Fuel your life with the purest vitamins
Jan 23rd 2024
Whole Fruit, Yes; Fruit Juice, No
. . . freshly squeezed morning orange juice? It’s so passe´!
A new study from Harvard has confirmed what Raymond Francis has been saying for years – moderate consumption of whole fruit is good; fruit juice, on the other hand, floods your bloodstream with too much sugar, which has damaging effects.
The Harvard researchers analyzed diet data from three mammoth studies that followed more than 180,000 nurses and other health professionals for about twenty years to look for correlations between fruit consumption and type 2 diabetes risk. It probably won’t surprise Newsclips readers to hear they found fruit consumption significantly associated with a lowered risk for developing type 2 diabetes, and fruit juice consumption associated with a higher risk.
Interestingly, they found certain fruits a lot more beneficial than others in reducing diabetes risk, independent of their glycemic index. Of the ten fruits included in the study, blueberries were far and away the top performers, lowering diabetes risk by 26%. Grapes came in next at 12%. Apples and pears were tied at 7% lower risk, and bananas and grapefruit were tied at 5% lower risk. The rest of the fruits – peaches, plums/prunes, apricots, oranges and strawberries neither lowered nor increased risk, however cantaloupe increased risk by 10%.
The researchers couldn’t explain these differences, nor does it mean we should only eat blueberries and grapes. Each fruit has its own particular nutritional value, and it’s always good to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.
The USDA and Raymond are in agreement that most people should have 2 fruits or 2 cups of fruit a day. But fruit juice is a bad idea because it makes the sugar too bioavailable, increasing insulin levels. It may be difficult for some to give up their orange juice for breakfast, but your body will thank you with the gift of better health.