Why is it not recommended to drink juice squeezed from fresh fruits frequently?

There is no need to say much about the benefits of eating fruits. However, many people find it a bit strenuous to chew fruits one bite at a time, so they prefer to carry a convenient juicer with them to squeeze the fruits into juice instantly and drink it all. It sounds interesting, but is this way of eating good?

Compared with fresh fruit, juice is far inferior to whole fruit. The biggest problem is that it causes a qualitative change in the properties of sugar.

We know that the reason why fruits are sweet and sour and delicious is because of their high sugar content. Generally, the sugar content of fruits is 10~13%, and the highest can be around 16~20%. For example, fresh dates, bananas, lychees, longans, rambutans, etc. The main forms of sugar are small molecule sugars such as glucose, fructose, and sucrose.

If we eat fruit directly, the sugars wrapped in the fruit cells will be released slowly as we chew them bite by bite, and will have little effect on blood sugar fluctuations (epidemiological surveys and studies have also shown that the increased sugar intake from eating fruit does not have an adverse effect on health).

Once squeezed into juice, these sugars are released from the cells and become free sugars. In addition, there is no chewing process and the juice is drunk very quickly, which causes blood sugar to rise very quickly. Therefore, there is actually no essential difference between the sugar in the sweet drinks that we dislike (the sugar content is also similar).

The issue of free sugars has actually attracted great attention from the World Health Organization. International research and surveys have shown that excessive intake of free refined sugars may be related to overweight, obesity, diabetes, premature aging, gout, infertility, etc. At present, the World Health Organization recommends that adults and children reduce their daily free sugar intake to less than 10% of their total energy intake. Further reduction to less than 5% or about 25 grams (6 teaspoons) per day will have more health benefits.

Therefore, when we have the conditions to eat fresh fruits, we still prefer to eat the fruits directly, which is healthier. And eating fruits directly will cause less stimulation to the gastrointestinal tract.

But then again, when the supply of fresh fruit is insufficient, it is also possible to use 100% fruit juice to supplement some vitamins and minerals, which is also a point specifically pointed out in the latest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. In addition, if you need some drinks at a dinner party, it is better to drink some freshly squeezed juice instead of choosing blended drinks with little nutritional value.

It should be emphasized here that for babies under 1 year old, it is best not to let them drink fruit juice. Even if they are under 2 years old, it is best to drink less and try to choose fresh fruits. If you must drink it, it is not recommended to drink more than 120 ml of freshly squeezed fruit. (Also from the latest US Dietary Guidelines)