A small glass of orange juice when you wake up? This gesture that many associate with a balanced breakfast is not necessarily as healthy as we think. According to dietitian-nutritionist Raphaël Gruman, “fruit juices should not be consumed every day, but can be consumed occasionally as part of a balanced diet.
A sugar spike to watch out for
When a fruit is squeezed, its fructose is released and the drink quickly becomes very sweet. To avoid a spike in blood sugar, the specialist recommends not drinking juice on an empty stomach.
“It is preferable not to consume it alone. To limit its glycemic impact, it is better to drink it after a meal or with a snack composed of other foods, such as dairy or oilseeds for a fiber intake“, he advises.
A single glass of fruit juice contains between 15 and 20 grams of sugar, the equivalent of 3 to 4 squares of sugar. And unlike whole fruit, juice does not fill you up.
“To make a glass of orange juice, you need three oranges. You can drink three glasses without being full, whereas eating three would be more than enough“, explains the nutritionist.
Which juices to favor?
Not all juices are equal. At the top of the ranking, pomegranate juice stands out.
“It contains a lot of antioxidants and therefore has a strong nutritional benefit“, emphasizes Raphaël Gruman. He advises consuming it fresh, retaining part of the mucilage – this membrane around the grains – because “this membrane gives an astringent side to the juice, it provides fiber, which slows down the passage of sugar into the blood“.
Rich in antioxidants, pomegranate juice could also protect eyesight, particularly against AMD (age-related macular degeneration). The nutritionist recommends drinking it “twice a week, for fun“.
Just behind, orange juice and grapefruit juice stand out for their vitamin C content. The first “is interesting provided you drink it with the pulp for fiber intake“, he specifies. As for the second, “grapefruit juice is rich in vitamin C and also sweet, despite its bitterness“. Be careful though: “to people who take blood thinners, as this may limit how these medications work“.
Juices to limit
In fourth place, cranberry juice is “interesting for preventing certain urinary infections“, but its sugar level in industrial versions remains problematic. “Commercially sold cranberry juices often contain a lot of sugar because cranberries are an acidic food.“, specifies Raphaël Gruman.
Pineapple and apple juices bring up the rear. Sweeter, they are of less nutritional interest.
“Pineapple juice contains bromelain, an anti-edematous molecule which is useful post-operatively, for example, but which is found very little in the juice.“, he explains.
As for apple juice, “it is the sweetest and least nutritionally interesting juice. To get the same amount of juice, you have to use more apples, so you extract more sugar and less water“.
Good reflexes to adopt
To choose the right juice, the expert recommends favoring 100% pure juice and avoiding nectars, often “very low in vitamins and antioxidants“.
And if you buy them at the supermarket, opt for those “fresh or flash pasteurized, stored in the fresh section“, which better retain their nutritional qualities”than those sold at room temperature“, concludes Raphaël Gruman.