All the advertisements on TV rave about how healthy orange juice and other juices are for us. We have been blasted by these commercials for years and most of us strongly believe this to be true.

Fruit juice may have up to 8 teaspoons of natural sugar in an eight ounce glass. This is not added sugar but the natural fructose. What may not be natural is squeezing juices. Fruits are meant to be eating whole in their natural state.

Fruit juices have many healthy nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial. Are these benefits being surpassed by the quantities of sugar in them?

Sweet drinks are linked to preschool obesity whether they are Kool-Aid or natural juices. Preschoolers are better off snacking on whole fruit.

One Head Start program banned juice as an anti-obesity effort after finding one out of five students was obese.

The American Academy of Pediatrics states that toddlers and preschool aged children should be limited to just 4-6 ounces of fruit juice per day. The APP states that fruit juice offers no nutritional benefits over whole fruit.

If you consume fruits whole in their natural state you consume them with the natural fiber and other ingredients that checks sugar absorption.

It is important for you to restrict your intake of fruit juices especially if you have any of the following problems.

High Blood Pressure Overweight Diabetes

Whole fruits are healthy but you may still want to eat them in moderation if you have any of the above issues. Whole fruits are more desirable then juices in any case.

Some of the healthiest fruits are berries specifically blueberries as their sugar levels are lower than most fruits and they contain an abundance of antioxidants.

So remember juices are high in calories and low in fiber. This will leave you hungry while rapidly adding excess sugar unnecessary. Sometimes just eliminating sugar water, pop, and juices will bring fantastic results.

If you want to try juicing stick with vegetables as they are lower in sugars than fruits.

Most of us have grown up thinking that fruit juice is one of the healthiest things for us. We may need to reconsider this. And then there are fruit drinks which aren't even 100% fruit juice. Just keep in mind that many commodities being sold are produced to make capital not to enhance your health.

You want to make intelligent informative decisions. Do research whenever you can. You can certainly track down a lot of relevant information on search engines but you will have to decide how correct this advice is.

Instead of grabbing calories in a bottle consider a fresh piece of delicious fruit. Blueberries are one of the top quality fruits containing plenty of antioxidants while maintaining lower sugar content then most other fruits. I find that nature knows best when it comes to nutrition. I still have not found that tree with quarts of OJ hanging from it.

Well now I can't wait to bite into that delicious crunchy apple!

Copyright 2005 Think Healthy