I remember a line I heard at my previous job, when I told them I was leaving to work for a nutritional supplement company, "I don't need to take vitamins; I get enough vitamin C from drinking orange juice." Although this statement is completely absurd, orange juice is the go to item when someone is starting to feel sick. We all know that vitamin C is a great tool to help fight colds, but what we don't really know is what exactly we are drinking when we purchase 100% orange juice.
You would think that if a label states that it contains 100% orange juice, it would be simply that; fresh squeezed orange juice placed in a container and then shipped to your local store. But the truth is there is more to the story that just that.
Actually, there is an important stage in between that is an open secret in the OJ industry. After the oranges are squeezed, the juice is stored in giant holding tanks and, critically, the oxygen is removed from them. That essentially allows the liquid to keep (for up to a year) without spoiling– but that liquid that we think of as orange juice tastes nothing like the Tropicana OJ that comes out of the carton. To bring the flavor back in, the company adds "flavor packs." - Christine Cheng
When the juice is stripped of oxygen it is also stripped of flavor providing chemicals. Juice companies therefore hire flavor and fragrance companies, the same ones that formulate perfumes for Dior and Calvin Klein, to engineer flavor packs to add back to the juice to make it taste fresh. Flavor packs aren’t listed as an ingredient on the label because technically they are derived from orange essence and oil. Yet those in the industry will tell you that the flavor packs, whether made for reconstituted or pasteurized orange juice, resemble nothing found in nature. The packs added to juice earmarked for the North American market tend to contain high amounts of ethyl butyrate, a chemical in the fragrance of fresh squeezed orange juice that, juice companies have discovered, Americans favor. Mexicans and Brazilians have a different palate. Flavor packs fabricated for juice geared to these markets therefore highlight different chemicals, the decanals say, or terpene compounds such as valencine. - Civil Eats
Another disturbing fact about orange juice is that the majority of the brands are owed by soda companies. The most common brands are Tropicana which is owned by PepsiCo, and Minute Maid and Simply orange which is owned by Coca-Cola. And if you think about it, exactly how much better is orange juice, or any juice for that matter, compared to soda? Both drink options contain an excessive amount of sugar. If you were to eat the actually orange you would be getting a great source of vitamin C, fiber, and pectin, which helps to dampen the effects of the natural sugar on the body. Consuming orange juice you are not getting all the fiber and pectin, thus creating a rush of sugar into the system, forcing the body to deal with it.
In order to make one glass of orange juice it can take around 4-5 oranges. You wouldn't sit down and eat 4 oranges at one time, so why should it be so easy to consume that many in one glass? That is way too much sugar to force your body to deal with. A glass of juice, whether fresh squeezed or not, can have around 8 teaspoons of sugar per glass, which is barely less than a can of soda, which typically has around 10 teaspoons of sugar.
When trying to fight a cold, sugar is one of the last things that your body needs or wants. Juice is also a common thing to give children. Many parents assume that juice is a healthy alternative to soda.
A growing body of science is linking sweet drinks, natural or otherwise, to a host of child health concerns, everything from bulging bellies to tooth decay. "All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent sugar," Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's Hospital Boston, said recently. "Juice is only minimally better than soda." The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink consumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to the beverage's good-for-you image. But that image can be overstated. Though healthy in moderation, juice essentially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 calories. - CBS News
If orange juice out of a carton can claim to be 100% natural, but yet contains "flavor packs," what else can our foods contain that isn't listed on the label? Orange Juice also made Dr. Mercola's top 5 health foods to avoid!
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
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