Myth: “Juices can replace fruits and vegetables.”

It makes me cringe when I see commercials for juices that supposedly contain a few of your daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Sure, it’s better to have a V8 than a bowl of grease... And you’d survive if you only had juice instead of produce (by the way, liquid diets are no good, so please don’t attempt this). But keep in mind that anything you see advertised on TV, billboards, magazines and other media is there to MAKE MONEY. They’ll say anything to get you to buy their products. Think about this: is it profitable for most industries to make you healthy? The answer is no! Because if you are healthy, you won’t be spending money on their products. It costs more to treat a minority of people who become sick, than preventative measures to ensure everyone leads a healthy lifestyle. So they’re saying OJ in the morning is part of a healthy breakfast, and you should have a V8 with your burger instead of a Coke. My question is: why not have an orange and a glass of water instead of OJ? Why not have a couple servings of vegetables and a glass of water instead of V8?
Juice is not necessarily part of a healthy diet for two reasons. First, it contains either high levels of added sugar or salt, and second, it cannot compete with produce in nutritional content. Extra fat, sugar and salt in processed foods is what is making our nation sick:
- Refined sugars are bad for you because they are directly linked to diabetes, obesity, tooth decay, and causes fatigue, gas and worsens PMS. It also contributes to osteoporosis and weakens the immune system. If you must sweeten your beverage or recipe, it is better to choose honey, stevia, or even agave nectar (more on sweeteners in another post).
- Processed salt (such as table salt, iodized salt, and kosher salt) is not recommended because it is highly refined so it contains chemicals, and is hard for your body to assimilate. Too much salt puts stress on your kidneys, causes dehydration, makes you feel excessively thirsty and therefore prone to drink and eat more junk. It also contributes to high blood pressure and interferes with calcium and nutrient absorption. If you must salt something, it is better to use sea salt that is free of chemicals (check the ingredient list on the label).

The other reason juice is not necessarily healthy is that it just doesn’t contain the same nutritional value of fruits and vegetables. First of all, most packaged juices are made of water. Second, they don’t contain the same amount of fibre as produce since many juices are void of pulp. Here’s an experiment: Pick a green orange and ride it across the continent. Treat it with gas to accelerate ripening. Peel it. Juice it. Strain it. Freeze, dehydrate or dilute it with water. Add sugar and colouring. Let it sit for a few weeks. Then measure its nutritional content. Chances are it won’t be as complete as the fruit was in the first place. Fact is: juice is not real food. It is a chemically altered, diluted, zombie of a food. If you insist on drinking it, make it yourself in small batches so it stays fresh and contains more of the nutrients you need and no harmful chemicals.
The moral of this story is: fill your diet with “real foods” and avoid packaged foods as much as possible. Real foods and plain water is what your body needs, not chemicals, sugar, fat, salt and colourings.

Coming up:
Myth: “Fructose is a healthy alternative to sugar”