Can you please tell me what drinks that are on the market are as healthy as they claim to be?  Ones such as Welch's grape juice, and other brands of juices like pineapple juice and apple juice.  Also, is store-bought orange juice healthy too?  I know most juices that are bought in stores have a lot of added sugar.   Is this healthy and what can I do to drink healthier and choose a healthy drink?    Please help."

Here in Florida, I've spend a bit of time arguing with cashiers in small markets without scanners about what constitutes "juice".  The legislature wisely decided some years ago to tax some food items such as candy and sugared drinks, while leaving untaxed pure juice.  Cashiers are often so unaccustomed to people buying pure juices that they try to tax them, something "up with which I will not put" (to paraphrase Winston Churchill's indignant response)!

I believe the overwhelming majority of consumers with children, and many others as well, are throwing money down the drain by buying fruit-flavored, sugary "ades" and calling them juice.   

The first concern is the amount of sugar in these drinks.  Serving them regularly is unwise:

• People, especially children, become habituated to having to drink only sweet things,
  
• Sugared drinks add considerable calories to the diet, taking the place of wholesome foods and adding to the American tendency to overweight,
  
• Sugared drinks, in most cases, are harder on the teeth,
  
• Lots of sugar in the diet probably leads to insulin resistance, and some experts believe to possible earlier onset of diabetes if one is going to get it anyway.

The second concern is additives.   Sugared drinks often have some fruit juice, but not always and not much.  The flavor and color comes from additives, mostly artificial.  While these additives have been approved by the FDA, they cannot be good for us in the quantities many people consume.  They certainly don't add anything positive to the diet.  So why take a chance?

The third concern is nutritional.   Both have sugars in one form or another.  "Ades" and "drinks" often have added Vitamin C and other added nutrients as well.  But only the real thing has the antioxidants and phytochemicals that contribute to good health and fight cancer, heart disease and all kinds of baddies that threaten our quality and length of life.    Mother Nature has an exclusive on manufacture of these valuable ingredients.  So why pay good money for an inferior product:  flavored drinks, sodas and ades?  Insist on the real thing!

Now to answer your question directly.   First, read the labels.  If a product contains added sugar, fructose, corn syrup or sucrose, it's not pure juice.  See "How Much Sugar?".   Note that some very acid fruits can only be consumed if sweetened, like cranberry juice cocktail.  These can sometimes be a healthy addition to the diet, in moderation, if they are primarily pure juices or ones diluted with a little water and sweetened, rather than flavored, colored water with sometimes a dribble of the real stuff.  These sweetened juices contain valuable antioxidants just like the pure stuff.   If a label reads primarily "water, reconstituted juice" that can still be pure juice.   Also, in the USA and in many other developed countries, if a label says, for instance, "Apple Juice"  or "Grape Juice"  it's really juice, not a substitute.    If it says "Delight" or "Drink" or "Cocktail" or "Punch", it's not. 

Second, in most cases fresh, reconstituted or frozen is better than bottled or canned.  Frozen is often better than fresh, because "fresh" fruit has often been hanging around or stored for a while before you juice it yourself, and fresh juice in the supermarket has often been exposed to light, a killer of nutrition, while frozen concentrate is usually processed within mere hours of harvest.   But unless you have a handy fruit tree just outside your door, go with what you prefer.  If you buy regular orange juice, either keep it in the dark refrigerator as much as possible (and yes, the light does go out when you close the door), or purchase it in wax cartons.

As to nutrition, apparently grape juice, whether frozen or bottled, is one big winner; see "What's the Latest on Grape Juice".   I believe the results are equally valid for frozen or bottled.  Orange and other citrus juices are another winner,  although I have reservations about canned citrus juice, based on little more than personal prejudice.  Prune juice is another star; see "Those Funny Prunes" for a surprise.   Some of the tropical juices are very high in nutrients, but hard to find without added sugar. 

Tomato juice, Clamato or V-8 is another juice high in nutrition.  It contains lycopene, the highly publicized cancer-fighter.  Watch the labels if you are on a salt-free diet, though, as it usually comes salted.   Try tomato juice with black pepper, or a dash of Worcestershire sauce, a squeeze of lemon or dab of hot sauce-- or all of the above for a really spicy cocktail!

Another popular juice is apple, usually bottled.  According to the USDA analysis, this juice has considerably less of almost everything except potassium.  Never the less, I personally suspect the bottom line isn't in yet on this drink.  While grape juice,  prune juice and even orange juice producers, as well as universities, have spent mega-bucks researching their respective nutritional value, to my knowledge there's not been a lot of research done into the overall health benefits of apple juice.  When this happens, I suspect it might be added to the list of extremely healthy drinks.  Apple cider is my favorite, and I will continue to drink it.

You are not alone in worrying about your juice intake.  Read another visitor's concerns and our answers at "What About Water?"  Meanwhile, remember that variety is the spice of life-- and a boost to your health as well.

