🍊 Juice vs Fruit, Which Is Better?

Juices have always seemed like a healthier option, but many of those from factories have added sugar to make them more tasty.  You’ll notice this if you look at the ingredient label.

These juices unfortunately don't have all the valuable components of the whole fruit, like fiber, pulp and other health promoting nutrients.

You may say…”Well, let me juice my own fresh fruit.”

However this can overload your system if you drink too much in one go.  Let's explore why...

Did you know that it takes 3-4 medium sized oranges to make 1 cup of fresh-squeezed orange juice?

One tall glass contains 2 cups, which is 8 oranges worth!

Here’s the kicker…

One orange has about 9 grams of sugar, so a tall glass of orange juice has about 72 grams of sugar.  That’s about 18 teaspoons!! (Every 4 grams of sugar is equal to 1 teaspoon.)

Do you know how much sugar is contained in the average can of soda?  Ten teaspoons.

So a tall glass of orange juice contains almost twice the amount of sugar in a can of soda!

I think you may agree with me that the fiber and nutrients in the glass of orange juice don’t quite justify the 18 teaspoons of sugar.

It is very easy to finish a glass of orange juice, and even with no added sugar, it can be quite taxing on your metabolism. (Who wants to be thrust into fat storage mode because of an insulin spike from juice? 🤷)

On the other hand, if you decided to eat an orange, you might eat 1 whole fruit (2 if you are like my son) and with that get all the fiber and all the nutrients, but you’d probably never eat 8 oranges at one time. Not even my son would do that.

Bottomline?  Whenever you find yourself craving juice, eat the whole fruit if you can.