I get asked this question all the time, “It isn’t good to drink fruit juice because it has a ton of sugar in it, right?” Most of us know sugar is the enemy of our weight loss goals. Eating processed refined sugars, aka white sugar even raw sugar, and white flour based food products are NOT going to help us lose weight by accident. Basically, when our blood sugar levels go up and down drastically, which is what the “white” stuff does to our bodies, it signals the body to store fat thinking it is in an emergency situation.

However, juice is totally different then the “white” stuff, but there are exceptions. There are certain juices that I just totally ban! I will get into that in a moment.

Fresh Juice It Up

So, juice when juiced right from the fruit is good for you. It is packed full of vitamins. Let’s say you weren’t feeling so well, so you crave some orange juice for the Vitamin C. In a single glass of juice you have Vitamin C from 3 – 4 oranges, which is fantastic because when you’re not feeling so great you need as much Vitamin C as possible.

If you try to eat 3-4 oranges you would probably stop at 2 because there is so much fiber you would be full by the 2^nd orange. Therefore, especially when you feel your body is feeling run down and you have little energy drinking FRESH pulpy juice is awesome for the jam packed vitamins that exist in the juice to nurse you back to health.

With that said, drinking any more than an 8 oz glass of juice a day would be TOO much because not only is it packed with vitamins it is sugary as well. Even though fresh fruit juice is natural, which means your body processes it differently than the white stuff.  If you drink juice consistently throughout the day your blood sugar levels will be out of control.

My Recommendation:

I always recommend eating whole organic fruit, because you get the fiber that helps break down the natural sugars, which prevents your blood sugar levels from spiking. That is the best way of eating fruit, and the best way to lose weight by accident.

The Truth About Packaged Juice:

Okay, the juices to stay away from and are the furthest thing from FRESH, are Tropicana juices and any juice that is pasteurized. I will quickly tell you why Tropicana bites the big one. Once picked, the oranges are washed and the oil from the peel is extracted. The oil is used later to give the juice a more “fresh” orange taste.

Once the oranges are squeezed they are flash pasteurized, which means the orange juice is boiled at high temperatures (this process was created by Tropicana) for a short period of time. This is done to increases the shelf-life of the juice. Indirectly it also condenses the amount of sugar content in the juice.

Because oranges only grow for a short period of time during the year, and because demand for orange juice is high year around, they dearate the juice and store it. I am not going to get into exactly what this is, but it helps them store the juice for a year or more in order to keep up with demand.

When juice is dearated it is said that the orange juice flavor is sucked out, so before distribution the juice is mixed with orange oil (first taken out), and flavor packets to make it taste like “fresh” orange juice again.

If you are thinking OMG, I feel the same way, it is crazy. Tropicana and any juice that is pasteurized are not good for you due to the process and the sugar content.

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