Study says daily 100% fruit juice consumption may cause weight gain

100% fruit juice have adverse effect (Image vi unsplash/ Zlatko duric)

Enjoying a glass or more of 100 percent fruit juice every day could add a few extra kilograms, recent studies suggest. If you guessed it's all that sugar and calories in a glass, then you're on the right track.

Top food scientist, Dr. Walter Willett, highlighted the issue - it's too easy to have way too much fruit juice. You wouldn't eat three oranges in one go, right? But when you gulp down a glass of orange juice, that's pretty much what you're doing. Pour another glass, and you're packing in loads more sugar and calories.

100 percent fruit juice is not the same as whole fruit

Difference between having fruit juice and having fruit (Image via Unsplash/ dhiren maru)

Consistently having high sugar in our blood can set us up for health troubles down the line. Think insulin resistance, heart disease or even obesity. Now, it's important to note that these studies only showed an association, not that juice directly causes these problems.

Dr. Tamara Hannon, a pediatric endocrinologist who reviewed the research, urged parents to rethink their kids' juice routine. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) even has guidelines: avoid juice for babies under a year old, limit it to four ounces for kids 1 to 3 years, and six ounces for kids 4 to 6 years.

Drinking juice isn't like eating actual fruit. Whole fruits pack a punch with healthy fiber and nutrients. When we juice the fruit, we lose fiber. It changes how our bodies use the fruit's natural sugars.

Eating an apple slowly adds sugar to our blood. Drinking apple juice? That shoots your blood sugar up.

Research review on 100 percent fruit juice

Weight gain due to 100% fruit juice (Image via unsplash/ Mohammad dawleh)

According to Dr. Hannon, consuming liquid with calories won't fill you up, and you'll probably feel hungry again and eat more. Also, our liver changes most of the juice's calories into fat to help keep our blood sugar normal.

Researchers analyzed 42 studies for the juice review. The findings showed that each extra daily serving of 100 percent fruit juice could slightly increase body mass in children. The effect on adults was less clear, but some studies did show a slight change when they considered the number of calories.

While the weight change might look small for one person, when you look at our whole population, it starts to add up. The takeaway here is that fruit juice isn't the best choice when you're thirsty. Give your children whole fruit for snacks and keep juice to half a cup a day.

Keep in mind that little steps can affect our and our kids' health in big ways. Swapping our regular juice for a bit of fruit or a cup of water could make us healthier.

The advantages of whole fruit

Fruit consumption is healthier (Image via Unsplash/ Julia Zolotova)

Yeah, fruit juice comes from fruits, but that doesn't mean it's always the best for us. We need not see juice as an everyday part of our dishes. We should start viewing whole fruits as the healthier option since they offer wholesome nutrients without the risk of overdosing on sugar.

Our consumption of juice should be moderated and restricted for the best health outcomes. More is not always better. Yes, it is just juice, but as the study suggests, the impact on our overall weight could be substantial.

Think of this study as an alarm going off. Time to check what we're eating and drinking, for ourselves and our kids. Our young ones are our future. Teaching them good eating habits early on is a great gift. Drink and eat smart, stay in the know, and let's push for a healthier way of living for a better tomorrow.

What we eat and drink touches all parts of our lives - our health, our mood, our job, and just how we live in general.