The Truth about Orange Juice

Lets talk about orange juice.  I hear it all the time. Orange Juice is good for us right?  Well, you would think so considering it is made from oranges, but it's one of those foods that been tampered with to the point that it is no longer just the juice of an orange.  This is what we do in this county, we mess around with our food until it's no longer good for us.  The sad part is that most people are not aware of the problem, which is evidenced by all the disease in our country. The more we tamper with our food the sicker we become.  

Here's my first issue with orange juice. 

• When its processed it is held in giant stainless steel vats, and since it spoils quickly they remove all the oxygen from the vats which then allows the juice to hold for up to a year.  Unfortunately, when they remove the oxygen it removes the flavor as well.   So how does the orange juice industry solve that problem?  They develop  "flavor packets" to put taste back into the juice.  They actually hire flavor specialists to create a taste they can add back into the juice.  It's also one of the ways they ensure the product tastes the same every single time you buy it.
• They can put whatever they want in these flavor packets because they are not required to put this information on the label.  Be aware that when you buy this product you really don't know what all is in it.
• When you buy a product that says 100% fresh juice you need to know that really is not the truth.  The next time you buy a carton at the market remember that it's been sitting in a tank for a year. A YEAR!!!! I don't know about you, but that is not fresh in my book. 

Here is my second issue with orange juice.

• Orange Juice is loaded with fructose and fructose has been linked to a whole host of health issues. A typical 8 ounce glass contains 25 grams of fructose.  I don't eat 25 grams of sugar in a whole day so to have this in  one glass of juice is asking for trouble.  
• Fructose has been written about quite a lot lately because of the health risks associated with it.  You might want to do some research on it, but I tell all my clients to remove fructose from theirs diets. Because it is digested in your liver it immediately turns into triglycerides which means fructose is basically poison for your liver. 

If you still want to drink orange juice buy fresh squeezed juice from the health food store that has no added sugar, that way you will know it's juiced within the last few hours.  Of course you can always juice your own at home, that would be the best choice. But these days most people don't have that kind of time. I recommend to my clients that they eliminate orange juice from their diets.  It's not a good thing to put into the body for optimum health. Your best bet?  Eat an orange instead.