Disease Proof

Here’s a question. Is drinking juice a good idea if you’re looking to eat healthfully? Let’s find out. Christine McKinney, MS, RD, CDE of Eat Right, Stay Well discusses juice. Take a look:

Fruit juice can fit into your daily diet if you follow these two rules: Drink only 100-percent fruit juice, and monitor your portion sizes. Read the food label to find out whether a product is 100-percent juice. Beware of terms like "fruit drink," "fruit cocktail" or "fruit punch," all of which may indicate it is not 100-percent juice and is loaded with artificial flavorings and extra sugar.


As for portion size, adults should drink no more than two cups (16 ounces) each day. This may vary depending on your age, body weight and gender, but it's a good general guideline.

Although most adults need about two servings or cups of fruit per day, 100-percent fruit juice can count as one, or even two, of those servings. The problem arises when people drink more than this, and those extra calories turn into extra weight.

I don’t know if “100-percent fruit juice” can ever equal a serving of fruit. What about all the other good stuff fruit contains, like fiber? From Eat to Live, here’s Dr. Fuhrman on juice:

Liquid calories, without the fiber present in the whole food, have little effect at blunting our caloric drive. Studies show that fruit juice and other sweet beverages lead to obesity in children as well.1 If you are serious about losing weight, don’t drink your fruit — eat it. Too much fiber and too many nutrients are removed during juicing, and many of the remaining nutrients are lost through processing, heat, and storage time. If you are not overweight, drinking fresh-prepared juice is acceptable as long as it does not serve as a substitute for eating those fresh fruits and vegetables. There is no substitute for natural whole foods.

Now, Dr. Fuhrman isn’t super ardent about not consuming any juice. Check out his response in the comments of Pomegranate Power. Here:

I do not think a little fresh squeezed fruit juice is bad, just not a good idea for those who are trying to lose weight. Certainly, even a few ounces of pomegranate or red grapefruit juice is not going to blow your diet. Similar to olive oil, people think because my book, Eat To Live encourages the reader to avoid oil, (because all oil is 120 calories a tablespoon and it can add up fast) that I am dead set against using even a little bit of olive oil occasionally. Apply the principles, but it does not have to be that rigid.

I’m with Dr. Fuhrman on this one. Part of my daily eating is a nice sip of pomegranate juice and its not making me fat.
1. Dennison, B. A., H. L. Rockwell, and S. L. Baker. 1997. Excess fruit juice consumption by preschool-aged children is associated with short stature and obesity. Pediatrics 99 (1): 15–22; Dennison, B. A. 1996. Fruit juice consumption by infants and children: a review. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 15 (5 supp.): 4–11S.