Fruit Juice: Fattening or Not?

If I drink juice, I always dilute it down, 1/2 water, 1/2 juice. Otherwise, it's too much sugar.

And I do prefer the whole fruit as opposed to the juice.

Brian

What an EXCELLENT POINT you have here!

Wow! I was trying to find the actual study by googling "Theresa Nicklas children juice" and instead got lost in dozens of copies of this story, from medical news wires to local TV stations. This story has legs. Is it being pushed or pulled? In any case, can you post a link to the actual study?

This is a more detailed news release. Many of the news releases contain this quote:

One startling finding, said Dr. Nicklas: More than half of the children studied (57%) drank no juice at all.

From the same news release I gave above:

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, issued in 2005 by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture noted that while whole fruit provides fiber, "the fruit juices most commonly consumed by older children and adults provide more vitamin C, folate, and potassium in portions usually consumed than do the commonly eaten fruits."

The guidelines recommended that at least one fruit serving in a daily diet come from 100% juice, noted Dr. Nicklas, a member of the guidelines advisory committee.What the $&*%&$?? We're supposed to prefer juice over whole fruit? Did some senator from Florida, California or Washington force this through??

I drink juice, but always as a snack, never as a replacement for water. When I'm running errands, I'll often get a large orange-papaya juice (freshly squeezed) as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.

Make your own juice at home, then you know exactly what you are getting.

Oh... this says that there was no paper - it's from a poster at a conference - the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting.

Some of you may not understand the significance: in most academic fields, journals contain the results of the most rigorously-reviewed research. A conference is where preliminary results are presented - the work in a conference is not as thorougly reviewed. Most papers in conferences are presented in some session. A poster at a conference is the least rigorously reviewed work - a person stands by a poster board with a description of the work, and interested people can walk by and see what's up. If you've got the time, here is the conference home page. I couldn't find the poster track (but I have to get to work). It's a gigantic conference. There was one paper related to Jim's questions - the title is "A Fresh Look at Tracking Childhood Obesity".

Anyway, based on my limited knowledge, I believe that this story is a complete set-up by the Juice Products Association, who funded the research. I'm not dissing Dr. Niklas - I'd guess she's a fine and upright researcher - but why would a dinky poster at a huge conference get so much exposure?

Here's an abstract from a recent journal article that takes the opposite position of Dr. Niklas:

Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition & Metabolic Care. 10(3):355-359, May 2007.
Baker, Susan S
Abstract:
Purpose of review: The high-nutrient needs of children for normal growth and development are matched by ready access to low-nutrient high-energy foods. Parents are often confused by new and at times conflicting information. This review discusses three recently published papers that offer specific and important dietary information for school-aged children.

Recent findings: Lactose intolerance is common in some populations and there are misconceptions about dairy intake. Most lactose-intolerant children can consume some dairy products without symptoms. Fruit-juice intake can predict increased weight gain in children, especially those who are already overweight or at risk for being overweight. Hypertension is a serious disease with onset likely in childhood. This paper discusses the importance of dietary sodium as a contributor to the development of hypertension, and the sodium content of children's diets.

Summary: Advice to parents on feeding children should be based on the food pyramid and include information on exercise. Recent publications suggest that children consume dairy products, even if lactose intolerant, restrict juice intake, remove sweetened beverages from their diets and reduce sodium consumption.
I think that Jim should label this thread under "the naked power of money".

Last comment: Dr. Niklas is indeed a fine and upright researcher. Her home page is here and her CV is here. She gets funding from all over.

most "convenient" juices have 140 cals per 8oz- that's a lot for a "healthy" drink, don't you think? not to mention the amount of sugar in there. you know it isn't all from fruit- far as i know, i'll choose eating grapes over sucking through a straw anyday! they're even better frozen than making "juice cubes" in the ice tray.

I actually avoid both fruit and fruit juice most of the time. All of our fruit is too sugary and not nutritious enough these days, thanks to the near-ideal conditions we grow them in. There are a few exceptions I make, particularly tomatoes. Also, when I'm bulking, I put bananas in my protein mixtures to make the stuff more palatable.

Oh, I should also add that, instead of fruit, you should eat the more nutrient dense vegetables, like green leafy ones.

I like your last point. Why bother with juice at all? Just eat the fruit. It's usually more portable, less likely to spoil and healthier. Making it into a juice is like working extra hard to get rid of some of the benefits of the fruit.

GJ
http://www.60in3.com

And remember that "100% fruit juice" may not include added sugars, but it may have ingredients added to the list, like preservatives and stabilizers. If you believe in "energy" (chi, qi, ki, prana, etc.), the older a juice is and the more it's been messed with (concentrated, reconstituted, frozen, unfrozen), the less "life force" it contains. I like the knudsenjuices.com "Just Juice" line, which I sometimes put in my SuperFood smoothies (50/50 with filtered water). That said, better to juice your own fresh, and best to...just eat the whole fruit!

I used to drink SO much juice. Then I started reading labels. Had the shock of my life at how much sugar I was drinking! I've cut it out totally now and stick to water.

In most European countries a serving of fruit juice at breakfast is a grand total of "2-4" ounces that is slowly sipped through out the meal... we are the only. Its also freshed squeezed with so sugar added. I think its again a portion control issue.

In South American Countries, they drink OJ diluted considerably with water... about a 1:1 ratio. Again- no sugar added. I think its only Americans that demand their giant 8-12 oz glasses of PURE strong fruit juice.

Quito said:
but why would a dinky poster at a huge conference get so much exposure?[...]

Those 20 seconds have more impact on how people choose their food than any amount of well-meaning blogs or even other large studies.

Why does such a small story that goes against most other research - get such coverage?