For analysis of specific juices, enter a name of a juice at the USDA's searchable database.   For instance, I was totally uninformed about the nutritional value of pineapple juice.  I like pineapples, but rarely drink the juice.   I entered "pineapple juice" and checked two forms:  canned unsweetened without added ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and then frozen, reconstituted with water.  This example shows that things aren't always what they seem.   The canned juice was higher in Calcium and Folate.  Why?  I have no idea.  The frozen was higher in Vitamin A and slightly higher in Vitamin C.  On the surface this looks like canned might be a better choice, but the USDA database doesn't report on phytochemicals, antioxidants and so on.  Are some of them destroyed in the canning process?  Maybe.  Or maybe not.  So this one is a toss-up.   Type in your favorite juices and see which form has the most nutrients, but don't base your choice solely on that.   Go for ones you enjoy, too.

For more info on this subject see "Healthy Beverages or Trash Drinks".   Meanwhile, read labels and keep questioning your choices.  You're doing the right thing.

I have a question concerning what drinks to serve my family. The article suggested fruit juices, but from what I read on the labels there is a high content of sugar in juice.  My husband is also a diabetic and should not be drinking juice.  What is the difference between drinking juice and pop if the sugar is high in both?  Thank you.

In your husband's case, he certainly has to limit his intake of juice and fruit within the structure of  his diet.  In my opinion, he shouldn't be drinking soda pop either, even sugar free, except as an occasional treat.  Soda pop contains sodium as well as artificial flavors and sweeteners, and diabetics have enough problems already without putting all that into their bodies.

I read some amazing statistics today in Tipword's "Good Nutrition" newsletter, one of several excellent ones offered at Topica.     Lindsay Edwards, a technical writer specializing in health care, writes that Americans drink an average of over 486 cans of carbonated soft drinks every year.  Since many of us rarely if ever drink soda pop, that means some people are up to their eyeballs in it.   

This is an astonishing amount of sugar and salt.   I truly believe that if the same amount of calories were consumed in the form of fruits and veggies, American's health care bills would be cut by at least a third or more!   Not only that, this amount of soda pop certainly is one of the contributing factors in the increasing obesity (or at least overweight problem) in the USA.

To answer your question, what is the difference?   Aside from the above negatives regarding soft drinks, real fruit juice (not punch or "fruit drinks") has vital antioxidants that retard aging, fight cancer and other ills, protect the heart and circulatory system and generally contribute to good health.  Naturally, anything carried to extremes is harmful;  fruit juice shouldn't take the place of other foods that make up a balanced diet.  But the difference between the two is enormous.   If you absolutely are going to drink something sweet, make it real juice! 

Perhaps your husband would enjoy hot or iced tea, a surprisingly healthy drink.  If he likes sweet, naturally he should use an artificial sweeter.  I personally recommend stevia, a natural extract.   

I am really enjoying reading your site tonight, BUT I have one beef-- with the beverages page. 

I think water should be number one on your list. Very few of the beverages listed are actually beneficial, and all the juices contain a ton of sugar.  From all the research that I can gather (and this has been an issue on my mind for several years now) there is no  nutritional benefit to giving clear fruit juices (apple, grape, etc.) and you end up giving them empty calories.  Juices (like real fruit smoothies, freshly squeezed carrot juice, etc.) that you can't see through tend to be healthier and many carry lots of health benefits, but the kinds of juice most parents in America are giving their kids are not healthy for the children.

The only juices my older son will drink are the clear ones. He is such a picky eater that I just can't justify anything but organic milk or water in the house-- I can't afford to use up any of the calories he might intake on juice.

I feel one of the greatest nutritional gifts I can give this picky eater is a taste for water, and not a need to have some sweet beverage at meal times.

Thanks for an otherwise very, very helpful site.

You certainly have a point, Christine, and you may be doing the right thing although I don't necessarily agree with all your conclusions about juices.

It's true I didn't mention water on the beverage page.  I didn't think about it directly-- everyone should know that water is an excellent thing to drink; it keeps one hydrated without extra calories.   It satisfies and fills, and when taken as a prelude to a meal, helps overeaters cut down on their food intake.   It aids swallowing and digestion for the elderly.  

Actually, the reason I keep harping on juice and tea is that very few people-- including children-- drink very much pure juice OR water.  They drink fruity ades, powdered drink mixes, sodas, and everything but real fruit juice, and of course adults often fill up on endless cups of coffee and cans or bottles of beer.  To me, this is a negligent practice and great waste of money, as expressed in "Healthy beverages?  Or drowning your money in trash drinks?".   But telling them to drink plain water instead is probably going to go in one ear and out the other.

The second reason is that very few adults or children are getting the fruits and veggies they need in their diet.  The optimum amount, according to many sources, is about nine servings a day.  A glass of juice is a serving, and here's where I question the sources you mentioned.   Real fruit juice has most of the nutrients of the fruit from which they are extracted.   Even clear juice has most of those vitamins, minerals and important antioxidants.  See "Drink to a Healthier Heart" and   "What's the Latest on Grape Juice?".   Some nutrients,  including some of the fiber, are left behind, but 100% juices, whether clear or thick, have many of the nutrients of the real fruit, and so I do not  consider them "empty calories".  I'm going to ask Dietitian Jessica Setnick to double-check my opinion on this point. 

