By: Kari Hartel, RD, LD
You've probably seen them occupying increasingly more shelf space at your local supermarket as they become more popular. I'm referring to fruit and vegetable juices that tout a lengthy list of health benefits, claiming to do everything from boost energy to prevent cancer. But the real question is, are they nutritionally sound? Some of these juices seem to have superpowers. They count toward your 5-9 daily fruit and vegetable servings, and some are now enhanced with green tea and antioxidants. Therefore, that means it's acceptable to skip whole fruits and vegetables and just drink your way to health, right? Not exactly.
The juice you're drinking may be just a glassful of sugar, cleverly disguised as something healthy. V8 Splash® says right on the bottle that it only contains 10% juice, and it lists high-fructose corn syrup as an ingredient, second only behind water. Also, V8® vegetable juice is chock-full of sodium and has "natural flavoring" added, which is not really natural at all. Some juices contain added vitamins, including vitamins C, E, B2, B3, B6, B12, and beta-carotene (which don't have to be added to whole fruits and vegetables because many are naturally rich in these nutrients). Other juices add caffeine or even oil to their products.
Many people consume juices for their supposed health benefits or to try to reach their recommended 5-9 servings of fruit and vegetables daily because the majority of adults fall short on the number of servings they actually get. Choosing a mostly plant-based diet has been shown to ward off many diseases, such as heart disease and cancer. However, drinking fruit or vegetable juice is not the same as eating whole fruits and vegetables because you're missing out on a key nutrient: fiber. The American Dietetic Association recommends getting 25-38 grams of fiber per day, and most fruit and vegetable juices provide none. Consuming juice in place of whole fruits and vegetables could mean you are falling short on that 25-38 grams of fiber recommended daily for optimum health. For example, a cup of raw carrots has over 4 grams of fiber, but carrot juice provides little to no fiber. In addition to helping prevent disease, adequate fiber can also help with your weight-management goals. Fiber increases satiety by slowing digestion, which keeps you full longer between meals and snacks.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
All about the numbers.
I always kept check of things by numbers. How many days before this or that, how many hours to sleep, how much weight, etc. Well I have 40 days until the end of the year and I'm still trying to reach a goal. Even with holidays now kicking into full steam, I'm motivated to accomplish this. People always asks why start during the holidays. To me it shows willpower and determination. If you can get past these type of events, you can make it through anything.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Boogie Nights!
Partied hard last night! Legs are sore but happy because that means I was working it. I ended up eating late(9 pm). Had a big bacon cheese burger, fries and mozzarella sticks. I normally wouldn't have eaten it, but it was FREE! Inside a casino you get things called COMPS, so I ate. But after all the dancing, I left it all on the dance floor.
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