When nutrition experts recommend avoiding sugary drinks, do they mean fruit juice too?
While a glass of 100 percent fruit juice does contain sugar – the fruit’s natural sugar – thanks to the additional nutrients and phytochemicals it provides, fruit juice is categorized differently than regular high-sugar soft drinks. As a concentrated source of calories, however, even natural juice poses a problem if consumed in large quantities. And, unfortunately, as conventional juice lacks the filling fiber found in whole fruit, it’s easy to take in more calories than you need. For example, one eight-ounce glass of orange juice provides about 112 calories; many people can easily swallow double that amount in one sitting. Yet it would take about two medium oranges just to equal the calories of the first glass of juice. It’s doubtful most of us would even consider doubling those calories by eating four oranges at once. The bottom line: if you enjoy fruit juice, have a glass daily, but remember to watch your portion size (pay particular attention to bottled juices sold at convenience s
