Hey there, health freaks! Have you been on a juice cleanse? No? Well have you been drinking
a lot of fruit juice at least? Then you might enjoy this. Juice is a morning staple for
many of us. But what does it do to our health? Well many things, both positive and negative.
Let’s talk about what drinking fruit juice every day does to your body.
Does it cause you to gain weight? Will your blood sugar spike? Wait, is juice ruining
my teeth? We’re talking all that AND more…
It Hurts Your Teeth
Are you a happy person? Well drinking fruit juice every day can really do a number on
your smile.
Citric fruits like lemons, grapefruits and oranges all carry a ton of acids that will
eat away at your tooth enamel. This is the protective, outer layer of your teeth. It
is meant to prevent your teeth from decaying.
When you drink fruit juice on the regular, you’re exposing your teeth to this citric
acid. If it’s an everyday thing, your tooth enamel will be overwhelmed. Eventually it
wears away, and your pearly whites rot. If it’s not taken care of, this will lead to
cavities and even tooth loss.
Orange juice in particular has the power to decrease your tooth enamel by 84%! If you
think that’s bad, well get this. Juices like lime and cranberry are said to be more
acidic than vinegar. Parents who give their children fruit juice are told to have them
drink it all at once instead of sipping away at it all day long. This will give their teeth
for time to produce saliva and fight the acid.
It’s also recommended that you stay away from fruit juice before bed. It will leave
your teeth covered with sugar, which feeds bacteria and contributes to tooth decay. If
you love crushing fruit juice, but your teeth are suffering, cut the consumption. Whatever
fruit juice you choose to have, drinking it every day will lead to one angry dentist.
Do you happen to know that your favorite food is ruining your teeth? Which snack satisfies
your sweet tooth? Sound off in the comment section, and start a conversation in our Bestie
community.
You Gain Weight
Much like soda, everyday fruit juice consumption will cause you to shoot up in weight. Think
about the amount of sugar you’re having in just one drink.
And get this, a single cup of orange juice has roughly 10% of your daily recommended
carbs. In that, we’re talking about 20 grams of sugar. The average grown male is recommended
no more than 36 grams of sugar a day, while the average female only 25!
Fruit juice is also low in fiber. That same cup of orange juice provides less than one
gram. As a result, your stomach isn’t going to feel full. This may cause you to drink
more orange juice, along with whatever carb-heavy food you're having for breakfast.
Drinking calories alone puts you at risk of gaining weight. This is because of all the
fatty foods you’re also consuming throughout the day. Because juice is so easy to drink,
you’re not thinking about the calories you’re taking in. Every now and then, you need to
step back and check how much juice you’ve had. If you are well over your sugar and calorie
intake for the day, slow down.
Everyday fruit juice will take its toll on your waistline. If you’re working on your
fitness, it’s time to cut back.
You Get Great Nutrients
Let’s talk about one of the positive effects of everyday fruit juice. It’s not all bad,
you know. Fruit juice contains a lot of Vitamins and minerals. That cup of orange juice I was
talking about, it gives you almost 125 mg of Vitamin C. Guess how much that is… 138%
of your daily recommended intake!
But let’s move over to some other choices. Orange juice isn’t the only accessible drink
at the store. Pomegranate juice holds some good stuff too. I mean sure, it’s heavy
in calories and loaded with sugar, but one cup contains 5% of your daily fiber. Not to
mention a decent balance of Vitamin C, potassium and iron.
These nutrients help get the body working. You don’t realize how much you need certain
Vitamins until your doctor tells you how unhealthy you are.
A daily dose of fruit juice can provide some good antioxidants. These include polyphenols,
carotenoids and flavonoids. These antioxidants will fight against free radicals and reduce
your risk of illness. This leads to another positive benefit I need to mention…
Increased Brain Function
A healthy cup of fruit juice every morning might just be what your brain needs to stay
in shape. Fruit juice has been linked to improved cognitive function. This is due to their antioxidants
and nutrients.
A study from 2019 found that older men with a regular diet of veggies, fruits and fruit
juice have a much lower risk of memory loss. It went on to say that those who drink a healthy
amount of fruit juice in their 50’s and 60’s will be less likely to suffer from
cognitive decline later in life.
Out of all the fruit juice flavors, orange juice was shown to be the healthiest for these
men. This is because of its carotenoids, as well as Vitamins C, B1 and B6. Subjects who
drank orange juice daily showed better brain function than those who didn’t.
If you’re below 50, and would like a head start, begin with one glass of orange juice
a day. Just make sure that it’s 100% orange juice. This means that the OJ is made only
from oranges, with no artificial ingredients added through processing. People who drink
100% orange juice tend to score higher on tests for cognitive function.
So if you own a juicing machine and would like to make your own OJ, give it a go!
Before we continue, are you concerned about the overall state of your health? Check out
our recent video on what eating brazilian nuts every week does to body. Now back to
our discussion on the daily effects of fruit juice...
It Increases Your Risk of Diabetes
We’re back to the negative side of fruit juice. Because many juices are loaded with
sugar, too much of it will cause your blood sugar to shoot up. This results in hyperglycemia.
When it comes to the impact of orange juice on your blood sugar, the glycemic index places
it between 66 to 70 out of 100. People with low blood sugar will drink fruit juice so
their blood sugar level can increase.
Let's talk about fructose for a second. This is the type of sugar that fruit juice is rich
in. When fructose is first ingested, it is processed by the liver. If you are drinking
too much fructose, your liver will become overwhelmed. This can lead to type-2 diabetes.
If your blood sugar level is already high, fruit juice is not the way to go. Every cup
you drink brings you one step closer to diabetes.
It Makes Your Heart Healthier
While high blood sugar is nothing to mess around with, a healthy amount of fruit juice
can do wonders for your blood pressure.
Juices that are rich in Vitamin C and potassium help boost your heart health, all while managing
hypertension. This is a medical condition where your blood pressure is way too high.
Again, OJ is a prime example of a juice with many of these nutrients. But you need to remember
to drink 100% OJ.
Aside from orange juice, studies have revealed that pomegranate is also helpful in the fight
against hypertension. A cup of pomegranate juice once a day for four weeks has been shown
to lower your blood pressure.
Just be sure that the pomegranate juice isn’t loaded with sugar. The sugar content will
ruin the Vitamins chances of helping you.
Fruit Juice Boosts Your Immune System
A cup of healthy fruit juice will strengthen your immunity. This lowers your chances of
getting sick.
The Vitamin C in citrus fruits packs a heck of a punch. Seriously, drinking Vitamin C
will help repair your damaged cells. Research shows that a person with low Vitamin C will
take much longer for their wounds to heal. Even a slight cut can be a challenge.
Tomato juice carries a healthy amount of folate and magnesium. These two minerals have anti-inflammatory
effects, which will lower your risk of infection. Even though it’s more of a smoothie, a mix
of strawberry and kiwi will also supply a good amount of Vitamin C.
The milk present in this drink will provide you with Vitamin D, something countless people
are going without. A Vitamin D deficiency increases your risk of infection.
Or if you want, replace the milk in strawberry kiwi for some Greek yogurt. Not only are you
getting 10 grams of protein, the probiotics in the yogurt will strengthen your cells.
So if your doctor is telling you that your immune system is in trouble, a daily cup of
pure fruit juice will get your cells back on track.
Do you drink fruit juice? Will you drink more or less after watching this video? Let us
know in the comments below. We would love to hear from you!