For many years, I stayed away from sugar and from fruit juices. While I was reared in Australian suburbia with always having orange juice in the fridge, it was something I rejected many years ago as being less than healthy because of its lack of fibre, its sugar content. And while I did buy juice sometimes for my own kids, since I figured it was a lot better than drinking soda full of sugar or aspartane, it still felt like a compromise. 

Orange juice, not from concentrate, 100% with no added anything, is now one of my favourite foods! I absolutely love it, and enjoy it at least twice a day. I buy the Nudie pulp free. 

It makes me happy. Its sweet sour sparkly bite lifts me, gives me a boost. 

It tastes delicious. It feels like drinking sunshine!

It is full of antioxidants such as citrus flavanoids, hesperidin, anthocyanins, naringin and naringenin.

It has plenty of Vit C, Vit A, folate, potassium, magnesium. 

It is alkalising, making urine more alkaline, which helps prevent kidney stones. 

It lowers cholesterol and improves heart health. 

It decreases inflammation in the body. 

It is good for the liver.

It is filling!

Orange juice is far from empty calories or just another form of sugar. It is a nutrient dense food. Fruit juice contains nutrients which contribute to nutrient adequacy, and a recent review of studies around fruit juice, shows that fruit juice intake is positively associated with lower levels of stroke, lower blood pressure, cognitive benefits, healthy weight and benefits far outweigh any concerns. In fact, fruit and fruit juice are positively associated with health and longevity in many studies, and have even been shown to benefit the gut microbiome.

And how do I feel about its sugar content now? The sugar in fruit juices is processed quite differently in the body to drinks with added sugar like sodas, and they are not a problem for most people and do not contribute toward Type 2 diabetes. I enjoy sweet things nowadays in balance, and orange juice is still fruit (minus most of the fibre). Its sugar is in the form of fructose and glucose, and is actually pretty low on the glycemic index, which is a measure of the effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar levels. 

Fructose breaks down slowly (slower than starch in white rice) and like most fruits, this is what keeps them low or medium on the glycaemic index, rather than high. However, it may still spike your blood sugar, so to prevent it from doing that I simply drink it with meals or with a snack instead of on an empty stomach. That slows its absorption down. 

Do you love fresh orange juice?