Everyone likes to drink a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, maybe you have one ready for Sunday breakfast right now. Fruit juice is often the first thing we reach for when we want to lose weight, but is that juice really as healthy as we think? Food scientist Jana Van Stappen from KU Leuven explains.
The more fiber, the better
An occasional glass of fresh fruit juice can do no harm, but there are still many reasons why you prefer a real piece of fruit with your breakfast. “It starts with the fibres,” explains food scientist Jana Van Stappen of KU Leuven. “Fruit juice contains much less fiber than a piece of fruit. For comparison: 100 grams of fruit juice contains an average of 0.5 grams of fiber. In a full orange that is 3.1 grams. Those fibers play a very important role in our feeling of hunger. The less fiber you eat, the less time you stay satiated. As a result, you will get hungry again faster and grab snacks.”
The fact that these fibers play such an important role in our diet has to do with the biological process they cause in our body. “Dietary fibers create a kind of gel-like environment in our small intestine,” explains Van Stappen. “That ensures that your stomach is emptied less quickly. In other words, your food digests more slowly, as it should.”
Less fiber means you feel less full, so you get hungry again faster and eat again faster.
By juicing the fruit, you not only lose fiber, but also other important nutrients, including minerals and vitamins. “You actually crush all the healthy elements in a piece of fruit. Not entirely natural, because some remains in the juice, but never as much as if you were to eat a whole piece of fruit.”
What about the amount of sugar?
The fluidity of fruit juice is also a disadvantage rather than an advantage. “Liquids enter the intestines faster than solids. Logical: you simply drink faster than you chew. But that also ensures that your blood glucose and insulin levels will peak faster and higher than when you eat a piece of fruit. Chewing is also better for your metabolism.”
And don’t forget: fruit does contain sugar. “You can count on the fact that 100 grams of fruit juice contains as much sugar as one slice of orange. So far there is no problem. But for one glass of orange juice you need three to four oranges, and that makes a big difference. So if you drink a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, you get quite a lot of sugars in a short time.”
Nutritionists recommend eating a serving of 250 grams of fruit daily. That equates to about two pieces a day.
In short: eating more fruit instead of drinking fruit juice ensures that you are less hungry, that you absorb more healthy nutrients such as fiber, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals and that you consume fewer sugars. “Nutrition experts recommend eating a daily portion of 250 grams of fruit,” says Van Stappen. “That equates to about two pieces a day.” So don’t drink those pieces – or more – all at once.”
Is there something wrong with pressed fruit juice or is a glass okay?
Jana Van Stappen would like to dispel another common myth about fruit juice. “Despite the relatively higher amount of sugars and the low amount of fiber, studies do show that there is actually no connection between drinking fruit juice and the risk of cardiovascular disease or diabetes.”
“In itself there is nothing wrong with freshly squeezed fruit juice. It is better than soft drinks anyway, because you still get enough minerals and vitamins to get health benefits from it. At least, if you drink pure fruit juice, without extra added sugars. It doesn’t matter much which fruits you choose. Just choose what you like.”
“The most important thing to remember is that fresh fruit juice can be a cheap solution to meet your daily fruit intake, but it should not be a substitute for eating enough fruit. So you better see it as a supplement to your fruit intake, in moderate amounts.”
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