Fact or fiction: Fruit juice can shorten your life faster than soda

I rarely drink soda.

Besides the occasional treat — like ginger ale or root beer with a slice of pizza — I stay away from it because I know it provides a mega-dose of sugar and calories without any of the good stuff, like vitamins and nutrients.

And consuming too many calories without enough nutrients is exactly why so many people end up with diabetes, cancer, heart disease and other health issues.

But what about high-sugar beverages that do contain beneficial nutrients? Are they just as bad?

I’ll admit, I’m much more likely to drink a cup of OJ guilt-free because I’m getting vitamin C, antioxidants and other goodies. But here’s the bad news…

Sugary drinks — even if they’re fresh-squeezed from your favorite fruit — take a toll on you. A major toll. One that could make you die earlier…

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A glass of fruit juice raises your risk of dying early by 24 percent

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that glass of juice you’re drinking in the morning could increase your risk of death by 24 percent.

The study looked at death records and dietary surveys from more than 13,000 people over a six-year span. The people in the study were 45 or older.

Researchers tracked how much sugary beverages study participants drank during that six-year period, including 100 percent fruit juices. They also looked at who in the study group died and from what. Here’s what they found…

• People who got 10 percent or more of their daily calories from sugary beverages were 14 percent more likely to die prematurely.
• Drinking a 12 oz glass of sugary beverages daily raised the risk of early death by 11 percent.
• Drinking a 12 oz glass of 100 percent fruit juice daily raised the risk of early death by 24 percent.

You read that right. Drinking 12 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice daily raised the risk of dying early more than drinking sugary beverages in general (included those with added sugar like soda). What’s the deal with that?

It’s hard to say for sure. But here’s one thing we do know…

Whether the sugar comes from sugar-sweetened soda or apple juice, the body responds to it the same once it’s metabolized… with a serious blood sugar spike.

Here’s another helpful tidbit from this study…

Related: Is your favorite juice harboring high levels of harmful heavy metals?

Even though the overall risk of death related to drinking too many sugary beverages was 14 percent, the risk was much higher for one disease in particular — heart disease.

People who got 10 percent or more of their daily calories from sugary beverages were 44 percent more likely to die from heart disease than those who got less than five percent of their daily calories from sugary beverages. So, stay away from those sugary beverages for your heart’s sake, if nothing else.

Finding balance in your fruit juice consumption

This study might be the one that finally scares me away from OJ. Although, researchers aren’t saying to cut out fruit juice entirely. However, most of us should at least cut back…

Keep your intake of juice (and other sugary beverages) to less than five percent of your daily calories. If you’re a woman who eats 2,000 calories per day that would be about 100 calories. If you’re a man who eats 2,500 calories per day that would be about 125 calories per day. Of course, limiting yourself to only one or two sugary drinks per week would be even better.

That means you could still enjoy a sugary drink here and there without doing too much damage. Have that glass of orange juice when you go out to brunch with your friends. Enjoy that root beer at your nephew’s pizza party. But the rest of the time, stick to water and whole (not juiced) fruit.

Sources:

1. It’s not just soda: Drinking too much fruit juice (or any sugary drink) linked to premature death risk — CNN
2. Drinking Fruit Juice Could Increase Your Risk Of Death By 24 Percent, Research Shows — Delish
3. Association of Sugary Beverage Consumption With Mortality Risk in US Adults — JAMA