Even the "clear" juices provide fluid (i.e. water) and some vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals, and some are even fortified with nutrients that we tend to be deficient in, such as calcium-fortified orange juice, or V-8 Splash;  it is only in excess or when crowding out other foods in the diet that they can be harmful.  So I think to say that there is "no nutritional benefit" is not accurate.

There is nothing in juice that you couldn't get from eating the whole fruit (or vegetable) but that doesn't mean the juice is devoid of nutrition.  Juice is usually lacking the fiber that you would get from the whole fruit, though, except for something like a smoothie or the carrot juice mentioned where the whole fruit was used."

Juice is high in sugar, but if it is 100% juice, then it is the naturally occurring sugar that would also be found in the whole fruit.  It is easier to drink a glass of orange juice with the juice of four oranges than it would be to eat  four oranges, so it is easier to overdo calories with juice.  That is really  the main negative of juice-- just that it is so easy to overdo.

Only one serving of juice is considered a serving of fruit on the child food guide pyramid, even if the child drinks more than that in a day; i.e. you are not supposed to try to meet all your nutrient needs from the fruit group by juice.

Some research has shown that although the body tends to regulate calories taken in to match the amount of calories needed, beverage calories tend to not be regulated as well, e.g. a burger and fries with a coke would register the same to the satiety mechanism as a burger and fries with water, yet the former would have more calories, possibly an excess of calories.

An article posted by Family Education.com entitled "Can Too Much Fruit Juice Cause Growth Failure?' (article now expired) also warns against too much juice, although the author questions the results of the studies quoted.   They report:

"...researchers in upstate New York studied the dietary habits of 2-year old and 5-year old children and found that children who consumed 12 ounces or more of fruit juice per day are more likely to be shorter than normal and obese."   

That article also warns against giving children juice in a bottle, as does Jessica:

"...juice (or heaven forbid soda) should never be given in a baby bottle, ESPECIALLY to put a baby to sleep, as it can cause cavities, even in teeth that have not yet come in."

In addition, small babies may not be able to absorb the sugars in the juice, causing gas and colic.  It also can accustom them to sweets at too early an age.   Unfortunately, one juice most parents seem to give their babies, often in hot weather in place of water, is apple juice.  An article in ParentsPlace stresses that apple juice is not high on the list of nutritious drinks and shows what can happen when a child gets fixated on it, in "Too much apple juice?" with Sue Gilbert, M.S.

In thinking back on it, I didn't usually restrict my children's' total juice drinking habits, although I often made real-orange "ade" and lemonade, both so they would get more water and sometimes as an economy measure.  Even though my kids weren't picky eaters, however, I didn't serve juice with lunch or dinner; in fact I usually wouldn't let them drink anything but water for about a hour before a meal, so their appetite for other foods wouldn't be spoiled.  I know of children who slug down quantities of juice, soda or other drinks during a meal to satisfy hunger instead of eating, and always thought it was shortsighted of the parent to allow this.  Even milk with a meal can fill a child up to the point that other necessary foods are excluded.

You might consider letting your child have a limited amount of juice in between meals, though, for several reasons.  First, he would get some vitamins, minerals and vital antioxidants that he may be missing by being picky with his food.  Second, as long as a child is active, the sugars in a moderate amount of juice will be used to fuel activities and are not likely to interfere with mealtime eating later on.  A third precaution from Jessica:

"...another issue is that a child will be exposed to juices in other areas of his life, and to restrict them severely may lead to the child overvaluing juices versus other foods or drinks, the way some kids do with sweet cereals or candy when their parents make a big point of  restricting them."

It's the old "grass is always greener" syndrome;  as soon as kids are out of your sight, they'll want to do something that's forbidden to them at home.  Jessica has some ideas on serving juice:

"Many parents dilute fruit juices with water, or put a splash of fruit juice in water, or freeze juice to make colorful ice cubes to put in the water to get the kids to drink more fluid. Again water would be great plain, but if adding some juice helps kids drink more water, or if kids are not drinking juice to the exclusion of milk or water and it is incorporated  into the diet in a moderate way, that is not harmful."

My thoughts exactly.   But, as I mentioned in "About the Author",

"In the end you have to depend on yourself; your own research, your own knowledge and your own budget to determine what is the best diet for you and your family."

Thanks for your contribution, Christine, and your excellent reminder about the importance of water. I'm glad you're enjoying the Sneaky Kitchen, and thanks for your kind words.  Good luck with your picky eaters!  

• Healthy beverages? Or drowning your money in trash drinks?  
• What's the Latest on Grape Juice?
• Have you checked your food for sugar content?
• How to Measure Sugar

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