The Dark Side of Fruit Juice

Many families buy fruit and do not eat it directly, but squeeze it to drink with the hope that the juice will help them have bright skin, provide enough vitamins, and is especially good for children. Is this really true?

Drinking a lot of fruit juice increases the risk of cancer

According to the conclusion of Australian researchers published in the Daily Mail, consuming fruit juice containing too much sugar can increase the risk of cancer.

Previously, Australian researchers have tried to find the connection and effects of different fruits, vegetables and fruit juices in preventing the development of colon cancer.

They followed the health of 2,200 adults and the foods they ate every day for 2 years to study the development pattern of the disease. The results showed that people who eat fruits and vegetables such as apples, cauliflower,... will have a chance to reduce the risk of colon cancer.

But surprisingly, people who consume a lot of fruit juice have a higher risk of cancer than normal people. This is not surprising because experts have dissected the real uses as well as the harmful effects of fruit juice.

Talking about fruit juice increasing the risk of cancer, Dr. Truong Hong Son - Director of the Vietnam Institute of Applied Medicine, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam Medical Association said that by drinking fruit juice, we unintentionally lose the valuable thing of fruit, which is fiber.

Fiber is the substance that helps us prevent cancer, especially digestive tract cancer. Fruit juice does not provide us with what we want.

Sharing the same opinion, nutritionist Pham Thi Thuc - An Viet Hospital's Nutrition Clinic and Consulting believes that fruit juice should not be used much because it ignores valuable fiber.

Fruit juice causes obesity

According to Dr. Son, if comparing fruit juice and whole fruit, whole fruit will have more nutrients and better health effects.

When you juice fruit, the sugar in the fruit is also metabolized more quickly, causing your blood sugar to rise more quickly than if you eat the whole fruit. Blood sugar can also rise significantly if you drink juice made from sugary fruits or vegetables (like beets or carrots) or from commercial fruit juices that have added sugar.

On average, there are 140 calories in 250 ml of fruit juice. Therefore, drinking fruit juice is not a way to detox or lose weight.

Commercial fruit juices can also be high in calories if consumed in excess and may contain artificial flavors, preservatives, and sweeteners. Because they are high in sugar and acid, fruit juices can cause tooth decay and increase the risk of obesity. For example, grapefruit juice contains 50% more sugar than cola.

In addition, fruit juice also contains a lot of starch from fruit, although better than starch from processed grains, it will still be harmful to the body if absorbed too much and especially easily causes weight gain, not weight loss as many people think.

Because of the above disadvantages, Dr. Son said that before using fruit juice, mothers should also pay attention to this disadvantage.

Doctor Thuc added that many families squeeze fruit juice and put it in the refrigerator to drink gradually, causing the nutrients in the fruit to change linearly, reducing its effectiveness or possibly causing digestive disorders.

There is no denying the benefits of fruit juice. It is a simple alternative for those who do not like or do not have the conditions to eat fruits and vegetables directly and is also a way to ensure that they drink enough water every day.

In addition to being high in nutrients, containing vitamins (such as vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C) and healthy minerals (such as copper, magnesium, potassium), fruit juice is also a good source of folic acid.

Just like fruit, fruit juice also contains a certain amount of antioxidants that are good for health. Antioxidants in fruit juice can help boost immune function, improve blood flow and circulation, lower blood pressure, fight inflammation, and maintain stable cholesterol levels.

According to giadinh.net