If you ever wondered about whether can you drink too much orange juice while pregnant or that drinking a tall cold glass of orange Juice or OJ for breakfast will keep all the diseases at bay, you may want to think again!
The facts are surprising, to say the least, but they bear out. But before that here’s a closer look at the juice itself: it is tagged as a superfood, it contains about 110 calories per serving, and is chock full of Vitamin C along with dietary fiber in the form of pulp with little or no fat.
In addition, a single cup of OJ contains about 25g of sugar and 12g of carbohydrates. While drinking a glass of OJ for breakfast is safe, guzzling multiple glasses in a day will have a long-term impact on your health. Read on to know why!
The common misconception regarding Orange Juice
Orange juice comes in three forms, concentrated, prepackaged, and the homemade variety. The prepackaged ones cost less, but these undergo pasteurization to remove toxins which eliminate the vitamins as well as pulp.
The concentrated version contains large amounts of preservatives and may taste funny; in fact, if you have a hankering for a glass of OJ, it would be better to opt for the homemade sort, for it would contain both vitamins and dietary fiber as well.
The common perception is that Orange juice is rich in vitamin C and will help you fight the common cold while keeping other diseases at bay.
This is far from the actual truth
While Orange juice does contain vitamin C for each serving which is about one hundred percent of the daily suggested intake, it has no material impact on fighting diseases, nor does it keep any at bay.
Several studies were conducted and it was found that the OJ has no meaningful impact on patients suffering from a cold, either during the onset or as it coursed through the patients.
In short, if you were drinking glasses of Orange juice to help fight the cold, you’re better off with some vitamin tablets and bed rest.
In fact, there are better substitutes for getting your daily dose of Vitamin C.
You can try the following:
- Kale contains about 80 mg of vitamin C per cup of serving
- Red capsicum or red bell peppers contains about 190 mg per cup of vitamin C
- And Broccoli, about 100 mg per cup of vitamin
Can You Drink Too Much Orange Juice ?
The answer is no and here’s why!
A single glass of orange juice contains about 25g of sugar, which is more or less the same as a coke.
And when you take into account the carbs it contains, it soon becomes evident that guzzling multiple glasses of orange juice will lead to weight gain, not to mention the subsequent increase in your blood pressure and impact on your cardiovascular health.
Even if you drink just about a glass of orange juice a day at breakfast, that still works to about fifty thousand unwanted calories by the end of the year, and you would have gained some weight on account of this.
While drinking orange juice on its own is not unhealthy, drinking too much of it will definitely impact your health in the long run.
Moreover, if you had been guzzling this juice on account of the misconception that it will help you fight off diseases, you may want to opt for other natural substitutes listed above. They provide more by way of vitamins and contain less sugar and are also nutrient rich.
The Fructose connection:
Here’s yet another reason as to why you should avoid pre-packaged orange juice!
Most of the companies use high Fructose corn syrup in all their products which is actually a lot less expensive to manufacture than add sugar.
And as you know, high Fructose corn syrup is not just unhealthy for you but can actually kill you in the long term.
Various research studies have proved the correlation between consumption of Fructose and obesity and the resulting impact on health.
A high consumption of this substance can cause weight gain, metabolic disorder and will impact your cardiovascular health in the long term.
This is why it is always a good idea to avoid products that contain high Fructose corn syrup and opt for the natural variety.
So Can You Drink Too Much Orange Juice ?
It is never a good idea to drink and eat anything in excess, and moderation is essential.
When it comes to Orange juice, given how the benefits are far outweighed by sugar and carbs that it packs per glass, it would be a good idea to opt for a single glass of homemade orange juice per day and not more.
While no one is claiming that orange juice is unhealthy for you, too many of it per day is and will have some impact on your health and body in the long term. To sum up
• A cup of Orange juice contains about 25g of sugar and 12g carbohydrates
• Drinking a 12-ounce cup of OJ per day would result in you having consumed about 54000 calories for the whole year.
• Drinking too many glasses of orange juice per day will result in you gaining weight and along with a skewed metabolism and not to mention high levels of cholesterol and blood pressure
• Avoid the prepacked variety; always go in for the home brewed one, as the former contains high levels of Fructose corn syrup which is detrimental to your health.