adultsweight is divided by the square of the person's height. A child's healthy weight range is based on their BMI from the 5th percentile to the 85th percentile. CDC growth chart. Parents and caregivers should never use adult BMI calculators to determine a child's weight status because the calculations are more complex, the CDC said.
While the changes in BMI found in the study may be small on a per-person basis, “for a small portion of the world's population as a whole, this is significant, especially since most people drink less than 4 ounces of juice a day.” It's a standard portion that has a very big impact,'' Hannon said.
“They're drinking 16, 20, 24 ounces of juice a day, which is associated with a significant increase in BMI,” she says. “My advice to parents is to always consult your doctor, but don't think of juice as a healthy drink when you're thirsty.
“If your child can eat it, give them whole fruit as a snack or treat,” Hannon added. “And if you're using juice as a fruit, aim for half a cup and no more than that in a day.”
“Whole fruits and vegetables are packaged with nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, and vitamins, all of which contain fiber. That's how our bodies receive nutrients. “We're starting to do that,” Hannon said. “When you remove the packaging, you remove the fiber and structural parts of the food, and our bodies digest and metabolize it differently than what we evolved to do.”
