Fruit juice is not "fruit", not even if it is homemade

Juicing is not synonymous with eating fruit from a nutritional point of

view

While "fruit juice" is synonymous with "fruit" for a large part of the population,
many nutritionists recommend limiting fruit juice to a maximum of one glass
a day, although they may not be aware that this even includes juice. 100%,
because the juice contains almost as much sugar and almost as many
calories as a soda. This is so because for experts, the sugars present in fruit
juice, even if it is freshly squeezed, are considered "free sugars", like
fructose. It is suspected of being involved in chronic diseases. A sugary
drink is assimilated as the nutritional value of a juice.

In addition, there is research that includes juices in the concept of "sugary

drink". This is the case of the study in the journal Circulation published in
2015 (Singh et al., 2015), in which it considers that any drink that provides at
least 50 kilocalories per 23 centilitres should be called a “sugary drink”.
Thus, in this category, in addition to the well-known "soft drinks", and
"sports" drinks known as "isotonic", "energy" drinks or sweet iced teas, most
juices can also be included. Whether they are homemade or not: 23
centilitres of homemade orange juice provide about eighty kilocalories
according to the CESNID-UB Food Composition Table Book, coordinated by
Dr. Andreu Farran.

Classification of beverages according to their nutritional value

If you go back to March 2006, you will see that a system for categorizing
beverages based on their energy content and health properties, which was
published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Popkin et al., 2006),
placing the juices in the penultimate level (level 5 of 6), making it clear that
their habitual consumption is not recommended. This level 5 is described as
follows.

Level 5: Caloric drinks with some nutrients: High-calorie drinks with limited
health benefits (Fruit juices, whole milk, alcoholic drinks and sports drinks).
Fruit juices (100% juice) provide most of the nutrients from their natural
source, but are relatively high in energy content and may be lacking in fibre
and other beneficial non-nutrient compounds present in the entire product.
There is no specific need to consume fruit juices, and the consumption of
whole fruits should be encouraged for satiety and energy balance. The
United States Committee on Dietary Guidelines recommended that no more
than one-third of the daily fruit intake be in the form of juices. Fruit shakes
are generally high-calorie versions of fruit drinks and are therefore not
recommended (Popkin et al., 2006).

The generation of chronic non-communicable diseases associated with

the repeated consumption of juices or fruit juices.

One of the latest scientific studies on the subject, published in April 2016,
detailed that fruit juices do not seem like healthy alternatives to sugary
drinks for the prevention of type 2 diabetes (Imamura et al., 2015).
Something that also has looked at other studies. One of them, the one
published in 2013 by Muraki et al., Observed that a higher consumption of
fruit juices was associated with a higher risk of suffering from type 2 diabetes
(Muraki et al., 2013). Why? Because, as the text expands on a whole fruit
better than juice, the metabolic effects of fruit are not the same or
comparable to those exerted by juices and because "kilocalorie for
kilocalorie, fruit juice can be consumed in a faster than un-pressed fruit. "
This last sentence is read in a position paper from the American Academy of
Pediatrics, which warns that drinking too many juices increases the risk of
excessive weight gain. Among other reasons, the juices do not stimulate
chewing. And it is that there are serious suspicions that the intake of juices
may contribute to the current obesity epidemic, something that seems to
occur in both adults and children. Something similar was observed in
children. Research collected in June 2016 in which it is observed that the
daily consumption of fruit juice is associated with child weight gain in
childhood and suggests that this association is more present in the early
preschool years an important review entitled "Reducing childhood obesity by
Eliminating 100% Fruit Juices", in which is detailed that the consumption of
fruit juice by children is problematic due to its high sugar content and low
fibre levels (Shefferly et al., 2016).

For example, four ounces of 100% apple juice has 0 grams of fiber, but 13
grams of sugar per 60 calories.14 Similarly, 100% grape juice has 20 grams
of sugar for every four fluid ounces. Similarly, a half cup of sliced apples has
half the calories (30) and fewer calories from sugar (5.5 g) and the addition
of 1.5 grams of fibre. In addition, this article mentions that recent data
suggest that excessive consumption of fructose, either from sucrose
(approximately 50% fructose) in 100% fruit juice or high fructose corn syrup
in sugary drinks, may be associated with liver injury and metabolic
syndrome.

On the contrary, although the whole fruit also has fructose, the fibre present
in the whole fruit limits the insulin response and increases satiety. Thus, fruit
juice can alter the energy signalling of the Central Nervous System, resulting
in dependence and habituation, which is associated with excessive
consumption and metabolic syndrome (MARSET, 2017).

References
Imamura, F., O’Connor, L., Ye, Z., Mursu, J., Hayashino, Y., Bhupathiraju, S. N., &
Forouhi, N. G. (2015). Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially
sweetened beverages, and fruit juice and incidence of type 2 diabetes: Systematic
 review, meta-analysis, and estimation of population attributable fraction. BMJ
(Online), 351. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h3576
MARSET, J. B. (2017). El zumo de fruta no es “fruta”, ni siquiera si es casero | Ciencia |
EL PAÍS. https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/04/10/ciencia/1491821250_324473.html#
Muraki, I., Imamura, F., Manson, J. E., Hu, F. B., Willett, W. C., Van Dam, R. M., & Sun, Q.
(2013). Fruit consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes: Results from three prospective
longitudinal cohort studies. BMJ (Online), 347(7923).
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f5001
Popkin, B. M., Armstrong, L. E., Bray, G. M., Caballero, B., Frei, B., & Willett, W. C.
(2006). A new proposed guidance system for beverage consumption in the United
States. In American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (Vol. 83, Issue 3, pp. 529–542).
American Society for Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn.83.3.529
Shefferly, A., Scharf, R. J., & Deboer, M. D. (2016). Longitudinal evaluation of 100% fruit
juice consumption on BMI status in 2-5-year-old children. Pediatric Obesity, 11(3),
221–227. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12048
Singh, G. M., Micha, R., Khatibzadeh, S., Lim, S., Ezzati, M., & Mozaffarian, D. (2015).
Estimated global, regional, and national disease burdens related to sugar-sweetened
beverage consumption in 2010. Circulation, 132(8), 639–666.
https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.010636

Article written by

Milton Enrique Londoño Lemos M.Sc.; PhD; Postdoctoral Researcher

Bogotá D.C-Colombia