No, it’s not healthier to drink soda than juice
“Would you believe me if I told you it was healthier to drink soda than fruit juice?”
This was the question that greeted me when I first discovered Clean Kitchen Nutrition, a popular Instagram account that shares information meant to help a consumer make smart, healthy choices.
In their bizarro world, fruit juice is the devil and you’re better off just cracking open a soda with 39 grams of sugar than dare drink a glass of orange juice!
Their reasoning is based on three main claims:
1) There is more fructose in juice than there is high fructose corn syrup in soda.
2) All fructose is turned into fat.
3) All juice is pasteurized which means all/most of the nutrients have been removed.
Is there any basis to these claims? Let’s dig in…
1. Is there more fructose in juice than in soda?
This is true but the implication is false. The creators of the video state this as if it’s a bad thing…and it isn’t.
Fructose is a naturally occurring sugar. It raises your blood sugar at a more gradual pace than glucose and there are studies that have found a diet that includes SOME fructose IMPROVES glucose metabolism.
High fructose corn syrup is an artificial sweetener made from fructose and glucose. Consuming it adds an UNNATURAL amount of fructose to your diet.
The body does NOT process fructose and high fructose corn syrup the same way, so stating one food has a higher amount of fructose than another food has of HFCS is…odd to say the least..
2. Is all fructose turned into fat?
This is a big, resounding no. So why make this claim? Because fructose is metabolized differently than glucose, so MORE fructose is turned into fat than glucose.
That doesn’t mean ALL fructose is turned into fat. Most of it is turned into glucose in the liver; some of it is even stored in the muscles as glycogen; then SOME of it is stored as fat*.
*As with most things, if you consistently eat in excess, meaning the amount of calories you consume is generally higher than the amount of calories you burn, more fructose will be turned into fat…so will more protein…and fat itself…
3. Have all the nutrients been removed from pasteurized juice?
No.
“Prove it,” you say? No problem…
A cup of cranberry juice has 4% of the daily value of Potassium, 25% of it for Vitamin C, 20% of Vitamin E, and 11% of Vitamin K.
A cup of tomato juice has 12% of the DV of Folate, 11% of Potassium, 189% of Vitamin C, just to name a few.
A cup of prune juice has 17% of the DV for Manganese, 15% of Potassium, 14% of B2, 13% of B3, 33% of B6…and on, and on, and on…
As you can see, these claims are COMPLETELY unfounded.
So why make them??
Maybe they’ve seen the research on fructose and came to the conclusion that, since the body doesn’t metabolize it the same way as glucose, people should avoid it.
And instead of making a video letting people know that, if they already struggle with their weight, it may be a good idea to avoid drinking A LOT of fruit juice, they decided to go completely rogue and unnecessarily scare people with lies and false claims.
The lesson we should all gain from this?
If a video makes a flashy, unbelievable claim to lure you into watching it…it’s highly likely that the rest of the video won’t be educational and you should just turn it off.
Don’t let Marketing fill your head with lies. That’s how diet culture – and toxic influencers – win.
